I Told You There Would Be Engrish

Workday - 8:15am-6:00pm

Although we're in our third week of school now, and I feel settled into routine myself, things still aren't really settled. As usual (and as expected), I'm still getting new students in every class. I'm also losing a couple in some classes. Getting new students 2+ weeks into the semester is really annoying. I have enough already scheduled to do that period, and suddenly it all has to be put on hold for 5-10 minutes while I get the new guy/girl caught up. It's especially difficult in my beginner keyboarding class because those first two weeks are crucial as they're learning the basics. In those two weeks the class has gone from knowing nothing about music to reading notes in both clefs and playing pieces of music with both hands together (among other things). I've also explained a lot about how the class works and what they can expect over the semester. That's two weeks of talking I can't exactly sum up in a few minutes to a new student. The best "way out" is to partner them with other students who can help them catch up. Unfortunately, that rarely works. Students are too shy, don't help others , don't ask for help, don't want to be bothered.

It's actually easiest to get latecomers in my ESL careers class. I just give them the handouts they missed and say, "Finish these at home. If you have any questions, ask (name of student sitting beside him/her)".

That class is going well. It's quite low-pressure. I have them writing journals as much as I can just to get them in the habit of writing. I don't care how poor their English skills are, though the poorer ones are the most fun to read.

I'm sure there will be plenty of Engrish to come, but right now I only have one sample from their first journal. I asked what they hoped to learn from this course.

"I want to do the math teacher. I hope this careers class will help me learn to do the math teacher"

I hope she isn't too disappointed that I definitely will not be teaching that.

*snicker*