If you read those comments, it seems that my computer literate munchkins think I have been nagging to much of late. Grumbled clichés along the lines of...it takes two to tango, nagging is a two way street...and then the old parental tried and true...if you'd listen, I wouldn't have to nag....then the various threats that supposedly get us out of nagging, but that we have to subsequently nag to enforce...fun wow....
Classes went well today, I played some new games with the little ones, some worked well...I wrote the names of some of the objects in the room on the board along with some action verbs, sit down, stand up, lie down...then I pointed and said it and they had to race to do it....the number counting game didn't work, sit in a circle and try to count up...I'll add an object to pass.
The older kids, 17, 18, 19, 20....they talk in Catalan all the time....ALL. THE. TIME. Urgh...Simple solution....they have a bank account with me, every time they speak in Catalan, 50 cents....we'll buy a pizza when we have enough...then one student said that she didn't have enough money, she has two jobs already...evil teacher thoughts crossed my mind, such as...well, talk only in English and you won't have to cough up....but we altered it instead and they when they get to a certain level, they have to bring in food for the whole class...It worked a charm today anyway.
For the rowdy 13 and 14 year olds I have evolved a game/joke/punishment...every time they speak in Catalan, they get a mark off, then once they have three, they have to pull a card out of a box and do what it says, such as....name 10 foods in English, I have several cards with tongue twisters, lists of improbable words they have to make a sentence out of....
You may or may not notice (probably not) that I have included some ESL sites on the blog...this is part of my own internal on-line filing system, if I put it there, I can find the site when I am at work and don't have my bookmarked list at hand...
There's the latest from my corner.
3 comments:
You're quite the original thinking teacher. Wish I'd had you as my French teacher - I might have learned to speak some French!
(Saw that comment by anonymous - smart, cute kids you've got.)
Awesome. She went onto your blog to ask you to stop nagging? Man, life has changed since I was a kid. Back then, we E-MAILED mom.
Not really. I'm older than that. I just wrote my message on a piece of paper, tied it to a brick and threw it through her bedroom window.
Beth: I have to confess that I found some of the ideas on line in the ESL pages....they are smart cute kids...I think.
DD:Sure has changed, and a lot easier to clean up if its a comment on a blog rather than a brick through a window.
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