Today was my first day teaching a class, as a matter of fact
we are in class as I write this, they are writing and so too am I. We started
with interviews in partners and we have presented these introductions orally,
now they are introducing themselves to me in writing. So far the comprehension of
oral English has been no different than if I was teaching a class of students
in Masset. Speaking is another matter and of course there are words that give
them problems but so far their speaking skills are very good. Of course there
is the natural tendency to compare to what you know and I am trying to remember
when I was their age and in French class, I know we were not this good. Music,
movies, television, internet, so much of what students are exposed to
reinforces their learning of the English language, but who in Canada chooses to
go home and watch French TV?
For their interviews in partners they made up the questions,
one of which was the location for their dream vacation, so many would like to
go to the United States. Classes here will study as a thematic unit ‘The
American Dream’. I guess living close to the U.S. makes them just a part of our
everyday living, they are there, we want to beat them in hockey, but the
fascination with American culture for us is just pop culture, not ‘American’ so
much but just there, a presence. Here (in Denmark) America is a distant land of
intrigue and celebrity, I guess we in Canada are just over it?
They are familiar with Canada too, in my first class someone
asked me if I knew Justin Bieber, I think she was joking.
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