The first class of any semester is always a bit nerve-wracking (scary) for everyone - students and teacher alike. So I was pleased to see at least two familiar faces and hope that the rest become as familiar during the weeks to come.
The first class is also the time when what my tutors used to call "house-keeping" takes place: that means that expectations, rules, exam formats etc. are explained. But the very fact that it IS the first class means many people (sometimes even the teacher) forget a lot of what was said. So here - in case anyone forgets later - are the main items we covered:
1. No-one in class is under 18 years old. This means that each person in the room is an adult and will be treated as one. As well as learning not to giggle if you are addressed as Ladies or Gentlemen, behaving as an adult means that you must take responsibility for your actions. So:-
a)If you don't want to come to class then don't. However, if you choose not to come then
find out if any homework was given, or anything important discussed. Saying "I wasn't
there that day" is a cop-out (an irresponsible, childish response) and is not acceptable:
it was your choice - you are responsible.
b)If you don't come to class don't hide or lie like a child: - send me an email or send a note
with a class-mate saying you will be absent.
c)If you miss a lot of classes then don't expect to get good marks - that's pretty simple.
d)If you are so tired that you cannot stay awake then go back to your dorm and sleep. It
is extremely bad manners to put your head down on the desk during class-time and
sleep. It's also a complete waste of your time and mine. If you stay up late the night
before knowing you will be too tired the next day that's your responsibility.
2. If I ask a question it is very impolite not to answer. So, when I ask a question of the class
and no-one answers I'll write the number 100 on the board. If no-one still answers I'll write the number 150. I'll go on adding 50 points to the number on the board until someone answers. Whatever number is on the board by the time someone answers will be the number of words of extra work you will do for homework. 0 to 1,000 - it's your responsibility.
3. My name is Cireena. Not Mrs Cireena. Not Miss Cireena. Just Cireena. Use it.
4. Don't use "so-so". It's old-fashioned and it's Chinglish. Say "Not bad" or just "O.k." or
"All-right". (e.g. "How was your week end?" ""Not bad.")
5. Never use the phrase "As we all know..." Even if you are saying "As we all know...the sky is blue." that might not be correct. If a person is colour-blind (can't tell different colours apart) the sky might look green to them! It's condescending (makes the other person look/feel inferior )to use this phrase because not everyone in the world knows the same things you do.
6. The word "delicious" is more commonly used as a written descriptor than a spoken one. It is more common to say the food was "Good" "Great"...or even "Yummy".
7. Unless you live in America a "bathroom" is a room which has a bath/shower in it. The word toilet is acceptable by all nowadays, but the word "loo" is just as common for those who still don't like to say "toilet".
8. Respect! The most important way to build an harmonious society is to show respect for all others in that society. Do NOT talk while your classmates are talking, or play games on your phone. This is impolite and shows lack of respect to everyone.
In class we talked about the difference between the way some people saw the two shoe-throwing incidents (things that happened) that have happened recently to two politicians. We explored the reason why some people laughed when it happened to one world leader, but got irate (irritated and/or angry) when it happened to another.
We also discussed the way I'm going to evaluate your work at the end of term (exams). What's going to happen is that in the middle of the semester (probably around the 7th week) I'll divide you into small groups and give each group a topic. To end of each class after that a group will be asked to present their topic to the rest of us. Half of your final mark will be given as a result of your presentation.
At the end of the semester there will be a written test. This is not an exam that you must study for. Instead I shall give you probably 5 questions asking your OPINIONs on certain things. You must discuss these five questions according to what YOU think. Not according to what anyone else thinks.
FINALLY............I wrote the two words: NATIONALISM and PATRIOTISM on the blackboard. I asked you to tell me next week whether these two words mean the same thing? If they don't then tell me what you think is the difference between them. Do you think that patriotism or nationalism is good or bad? Can it be both? This is what we are going to discuss at our next lesson.
So, o.k., that wasn't so bad, was it? It wasn't all terribly serious - in between we managed to start learning each others names and even had a few laughs.
See you next Monday.
The first class is also the time when what my tutors used to call "house-keeping" takes place: that means that expectations, rules, exam formats etc. are explained. But the very fact that it IS the first class means many people (sometimes even the teacher) forget a lot of what was said. So here - in case anyone forgets later - are the main items we covered:
1. No-one in class is under 18 years old. This means that each person in the room is an adult and will be treated as one. As well as learning not to giggle if you are addressed as Ladies or Gentlemen, behaving as an adult means that you must take responsibility for your actions. So:-
a)If you don't want to come to class then don't. However, if you choose not to come then
find out if any homework was given, or anything important discussed. Saying "I wasn't
there that day" is a cop-out (an irresponsible, childish response) and is not acceptable:
it was your choice - you are responsible.
b)If you don't come to class don't hide or lie like a child: - send me an email or send a note
with a class-mate saying you will be absent.
c)If you miss a lot of classes then don't expect to get good marks - that's pretty simple.
d)If you are so tired that you cannot stay awake then go back to your dorm and sleep. It
is extremely bad manners to put your head down on the desk during class-time and
sleep. It's also a complete waste of your time and mine. If you stay up late the night
before knowing you will be too tired the next day that's your responsibility.
2. If I ask a question it is very impolite not to answer. So, when I ask a question of the class
and no-one answers I'll write the number 100 on the board. If no-one still answers I'll write the number 150. I'll go on adding 50 points to the number on the board until someone answers. Whatever number is on the board by the time someone answers will be the number of words of extra work you will do for homework. 0 to 1,000 - it's your responsibility.
3. My name is Cireena. Not Mrs Cireena. Not Miss Cireena. Just Cireena. Use it.
4. Don't use "so-so". It's old-fashioned and it's Chinglish. Say "Not bad" or just "O.k." or
"All-right". (e.g. "How was your week end?" ""Not bad.")
5. Never use the phrase "As we all know..." Even if you are saying "As we all know...the sky is blue." that might not be correct. If a person is colour-blind (can't tell different colours apart) the sky might look green to them! It's condescending (makes the other person look/feel inferior )to use this phrase because not everyone in the world knows the same things you do.
6. The word "delicious" is more commonly used as a written descriptor than a spoken one. It is more common to say the food was "Good" "Great"...or even "Yummy".
7. Unless you live in America a "bathroom" is a room which has a bath/shower in it. The word toilet is acceptable by all nowadays, but the word "loo" is just as common for those who still don't like to say "toilet".
8. Respect! The most important way to build an harmonious society is to show respect for all others in that society. Do NOT talk while your classmates are talking, or play games on your phone. This is impolite and shows lack of respect to everyone.
In class we talked about the difference between the way some people saw the two shoe-throwing incidents (things that happened) that have happened recently to two politicians. We explored the reason why some people laughed when it happened to one world leader, but got irate (irritated and/or angry) when it happened to another.
We also discussed the way I'm going to evaluate your work at the end of term (exams). What's going to happen is that in the middle of the semester (probably around the 7th week) I'll divide you into small groups and give each group a topic. To end of each class after that a group will be asked to present their topic to the rest of us. Half of your final mark will be given as a result of your presentation.
At the end of the semester there will be a written test. This is not an exam that you must study for. Instead I shall give you probably 5 questions asking your OPINIONs on certain things. You must discuss these five questions according to what YOU think. Not according to what anyone else thinks.
FINALLY............I wrote the two words: NATIONALISM and PATRIOTISM on the blackboard. I asked you to tell me next week whether these two words mean the same thing? If they don't then tell me what you think is the difference between them. Do you think that patriotism or nationalism is good or bad? Can it be both? This is what we are going to discuss at our next lesson.
So, o.k., that wasn't so bad, was it? It wasn't all terribly serious - in between we managed to start learning each others names and even had a few laughs.
See you next Monday.
Hello,Cireena,I am Lucy,and my number is 074010302.It is my privilege to take part in your class.At the first class,I did not catch all you said.But your article gives me a detail explaination,thanks a lot.
ReplyDeleteHello,Cireena.I'm sophie.It's my first time to make a comment on your blog. In the first class, I felt a little nervous. I was afriad to be asked and couldn't answer your questions.But you seemed so patient and always gave us detailed explanations.Soon I felt dicussion sometimes could be interesting.I think I will learn much from your class.
ReplyDeleteLucy,
ReplyDeleteI'm glad that this article helped you. I know I speak fast even though I do try to slow down so I don't expect students to catch every word.
Sophie,
Good on you for making a comment! Don't be afraid if you can't answer a question. I can assure you that if I was to sit in on a class about maths. or something, I wouldn't know ANY answers!! And we all get nervous at times. Its just part of being a human being, so don't worry about it.
Cireena:
ReplyDeletemaybe it's not polite to say, but I'm sorry that I couldn't find the artical you recommended during the last class on 23rd,Feb.I still remember that the title you gave is "How to Write an Essay".So maybe I won't have honor to read that before the Monday class for I don't have a PC for my own.
Sorry again!
Hope to see you tomorrow~
Hey Garibella,
ReplyDeleteGoodness, why on earth wouldn't it be "polite" to tell me you are having a problem? That's what this site is for: to let me know when that happens.
o.k. The Full title of the article is "How to Write an Essay The Professional Way." However, you will see that, at the end of each article, there is a tag which says "labels" and after this come a list of different words that were used in the article.
If you can't find something then all you have to do is write some of the words that appeared in the article. In this case, as the article was about how to write an essay, that is surely a word that will be in the article.
At the left side up the top of the blog there is a search engine for the site. Type the word essay in there, press Find, and it will bring the article.
So if ever there is an article you want to find you can either a) type your class number in there or b) type in a word that the article was about e.g. homework, Gandhi, etc. or c) contact me.
Ok.? Yeah, I know it's a problem, for my first two years at University I didn't have access to a computer either and had to spend hours in the library using a public one. But it does teach us how to search for things quickly and efficiently when we have to do it that way, I guess.
I LOVE THE CLASS
ReplyDeletethe idea is open we can talk anything we think
but my English is not good, I am a little nervious
Candy,
ReplyDeleteDon't worry about your English - it's your ideas that we are all interested in. Hopefully you will lose your nervousness when you realise that others who are just as nervous as you speak out.