learn vs. Run

so i begin every class with a short review of last week's lesson. an adorable anecdote from today:

ME who remembers what we LEARNED LAST WEEK???
ME hmm? who remembers what we LEARNED LAST WEEK??? (huge arm motions backwards to signify chronological past)
COTEACHER what's last week? we learned last week, last week is 지난주 (in korean)
STUDENTS :blank stares:
COTEACHER what is LUHN? we learned "luhn" (bless her heart, this is how she pronounced it)
STUDENTS 달리기! 달리자! 뛰어라! (in korean:racing! let's race! RUN!)

Hapkido

Emails from my students make me smile. Enjoy:

"hapkido is punch(hand movement), kick , a break-fall, and self-defens
It is very useful. late night , wacking in the a side street
bad man!!!!!hoodlum

hoodlum: hey girl, come on
girl:No! No, scare~~~~~
hoodlum touched girl

girl change another personality
girl play self-defense"

I love my girls so much!

oh, fake homonyms

Haiku and nature

ME: what do these things have IN COMMON? what does COMMON mean?
BOY: COME ON!!!!
BOY 2: (korean) why does she keep telling us to "come on"?

ME: "Gloom" Who knows what GLOOM means?
BOY: guuruum (구룸-cloud)

GIRL: teacher, i am done haiku
ME: you're missing one syllable here, this is only 4
GIRL: no, I LIKE EN-GEUL-ISH
ME: english is NOT 3 syllables

Jeremy-don't feel bad about being called "ajussi"
i got my new school ID card w/these photoshopped headshots (apparently this is normal?)

STUDENT 1: (playing with my ID) this doesn't look like you teacher
ME: oh? why not?
STUDENT 1: the picture is very pretty, you are not even wearing any makeup today
(the following day)
STUDENT 1: (knocking on my open door) teacher?
ME: yes?
STUDENT 1: oh, i didnt recognize you because you're wearing makeup today

oh Audrey

HILLARY okay, who can tell me what this is?
CLASS lake!
HILLARY what about this?
CLASS river!
FAT KID, SINGING TO HIMSELF Moon river...

I UNDERSTAND KOREAN

so i've been doing an advanced group of 3 6th grade boys for the past 2 weeks. they wanted to practice writing so i picked a short NYTimes article on venezuelan naming law changes, pick out the vocab i think they will have trouble with/would be interested to know and spend 30 minutes thinking up the BEST most accurate definitions i can, then think up 3 amazing essay questions and email this to the boys.

the next day in class: (all in KOREAN)
dennis: hey did you read the article?
bill: no, i just read the questions and answered #3
dennis: [puts his hand up for a high five] me, too!
bill: [returns high five] it was easy
me: I UNDERSTAND KOREAN!!!!
boys: surprised look of "oh yea, oops" followed by unapologetic laughter

i was so incredulous at these boys! especially bc they KNEW i spoke korean and we had conversed in korean previously. lol, i guess they jus randomly forgot bc they were in english class.

Shakespeare would be proud

We're playing Telephone this week, using archaic English words and phrases. In the game, the last girl in line has to run to the board and write what she heard.

In my first class, "thou art fair" somehow mutated into "thou fart."

I'm serious: "thou fart."

Naturally, no one in the class knew what "fart" meant, so I had to explain it somehow. At a loss, I drew a picture of a cute little butt tooting out a puffy cloud.

So yeah, add that to the list of things that I never thought I'd do as a teacher in Korea.

and if you believe that, I've got some money I'd like you to help me transfer from a Nigerian bank account

HOST BROTHER I love California!
HILLARY Why?
HOST BROTHER Is very nice.
HILLARY Have you ever been there?
HOST BROTHER No.
HILLARY How do you know?
HOST BROTHER Internet.

Do you have any Curry Powder?

In my beginning adult class, we have been learning how to go shopping. I was originally going to do this in one lesson, but I realized that shopping is a pretty big deal, and the vocabulary changes depending on where you are (e.g. aisle : supermarket :: floor : department store). For each lesson, I've been having the students perform the following dialogue (simplified for your reading brevity):



A: Do you have any ______?
B: Yes, ______ is on aisle 5.
A: Thank you.
B: Anything else?
A: Do you have any ______?
B: I'm sorry. We don't have any.
Etc.


I for the blanks, I have the students generate their own vocabulary to use, which I then write on the board and they talk about in Korean for a while to make sure that everyone understands it. When we went shopping in the supermarket for instance, the first two vocabulary items they generated were Curry Powder and Cabbage, thus the dialogue read:


A: Do you have any curry powder?
B: Yes, curry powder is on aisle 5.
A: Thank you.
B: Anything else?
A: Do you have any cabbage?
B: I'm sorry. We don't have any.


This led me to a curious question:

In what dimension does an American supermarket carry curry powder but not cabbage?!

To my knowledge, the above metaphysical quandry did not phase the ajuma in my class in the slightest.

The Root of all Evil

In my lesson this week we touch on the term "telescope." So I write it on the board and ask them for other "tele-" words, like telephone, television, etc. Then I do a quick explanation of the root "tele-" meaning "far" and we move on. However, this morning a new term joined the usual suggestions.

Class 101's offerings:

Television
Telephone
Telepathy
Teletubby

Class 101, you're my problem children, and I love you ^^

and like that vegetable, it tastes good mashed

HILLARY What does Jeju-do look like? Can anyone give me a word that says what Jeju-do looks like?

STUDENT (almost inaudibly) Potato?

True answers

I ask my students about my city's festivals, when they are, what happens, etc.

My city has a grape festival, at which the main event is, apparently, Miss Grape.

Is she like a Rodeo Queen? Or maybe a Strawberry Shortcake character?

There were some OiSK moments lately but I forget them all, or I've already blogged those bad boys.

intro lesson, and teacher miscommunications

Intro lesson:
so at the end of every lesson i've started this thing where my 1st and 2nd graders line up and MUST say one COMPLETE sentence in english from our lesson before they are allowed to leave the classroom. this week is my first so we did an intro lesson practicing the phrases "My name is/I am x years old/My favorite color is .../I like to (verb)"

2nd grade boy: My name piano.

the adorable thing is i could see him mouthing/practicing this phrase over and over again whilst in line, waiting his turn. his dedication to the task was impressive. (A FOR EFFORT)

Teacher miscommunication:
there is this korean teacher, i wrote about him on my blog, who alwys insists on using the WORST english in the world to talk to me ... and i was suppsoed to help him reserach something on the internet and he was supposed to meet me in my classroom at 1pm and i messaged him on Cool Messenger around 12:30 to remind him of 1pm appt. and said "i look forward to seeing you" and i came back from lunch and this message on my door.

"I have gone here. Because of massage. But I come here. no person. I go my classroom. Give me massage"

i was SOOOO confused. i thought he meant he LEFT here because he was getting a massage. and i was sooooo confused .... then i figured it out a little ... and sent him a mEssage ... and he came and we worked out that he came early due to misunderstanding "looking forward" - he thought it meant we're pushing the meeting time up earlier.

cheers. i'm sure my 1st graders will have some good ones tomorrow

hobbits in korea

Answer to my homework question, "What are your hobbies?":

-"My hobbit is make foods."

아저시

Said to me in TKD class by an eight year old:

"아저시, 처기."

Freely Translated: "Old man, stand over there."

I must look really old if people are calling me "어저시" now...

L and R...GET IT RIGHT!

Election. Erection. BIIIG difference.

actual responses to the question, "Please call me..."

male edition

Famous Singer

Mr. Kim

Wonder Woman

Superman

Dog Baby

Raccoon



female edition

Beautiful House

Cow

Happy Pig

Banana

Sexy Geir

Pooh

(x) No, please.