Ever since my first day teaching, my students have said some pretty unpredictable, strange or just downright hilarious things. In class you learn to expected the unexpected, and I’ve found that a either snappy reaction to turn a comment on its head or good acting skills are my best friends in the classroom when put in a situation that leaves the classroom precariously on the edge of disorder. Funny, awkward or otherwise, these moments in class never cease to make me remember why I adore working with each and every one of my students (although sometimes the situation is not funny until afterwards) and having the chance to get to know them and their vibrant personalities.
As such, I’d like to share these snippets with you. I’ve been keeping track of them, and I’ll post them from time to time. Of course, they are all anonymous for the protection of the innocent. Here we go.
In class, we encourage all the students to speak only in English, and sometimes I’ll call them out on speaking German if I catch them at it when I’m walking around. The cleverest comeback I’ve heard all year actually came from Frank-Frederick’s (you can read about him here, here or here) friend, “Timo”:
N* (to the student speaking German): “That’s an awfully interesting form of English your speaking.”
T: “Oh, it’s a new dialect.”
N*: “Oh really…and it sounds so much like German, too”
T: “Yes, they wanted to make it easier for us.”
Well, you can’t beat that can you? A+ for creativity.
Deine,
N*
The adventures of an English teaching assistant working and living in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany.
Showing posts with label Zing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Zing. Show all posts
Monday, May 23, 2011
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Real Quotes by Real Students – Teacher Old
Ever since my first day teaching, my students have said some pretty unpredictable, strange or just downright hilarious things. In class you learn to expected the unexpected, and I’ve found that a either snappy reaction to turn a comment on its head or good acting skills are my best friends in the classroom when put in a situation that leaves the classroom precariously on the edge of disorder. Funny, awkward or otherwise, these moments in class never cease to make me remember why I adore working with each and every one of my students (although sometimes the situation is not funny until afterwards) and having the chance to get to know them and their vibrant personalities.
To give you an idea of real life in the classroom (and hopefully a laugh or two) I’d like to share these snippets of conversation with you. I’ve been keeping track of them, and I’ll post them from time to time. Of course, they are all anonymous for the protection of the innocent. Here we go.
Today is two for one day at “Real Quotes by Real Students.”
My first day in the 7th grade class I work with on Mondays, the class of 28 students literally asked me questions for 45 minutes. A major contributor to this lengthy session was a talkative young man named “Fabian”. He fired off these two gems among his many queries:
“Are there some gangsters in your town?” I was not expecting this, but I guess that if you watch movies that come out of Hollywood, and you’ve never been to the U.S., this is a valid question. And well, there are some gangsters some places in the country. :)
This was followed by:
“Do you have a boyfriend?”
Teacher: “Oh, you have an admirer.”
F: “No, she’s much too old for me!”
Well, glad that we’re clear about that. Apparently, I’ve entered the realm of “teacher old.”
Deine,
N*
To give you an idea of real life in the classroom (and hopefully a laugh or two) I’d like to share these snippets of conversation with you. I’ve been keeping track of them, and I’ll post them from time to time. Of course, they are all anonymous for the protection of the innocent. Here we go.
Today is two for one day at “Real Quotes by Real Students.”
My first day in the 7th grade class I work with on Mondays, the class of 28 students literally asked me questions for 45 minutes. A major contributor to this lengthy session was a talkative young man named “Fabian”. He fired off these two gems among his many queries:
“Are there some gangsters in your town?” I was not expecting this, but I guess that if you watch movies that come out of Hollywood, and you’ve never been to the U.S., this is a valid question. And well, there are some gangsters some places in the country. :)
This was followed by:
“Do you have a boyfriend?”
Teacher: “Oh, you have an admirer.”
F: “No, she’s much too old for me!”
Well, glad that we’re clear about that. Apparently, I’ve entered the realm of “teacher old.”
Deine,
N*
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Real Quotes by Real Students – Spot On
Ever since my first day teaching, my students have said some pretty unpredictable, strange or just downright hilarious things. In class you learn to expected the unexpected, and I’ve found that a either snappy reaction to turn a comment on its head or good acting skills are my best friends in the classroom when put in a situation that leaves the classroom precariously on the edge of disorder. Funny, awkward or otherwise, these moments in class never cease to make me remember why I adore working with each and every one of my students (although sometimes the situation is not funny until afterwards) and having the chance to get to know them and their vibrant personalities.
To give you an idea of real life in the classroom (and hopefully a laugh or two) I’d like to share these snippets of conversation with you. I’ve been keeping track of them, and I’ll post them from time to time. Of course, they are all anonymous for the protection of the innocent. Here we go.
I was not privy to this conversation, which actually took place in German, but H told me about it later. It took place during in the 5th grade class, while H was spending a month observing the student teacher and I was just observing, rather than assisting for that time. There were often a lot of problems during the class; needless to say, it was not my favorite time of day. Apparently this was more obvious (at least to my seatmate – a highly perceptive…and sometimes disruptive…young man) than I thought.
“Richard”: Mrs. H, I think N* likes me.
H: What makes you think that?
R: Well, sometimes she smiles at me, but she doesn’t smile at Mrs. Student Teacher.”
Zing. In my defense, let me just say that none of the other teachers smile at “Mrs. Student Teacher” while she’s teaching either.
Deine,
N*
To give you an idea of real life in the classroom (and hopefully a laugh or two) I’d like to share these snippets of conversation with you. I’ve been keeping track of them, and I’ll post them from time to time. Of course, they are all anonymous for the protection of the innocent. Here we go.
I was not privy to this conversation, which actually took place in German, but H told me about it later. It took place during in the 5th grade class, while H was spending a month observing the student teacher and I was just observing, rather than assisting for that time. There were often a lot of problems during the class; needless to say, it was not my favorite time of day. Apparently this was more obvious (at least to my seatmate – a highly perceptive…and sometimes disruptive…young man) than I thought.
“Richard”: Mrs. H, I think N* likes me.
H: What makes you think that?
R: Well, sometimes she smiles at me, but she doesn’t smile at Mrs. Student Teacher.”
Zing. In my defense, let me just say that none of the other teachers smile at “Mrs. Student Teacher” while she’s teaching either.
Deine,
N*
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