Adventures in English Teaching (Forget chemo, grill me up some porcupine!)
It's spam day! Apparently.
I said "f***" and "sh**" in class today. Some students said they heard those words a lot in movies and they wanted to know how to use them, so we talked about register and understanding appropriate and inappropriate times for certain language. But other students didn't know the words we were talking about, and pronunciation became an issue, so in addition to writing them on the board (after checking that the blinds were closed) I had to say the words--repeatedly, to emphasize the difference, for instance, between "beach" and "bitch" to a Spanish speaker, and "sheet" and "sh**." I'm sure I was blushing a bit. I don't mind a good swear at an appropriate time, but I don't do it myself because I just can never pull it off convincingly. I do think it's important to talk about these things that aren't going to show up in any of their textbooks, and they usually appreciate it. I'm glad when they feel comfortable enough to ask.
Later, while we were doing picture vocabulary in preparation for reading another chapter of Swiss Family Robinson, a student insisted that porcupine meat can treat cancer. He said there are scientific studies to prove it. Um, okay. All Google tells me is that the wild herb oxalis (wood sorrel) has been used both to season porcupine meat and in compresses for cancer.
I said "f***" and "sh**" in class today. Some students said they heard those words a lot in movies and they wanted to know how to use them, so we talked about register and understanding appropriate and inappropriate times for certain language. But other students didn't know the words we were talking about, and pronunciation became an issue, so in addition to writing them on the board (after checking that the blinds were closed) I had to say the words--repeatedly, to emphasize the difference, for instance, between "beach" and "bitch" to a Spanish speaker, and "sheet" and "sh**." I'm sure I was blushing a bit. I don't mind a good swear at an appropriate time, but I don't do it myself because I just can never pull it off convincingly. I do think it's important to talk about these things that aren't going to show up in any of their textbooks, and they usually appreciate it. I'm glad when they feel comfortable enough to ask.
Later, while we were doing picture vocabulary in preparation for reading another chapter of Swiss Family Robinson, a student insisted that porcupine meat can treat cancer. He said there are scientific studies to prove it. Um, okay. All Google tells me is that the wild herb oxalis (wood sorrel) has been used both to season porcupine meat and in compresses for cancer.