I had suspected that people hadn't been logging on to their class blogs - so perhaps it was my fault because I hadn't stressed the need to do so enough. I know that there are some of you who find it difficult to follow what I am saying so reading these articles is absolutely necessary if you are going to get any benefit from this class.
However, I also suspect that most of you don't take this class very seriously: you feel that, now you know you have been chosen to go overseas, you don't need to worry any more, Some of you may even think that you will be doing the same things there as you do here only it will be a bit colder and the countryside will look different.
Guys, your whole lives are going to change once you get on that aeroplane. Nothing is going to be familiar and you won't have your family around to support you. Its a huge adventure, sure, but it could be a huge failure or the worst time of your life if you are not prepared.
There are some of you who cannot follow what I say in class - its going to be almost impossible for you to follow what your foriegn teachers, people in shops, your classmates, in fact all the people around you, are saying. This need not be too much of a problem if you are able to work on your own...but you have to have the skills to do this. As I have tried to tell you: - your childhood is over and once you land overseas people who know nothing about China won't understand that you are not used to doing things for yourselves: and that includes your work.
Even people going on holidays to a different country spend a lot of time researching: finding about the customs, the way of dressing, what is considered polite and what is considered absolutely unacceptable before they go. Your not going on holidays - you are going to live there AND, as I have said a few times, you are going to represent your country. Plus, of course, you are going to have to learn as much as you possibly can about your subject so that you can bring skills back with you to benefit your own country.
Getting the most you can out of these classes and at least reading these articles is the very least you can do. I know that you probably think I am a very unsympathetic teacher but honestly, the reason I may seem to stern is because I worry about you and want you to be happy and content. I don't want one single one of you to feel sad or lost or unhappy in Sweden- especially as there is no need for you to feel that way. Even if you all dislike me and your classes, I will be happy if only you are happy in your new adventure.
We spoke in class about the whole Hippy movement yesterday which, I actually wrote about in the last article, so I'm not going to repeat that information here. I hope it helps you to understand why people are not always going to react in the same way to certain things as you are used to - and that older people, your teachers etc. are probably not going to seem the same in their thinking as, for example, your teachers here.
We also did some vocabulary work about something very ordinary - our faces. Most of you will have learned about ears, noses, etc. way back in primary school. But there were other things that many of you were not clear on, so I hope my wonderful picture of the beautiful face helped you!
wrinkles...the lines on our faces we get as we become older
pimples...those horrible little spots that always seem to appear just when we don't want them
freckles...the little brown spots many Westerner have on their skin, usually from the sun
dimples...the cute little holes some people have in their cheeks when they smile
bald...a person whose hair has fallen out: mostly older men
skin-head...someone who had removed all their hair: mostly younger men (though I did it once!)
ear-lobe...that little piece at the bottom of our ear where most people wear earrings in China
rim...the very top part of our ear where not quite so many people wear little earrings
cheeks...the two fleshy parts of our face - and also of our bottoms (bums)!
nostrils...the two holes in our nose through which we breathe
bridge...the hard, bony part of our nose. Easily breakable. Also on glasses
eye-brow...the line of little hairs above our eye
eye-lid...the skin which allows us to close our eyes
eye-lashes...the hairs around our eyes on which females put mascara (make-up). Many of us also put make-up on our eye lids: this is called eye-shadow. People also draw a darker line around the edge of their eye lids, this is called eye-liner.
iris...the coloured part of our eye
pupil...the black hole in the middle of our eyes through which we see
lens...the part which enables us to see: so the glass part of a pair of glasses
The liquid in a bottle some women put on their faces to make it looks smooth is called base,or foundation or liquid make-up; over this, or instead of this we put powder; the pink colour some use on their cheeks is called blusher. Some also make their eye-brows look darker by using an eye-prow pencil. But before we put any make-up on at all , or even when we don't use make-up at all, most people (even men in the West)
glasses are made up of glass lenses, a bridge which fits over our nose and arms which hook around our ears.
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dear cireena;if you don't mind ,i'd like to ask a question，what should we prepare for pop quiz?thank you!
ReplyDeleteDear cireena:
ReplyDeleteI'm John
after reading your article,I was moved because of your kindness and hot-hearted.You are so enthusiastic that you are always full of passion.Although I can not understand the words all you said and get all the accurate information from you,it's OK if i can do better than last class.I have learned many things in your class,you are always a good teacher in my mind.
Yaaay! Welcome Emma. You're the first student from this class to make a comment! I'm so very pleased to see you.
ReplyDeleteAnd no, of course I don't mind you asking questions - that is the whole purpose of this blog.
O.k. - well, if you have looked up the meaning of Pop Quiz you will have seen that it means a sort of spoken test. But, the reason its called a POP quix is because it is given with no warning i.e. no preparation.
So by telling you about it I actually cheated a little: students aren't supposed to be able to prepare - its a way for a teacher to see who ia having difficulties, who has been doing their homework, etc. etc.
I cannot, therefore, tell you what to prepare - I would simply suggest that a student who has paid attention in class and/or read all the homework articles on this blog will do o.k.
And please don't stress about it - its not for marks. It might even be fun!
John,
ReplyDeleteI am delighted that you have made a comment. That's made me very happy.
Yes, I know that many of the students don't understand very well - that is why its important to read these class notes after every class because I've fou dmost people can read English a lot better than they understand it when a native English speaker talks.
Remember too, most of your new teachers will be speaking with different accents to me and perhaps a little faster.
I certainly hope that as each class goes by you do understand a little more, as you said. And don't forget, if you are too shy to ask questions in class, you can always use this space to ask me anything at all that you are not clear about. o.k.?
Good to hear from you.
hi Cireena
ReplyDeleteI am so moved after reading your article. I must admit that there still have some words that I donot undetstand in the class,but after looking over this article I can almost grasp many words cleatly, thank you so much.
meanwhile I also want to suggest that can you classify your articles,because i could hardly find the articles about our class immediately,I think if the teacher you can classify the catalogs according to the class,then we can find the things we want.
And can I ask you another question?
How do you test us?Face to face or something else??
thank you
Flora
Flora,
ReplyDeleteI am not sure how else I could classify the article? The Index on the left is really the only way this Programme works.
That's once of the reasons I ask students to read their articles every week: - their article will stay in the window at the left for one week so they don't have to go looking for it, but can click on it directly.
I'm so sorry you had problems finding yours, but am very glad that you managed to find it in the end. And even more pleased that you wrote a comment.
To Everyone
ReplyDeleteABOUT THE FINAL TEST -
There will be a vocabularly test - and also I will see each student face to face. I'll ask them during that interview to tell me things they have learned about Sweden and The West.
Again:- its better to read your class articles every week and keep up, than to leave it until the end of the semester and try to learn everything then.