This is my first class of the day. They're cute kids, but they are also mischievous. They don't speak any English, so class is difficult but occasionally rewarding. I get to catch them young and help them pronounce words correctly. You can only learn so much from a text book; for instance, they can't make "si" sounds. They pronounce them "shi" ... so sit and city are always dangerous vocab.
Take note of the Obama poster, and our beautiful first lady. Everyone here loves Obama. I was told that I would be teaching High School kids, so I brought posters accordingly. If I had known the age range I would have brought High School Musical 3 stuff!
These kids can be a lot to handle. They are easily placated by food. It's simply impossible to grab a snack in their presence without them queuing up for a taste.
This is my really smart class. They're a little camera shy, so this was a candid shot. They're great to be with, but they get impatient pretty quickly. I imagine that I would have fit in well with this class. If I had my way we would go for a field trip every Wednesday with these kids. I got yelled at for spoiling them.
This is my other class. They're using the same book as my smart kids, but they just aren't as clever and want to rely on translation machines and dictionaries. Sometimes when a person wants to get serious about learning a language, he or she will buy a big dictionary or a small computer to help them out. These are NEVER the people who speak a foreign language well.
These are my middle school girls. They should speak English well, but they don't. The one on the right has a terrific amount of grammar and vocabulary knowledge. The one on the left is semi-comatose most days so I don't know how much she knows. I can't understand a word they say in English. Sometimes I have to ask if they are trying to speak English. Their wealthy parents make them come and they hate it. This is by far my least rewarding class of the day.
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