god, i love english!
today i had an unplanned English class because i'm going to write an olympiad in April. i have to say i loved every minute of it, because the teachers were amazing. they turned out to be native speakers which surprised me (in a good way) because i had met a native just once before and he was Irish. these two brilliant men were English and it showed.
first we had speaking with the guy called Jim, who was only 28 (which was quite unusual but quite nice too). he made us split into pairs and discuss various topics. nothing new, but i believe very soon he got it that we're all a bit mentally unwell xDD he seemed a bit awkward though but maybe it's just the way he is. anyway, it was fun and i didn't want him to go.
the other teacher turned up instantly and we carried on with the lesson. this man wrote 'John' on the board and then seconds later added 'Mad' to it xD he was a bit over 50, i guess, quite heavy... however, it's hard to tell his age, he seemed very young if you looked in his eyes. they had a sort of shine to them and were smiling. he reminded me of Bill Bailey, look at Bill in action and you'll get the image. he was very humorous too and i laughed through the two hours of writing we had (writing for god's sake!). it's impossible to tell everything, but here are some things he said:
- i hear a strange language. the only person allowed to speak Russian in my class is me. for you it's either English or Quenya. no, that wasn't a Russian dialect of Quenya, because i can speak it.
- do you want some help? okay then, i'll give you one comma because i'm generous.
- now, am i going to be good or evil... good? no, i don't think so. i'm going to fold these sheets of paper and you're not allowed to look at the other half. that's how evil i am.
- (to some girl) i see you have American English at school. well they speak differently. Americans like words like 'awesome!' and 'outstanding'. to speak British English you need to know a bit more than the two words.
- (explaining the usage of 'henceforth') let me give you an example: '...henceforth referred to as...' by the way, you may also say 'awesome!' if you are speaking American English.
- yes, English people can count. it may be surprising but we are able to do that. sometimes it's a problem for Russian ticket sellers and barmen but we can.
- we never use 'it's raining cats and dogs'. you should say something different... like it's pouring. or you can use some other expressions... which i'm not going to teach you.
- what was it? i haven't heard anybody say 'fizzy easy' since my grandmother died, and she died in the 80s.
- let's write a letter. whom are we writing? who is cool in the world today? Harry Potter? no? what, Sir Paul? i'm not sure he can read, he went to school in Liverpool, i'm warning you.
- (addressing me) ну молодец, мальчик, тогда спокойной ночи.
John also taught us how to pronounce 'albeit'. he said it first and we had to repeat. and then he went like 'albeit. albeeeeiit. albeit-albeit-albeit' each time with different intonation. it all felt like we were at a Queen concert and he was Mercury.
also, he had a funny (in a pleasant way) accent when he spoke Russian. even if he didn't exactly speak it, just said various words, but still. generally, i really just wanted to give him a big hug :) but he went almost without saying goodbye :)
English is always fun for me, but today it was even more so. i went home happy. then i went to sleep and dreamed about John being a teacher by the light of day and an actor by night xDDD that was priceless.
first we had speaking with the guy called Jim, who was only 28 (which was quite unusual but quite nice too). he made us split into pairs and discuss various topics. nothing new, but i believe very soon he got it that we're all a bit mentally unwell xDD he seemed a bit awkward though but maybe it's just the way he is. anyway, it was fun and i didn't want him to go.
the other teacher turned up instantly and we carried on with the lesson. this man wrote 'John' on the board and then seconds later added 'Mad' to it xD he was a bit over 50, i guess, quite heavy... however, it's hard to tell his age, he seemed very young if you looked in his eyes. they had a sort of shine to them and were smiling. he reminded me of Bill Bailey, look at Bill in action and you'll get the image. he was very humorous too and i laughed through the two hours of writing we had (writing for god's sake!). it's impossible to tell everything, but here are some things he said:
- i hear a strange language. the only person allowed to speak Russian in my class is me. for you it's either English or Quenya. no, that wasn't a Russian dialect of Quenya, because i can speak it.
- do you want some help? okay then, i'll give you one comma because i'm generous.
- now, am i going to be good or evil... good? no, i don't think so. i'm going to fold these sheets of paper and you're not allowed to look at the other half. that's how evil i am.
- (to some girl) i see you have American English at school. well they speak differently. Americans like words like 'awesome!' and 'outstanding'. to speak British English you need to know a bit more than the two words.
- (explaining the usage of 'henceforth') let me give you an example: '...henceforth referred to as...' by the way, you may also say 'awesome!' if you are speaking American English.
- yes, English people can count. it may be surprising but we are able to do that. sometimes it's a problem for Russian ticket sellers and barmen but we can.
- we never use 'it's raining cats and dogs'. you should say something different... like it's pouring. or you can use some other expressions... which i'm not going to teach you.
- what was it? i haven't heard anybody say 'fizzy easy' since my grandmother died, and she died in the 80s.
- let's write a letter. whom are we writing? who is cool in the world today? Harry Potter? no? what, Sir Paul? i'm not sure he can read, he went to school in Liverpool, i'm warning you.
- (addressing me) ну молодец, мальчик, тогда спокойной ночи.
John also taught us how to pronounce 'albeit'. he said it first and we had to repeat. and then he went like 'albeit. albeeeeiit. albeit-albeit-albeit' each time with different intonation. it all felt like we were at a Queen concert and he was Mercury.
also, he had a funny (in a pleasant way) accent when he spoke Russian. even if he didn't exactly speak it, just said various words, but still. generally, i really just wanted to give him a big hug :) but he went almost without saying goodbye :)
English is always fun for me, but today it was even more so. i went home happy. then i went to sleep and dreamed about John being a teacher by the light of day and an actor by night xDDD that was priceless.