Funny things that have happened in class...

     When you're working with new language learners, there are bound to be some pretty hilarious snafus. The kids that I teach are used to lecture-style learning and copying things down, so they struggle with an entire hour of nothing but me asking them questions.

     Often, these kids just say yes to whatever I ask because they think I will stop pestering them if they say something. Wrong. That's not my job. My job is to pull conversation out of each and every student in my small group, even if it's like pulling teeth. Maybe that's not written in the contract, but that's what I feel to be my purpose at the moment.

     Today, I asked one girl what she had eaten for breakfast. We were working on the preterite, and I wanted to be sure that they said ate- like the number, I told them- not hate. French people have trouble pronouncing "h" and "th" sounds, which can also be funny; try to get one to say "the thistle in the thornbush." Struggle fest. Anyway, the poor girl answered with her name. "What did you eat this morning?" "Louisa!" was her triumphant answer. The class erupted in laughter, and I had to explain cannibalism.

     In the first few classes I taught, I asked my students what stereotypes they have of Americans. My favorite answer: "Americans wake up in the morning, roll over, and there is a hamburger just waiting by their bedside."

In this case the hamburger may just be your bed. 

     My marital status and age are a frequent topic of discussion. Most of my classes thought I didn't speak French at first, so the snippets of conversation that I heard along the way were pretty great. Some young lads were even bold enough to ask for my hand. One fourteen year old asked if I was married, and I said non. He assured me that his mom had given him enough money for us to start a life together, I just had to say oui. He also told me that he plays rugby and is rather muscular for his age. Wow. Who can compete with that?