My students say the funniest things every day. Because English is their second language, they way they speak in normal conversation can make me laugh. Instead of saying “I can’t find my math notebook.” They might say “I can not locate my notebook of math.” When asking people how old they are they say “How many years do you have?” I absolutely love this and think it is the cutest thing ever. Some days, they say things that literally make me laugh out loud and I began writing them down. Hopefully the humor comes across in writing alone.
One of my students randomly turned around at his desk and asked me: “Did you know I got a new dog? It’s a poof! And it’s a girl.”
I replied: “A poof?”
He responded: “Yes, she is a little poof.”
We were discussing first, second, and third person pronouns.
Teacher: “What is the most important person?” (The answer was supposed to be “I”)
Student: “The President!”
Me: “Can anyone think of something that comes in packs of 4?”
Student: “Beer!”
Me: “Beer?”
Student: “You know… cervezas!”
Me: “I know what beer is. But it comes in packs of 6. Or 12.”
Teacher: “Tomorrow you will turn in your pet rocks to the back table.”
Student A: “I can’t find mine, I lost it!”
Teacher: “Well, you will have to find and make another one.”
Student B: “You LOST it? That’s so immature! It’s your PET rock, you shouldn’t lose your pet!”
There is a student, “R”, who is constantly babbling, singing, making animal noises, etc. This relates to him.
Teacher: “What is the program with the yellow, purple, and red?”
Students: “Tele toobies” (They pronounced it tOO-bies)
Teacher to “R”: “Yes, control your tele toobie mania!”
Last week, one of the literature circle groups was reading a book called “All Star Fever.” It was about a boy who played baseball. I met with their group and asked if they liked the book. They said no, because they didn’t understand it. Looking through the book, there were terms such as “inning”, “grounder”, “outfield”, etc. Ecuadorian kids have no idea what baseball is all about. I tried explaining the game to them, but ended up finding a different book for them to read because it was too confusing.
I taught a grammar review lesson in which the students had to complete a worksheet on their own. While I was passing it out, one of my students (a boy who lives and breathes the Beatles) asked me if I would play his Beatles CD while they worked. I was hesitant, but thought what the heck, I’ll try it. They kids loved it and actually were able to work silently while they listened.
Of course, my students aren’t the only ones who provide laughter in the classroom. They think it is HILARIOUS when I speak in Spanish. If I even say one word in Spanish, they freak out. Every day, they teach me new words and phrases and all come up to me: “Stephanie say __________!” Stephanie say this! Stephanie say that!” “Stephanie do you know what __________ means?” If they aren’t listening to me, I can start speaking Spanish and I immediately have their full attention. I think I like learning from them even more than they like learning from me!
I wish I could bring some of my students home with me, they are so adorable. Even though sometimes they drive me nuts, I love them and I am going to be so sad when I have to leave! Although I return in exactly 30 days, only 12.5 of those are school days! I have so little time to spend with them so I am going to try to enjoy every moment.
Steph Goes Abroad 