Global Traveler

More Wisdom From My Students

First, a special thanks to Auntie Don for calling me twice! It made my day though I hate the end rush of okayohmygodonlyaminuteleftihatethisphonecardokayiloveyouthanksforcallingiloveyoubye!
I'm all knuckles.

Anyway, I apologize for not being as good as Jed about updating my site often.

But without further adieu, here are some more great sayings that get me through the days of an often tedious job...

*There is an info section on each student that we are supposed to read before the lesson in case they have special needs. In one, I read that this student killed her cat with scissors. She doesn't remember but her mother told her about it.

*During a lesson on preferences and supporting your opinions a student said, "I prefer a relaxing vacation because I am a lazy man."

*During a lesson with a beginner student where she must have lacked vocabulary knowledge, "I like sushi." Immediately followed by, "I hate seafood."

*In a lesson comparing the past and present, "5 years ago, I was lazy and wide."

*Sometimes getting students to repeat me can be endlessly exhausting:
ME: "I like pizza. Repeat."
STUDENT: "I like pizza. Repeat."

*I asked one student how long she had been studying English. Thinking I was actually asking her how long she will study English she answered, "I study English until the end of my life."

*A student actually used the expression, "Slow boat to China." Meaning, he actually took a slow boat to China and he wished he took a plane. This is one of those expressions my father likes to use as a way of showing off what he thinks is superior knowledge. Like, sophomoric.

*One of my favorites, I asked a student to find a more tactful way of telling someone they look fat. She suggested, "Your skull looks full."

*I often find the people in this country robotic. Proving this was when one student asked me, "What is emotion?"

*I asked one woman where she would like to go. She replied, "I would like to go to New York and have thick beef."

*During a lesson on reflexives, I asked a man to tell me something he could not do by himself when he was younger. He was a higer level student and replied, "When I was a child, I could not wear clothes by myself."

*One woman told me she teaches songs to very small handicapped children. Songs like 'The Muffin Man.' The other student wanted to know why she didn't sing Jessica Simpson or Mariah Carey.

*"Bush would enjoy Geisha." I am sure he would. (Maybe has.)

*We always open with questions for the students to ask eachother as a way of warming up.
STUDENT A: "Are you a student?"
STUDENT b: "No, I am a real adult."

*Usually these questions are the basic introductory questions, but one of my students opted for a different approach: "What is the currency of Iraq?" Silence. "What is the currency of Greece?"

SOME ADDITIONAL NOTES OF INTEREST:
**I taught the appointed financial advisor to Osaka of PM Koizumi.
**I taught a woman whose sister graduated from UMASS Boston.
**A student told me that the news reports said that this is Japan's hottest summer in 100 years and that I am unlucky.

The fun just never stops! Until it does.

Posted by karen at August 24, 2004 09:41 PM