Summer Classes

When I met my new students (I'm taking over classes, in addition to my first class, for two other instructors who are going on vacations) on Monday, both in the morning and in the evening, I was struck by the differences between the classes. In the morning, I teach advanced ESL speaking and listening skills, and the majority of my students are from Asian countries, with a scattering from other parts of the world. In the evening, I teach intermediate ESL writing, and the majority of my students are from African countries or Central and South American countries.

Interestingly, I'm finding that my students are very well placed at their respective levels. The students in the morning class definitely need to work on speaking and hearing English--they all come from countries where they are taught English grammar and reading as a part of their school curriculum, but the majority of them have had little experience with spoken English. About half of them are exchange students who will go back to their home countries in a year. In the evening, most of my students are U.S. residents who have been in the country for a few years and who have excellent spoken English (because they live here and have jobs) but very little experience with written English. Each group of students is teaching me volumes about the world, and I've gained a lot of new insights into various cultures.

For example, during a discussion of superstitions, my Chinese students in my morning class taught me that the number 4 is a bad luck number in China. They build buildings that "skip" the fourth floor and go straight from the third floor to the fifth floor when you look at the numbers on the elevator buttons.

When I was getting to know my night class, one of the questions I asked them was, "Are you married, or do you have a boyfriend or girlfriend, or are you single?"

To my surprise, one of my African students answered, "I'm single and I have a boyfriend."

Some of the other students were confused by this, as was I. Another African student was quick to explain that in his country, and according to his religion, a person can either be married or be single--there's not really such a thing as a boyfriend or girlfriend. You're single until you're married--and getting married is not a choice. Everyone must do it. Because the girl who answered the question has lived in the United States for a few years, she has assimilated enough American culture that she has a boyfriend, but she still considers herself single because she is not married. I hadn't really thought about this before, but in many cultures my question would have been phrased, "Are you married or are you single?" because there aren't any other options.

I think I'm learning as much as my students. I love teaching!