Tous Les Jours

who thought i'd come to Korea and be at an advantage knowing French?!? well, i guess it isn't really an advantage, it's only one store - but i found bagels and philly cream cheese there... and not too expensive either! yay! i'll have a bagel for breakfast tomorrow... they aren't anything compared to Montreal bagels - those are my favourite - but they're sort of like New York Bagels, really like a cross between the two. anyhow, today must have been the day for french, because one of my students walked up to me and started speaking it to me! and it was very good - better than her english! (which isn't hard in these parts) she lived in France for one year and picked it up while she was there - good for her - if only she would do so well with her english...

i guess i haven't really written all that much about the teaching itself, have i? it's a lot harder than i thought it would be and also a lot easier than i thought it would be. many students just don't care - but that's like middle school anywhere i suppose. i mean, how interested was i in my french class in high school? not very. but i already had a very good base in it by then - these kids don't. they've never had a native english speaking teacher before so they're scared to talk to me. i'm sure they have a decent vocabulary and a basic understanding of the language but they just don't use it like they should. that's what i'm here for - getting them used to speaking english and making them want to speak it... easier said than done.

a bunch of my "team-teachers" (not sure why they're called that since they don't do anything in class) want me to follow the "middle school english" text book. which would be fine if it was a) accurate and b) interesting (to me and the students) which it isn't. it's full of errors "the fishes live in the ocean" and such. the worst part is that in every chapter there is a "talk and talk" section (my section) that has small dialogues for the kids to read, and half the time they aren't logical... i'll post an example tomorrow since i don't bring the text home with me. it really is boring too, and that's exactly what i don't need...

i need to get these kids interested and revved up to learn, and the book just doesn't cut it... they might as well have a korean teacher doing those lessons, especially since they have a CD with foreigners speaking that they can listen to... i'm trying to create more fun lessons, but it's an uphill battle with the other teachers who insist on using the book... i'll turn them around eventually - i hope.

a demain!