Here's an unexpected cultural difference for you: laughter.
My students laugh at me all the time. They laugh when they're nervous, they laugh when I say something funny. They laugh when they don't know the answer, they laugh when I try to explain something in French.
Isn't it rather cruel, or is that just teenagers?
My American kiddos were always to petrified to say anything out of turn.
My Austrian kids were always so serious, except for the one jokester (der Spassvogel). There's one in every class.
Laughter makes me nervous. Laughter makes me sad.
I wish I could laugh back at my students, but someone has to be the professional in the room.
Showing posts with label English language. Show all posts
Showing posts with label English language. Show all posts
Friday, February 1, 2013
Sunday, January 13, 2013
Aux Armes?
I did a lesson on American vs. French stereotypes before the holidays, and one of the things that constantly came up was:
Thank goodness someone with more sense also wrote an opinion piece I found on Gawker: "The Unbearable Invisibility of White Masculinity," by David Leonard, I found much more to the point. In it, Mr. Leonard argues that portraying a mass killer as a victim just because he is or was white (he cites the Wampole article as well) is inexcusable, and a privilege that apparently comes with being white. One of the underlying reasons, he argues, that people are so shocked over the Newtown killings, and the movie theater shooting in Aurora, CO, over the summer, is partly due to the fact that they occurred in mostly white, suburban neighborhoods that are supposed to be safe--as opposed to the south side of Chicago, which is mostly black and obviously unsafe. People expect to be murdered out there.
Obviously, I'm just expressing my own opinions and frustrations now, since those pieces are way too tough for my students, too. I found a much simpler article from US News & World Report complete with gun pictures (I honestly had no idea what an AK-47 or an M16 looked like before I read the article); that should start them off--from there, I'll drop a few gun stats and ask some probing questions. That will fill an hour, and maybe even give the kids some food for thought.
AMERICANS LOVE GUNS AND ALL AMERICANS OWN AT LEAST ONE.
In the aftermath of yet another gun tragedy (this time in Newtown, CT), and a renewed interest in debating gun control back home, I decided, since the stereotype is becoming all too real and evermore difficult for me to defend as...well, a stereotype and NOT TRUE, that I would like to do a lesson on gun control with my students.
It totally plays into the subjects they expect us to prepares students for, too: gun control could fit (with or without a little maneuvering) into "Myth and Hero," or "Spaces and Exchanges," or even "Places and Forms of Power." The topics are so vague, it's not much of a stretch at all.
It doesn't really matter if the kids like it or not, anyway, but I'm betting they will. It's a hot topic right now, and it would do them some good to catch up on current events. And it's definitely more interesting for me than listening to them recount their weekends, or tell me what they ate for Christmas dinner--the lessons of the past week--why prepare for an empty crowd, after all?
In my research, I've come up with some interesting things. At first, like most Americans, I was just horrified at the school shooting, and wanted to know what happened exactly. New gun regulations was one of the first things to come up, then comparison statistics of gun violence in other countries, including the firearms ban implemented in the UK after a similar school massacre occurred in Dunblane, Scotland. But you know what? The United States has a hella bunch of guns out in circulation: 300 million at one count, which is enough for every man, woman and child in the country to have their very own.
Later, I started reading reactions to the news, like the "I am Adam Lanza's Mother" article and other calls to arms (sorry) for better mental health resources in the United States such as "Can You Call a 9-year-old a Psychopath?" from the New York Times. Although reading about the woman with an uncontrollable, possibly autistic teenager, and a clearly psychotic nine-year-old shoved off to a case-study sleep-away camp were fascinating, I unfortunately found them way too tough for my students. There would be so much explaining to do on a cultural level, not to mention the length, the advanced vocabulary...it gives me a headache to think about, honestly.
But are those really side issues to the gun control debate, or do they reach the heart of the matter? What comes first, limiting gun use, or limiting people who feel the need to use guns to harm others? What comes first, the psychopath or the NRA membership? Are video games to blame? There are no easy answers. And the questions lead to even more divisive topics.
Part-time opinion writer for the New York Times and French professor at Princeton Christy Wampole wrote a piece commenting about the fact that overwhelmingly the mass shooters of America are young, white men, and opined that they feel disenfranchised, like their lives are unimportant, maybe even meaningless. They have no place in society, because women (and minorities) are taking away the "hero" status of the young man. Whereas his grandfather brought home the bacon to the wifey after a glorious stint in Normandy or the Pacific, the contemporary American young man cannot even be guaranteed that he will have a higher salary than his wife. In effect, he has nothing. Sitting alone in his basement playing World of Warcraft he is even outsmarted by his computer, because his sparring partner in Chechnya recently found himself a girlfriend--one who won't talk back, or want to do something dumb like go to college.
This premise, not of a need to redefine masculinity in our culture--which is what I was hoping for--but of blaming women and minorities for usurping power from white men, was even weirder and scarier to me than the idea of allowing teachers to carry concealed weapons in schools to protect students from future school shootings. Although sometimes in France it feels like the world has not changed since 1950, that's not a good feeling--unless benevolent sexism comes out in my favor. My guess is either Ms. Wampole has taken too literally her francophilia, or her Texas roots are showing (she mentions in the article she grew up near Fort Worth).
Part-time opinion writer for the New York Times and French professor at Princeton Christy Wampole wrote a piece commenting about the fact that overwhelmingly the mass shooters of America are young, white men, and opined that they feel disenfranchised, like their lives are unimportant, maybe even meaningless. They have no place in society, because women (and minorities) are taking away the "hero" status of the young man. Whereas his grandfather brought home the bacon to the wifey after a glorious stint in Normandy or the Pacific, the contemporary American young man cannot even be guaranteed that he will have a higher salary than his wife. In effect, he has nothing. Sitting alone in his basement playing World of Warcraft he is even outsmarted by his computer, because his sparring partner in Chechnya recently found himself a girlfriend--one who won't talk back, or want to do something dumb like go to college.
This premise, not of a need to redefine masculinity in our culture--which is what I was hoping for--but of blaming women and minorities for usurping power from white men, was even weirder and scarier to me than the idea of allowing teachers to carry concealed weapons in schools to protect students from future school shootings. Although sometimes in France it feels like the world has not changed since 1950, that's not a good feeling--unless benevolent sexism comes out in my favor. My guess is either Ms. Wampole has taken too literally her francophilia, or her Texas roots are showing (she mentions in the article she grew up near Fort Worth).
Thank goodness someone with more sense also wrote an opinion piece I found on Gawker: "The Unbearable Invisibility of White Masculinity," by David Leonard, I found much more to the point. In it, Mr. Leonard argues that portraying a mass killer as a victim just because he is or was white (he cites the Wampole article as well) is inexcusable, and a privilege that apparently comes with being white. One of the underlying reasons, he argues, that people are so shocked over the Newtown killings, and the movie theater shooting in Aurora, CO, over the summer, is partly due to the fact that they occurred in mostly white, suburban neighborhoods that are supposed to be safe--as opposed to the south side of Chicago, which is mostly black and obviously unsafe. People expect to be murdered out there.
Obviously, I'm just expressing my own opinions and frustrations now, since those pieces are way too tough for my students, too. I found a much simpler article from US News & World Report complete with gun pictures (I honestly had no idea what an AK-47 or an M16 looked like before I read the article); that should start them off--from there, I'll drop a few gun stats and ask some probing questions. That will fill an hour, and maybe even give the kids some food for thought.
Thursday, January 10, 2013
Let sleeping teenagers lie...
...in their beds while you wake up at six for class at eight.
This will be a fruitless action because no one else will be there at five to eight when you open the classroom door, and neither will they be there at five after eight, so you will have forty-five to kill waiting for the next class who may or may not show up as well. In which case, it's recommended to bring a good book, since you might be sitting alone in a room for the better part of a day. A really, thick, concussion-causing book like Anna Karenina in hardcover, or the Collected Works of Shakespeare will do the trick.
Don't throw your back out carrying it to and from school, now. You don't have a "real" social security number in France, so you'll be SOL if some sort of health problem should arise, not to mention sick days--HA! You think you get those?!
Not as a penniless teaching assistant you don't. Unless you come down with something like tuberculosis, in which case you'll get one sick day: the day they deport you for "medical reasons." The French government has a whole ministry devoted to weeding out people with faulty immigration statuses and infectious diseases.
Lucky you to be chosen, out of so many, to represent your country and culture for a school year in France!
This will be a fruitless action because no one else will be there at five to eight when you open the classroom door, and neither will they be there at five after eight, so you will have forty-five to kill waiting for the next class who may or may not show up as well. In which case, it's recommended to bring a good book, since you might be sitting alone in a room for the better part of a day. A really, thick, concussion-causing book like Anna Karenina in hardcover, or the Collected Works of Shakespeare will do the trick.
Don't throw your back out carrying it to and from school, now. You don't have a "real" social security number in France, so you'll be SOL if some sort of health problem should arise, not to mention sick days--HA! You think you get those?!
Not as a penniless teaching assistant you don't. Unless you come down with something like tuberculosis, in which case you'll get one sick day: the day they deport you for "medical reasons." The French government has a whole ministry devoted to weeding out people with faulty immigration statuses and infectious diseases.
Lucky you to be chosen, out of so many, to represent your country and culture for a school year in France!
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Lessons Learned?
The kids have been showing up regularly the past two weeks -- wahoo! Though it is only Tuesday...I have faith they'll be good from now on. There have been stragglers and no-shows, but not entire groups like before: me sitting in an empty room wondering why I got out of bed that morning to come sit in an empty room for three hours. Progress!
At the middle school, I'm in the classroom with the teacher, so that is virtually no problem. I've had to prepare more for these lessons, simplifying mostly, and switching topics every ten minutes (as opposed to every fifteen) for the lower level of the students. Teaching, it occurs to me, is sort of like trying to hit the sweet spot between what the students actually know and the magical test-level knowledge they are expected to acquire. It's like one of those crazy Venn diagrams used by stock traders.
I haven't been preparing much at the high school, since I only see each group once every four weeks. In fact, I've only done two lessons so far: the Introduction and Stereotypes. Interspersed with those, I've done itty bitty grammar lessons, like the use of adverbs (always, often, sometimes, rarely, never) showing habitual action, and past tense (and goodness, they could use the practice). I generally ask them how their weekend was.
This is all A2 level, so nothing ridiculously hard. Unfortunately, I'm finding myself using A LOT more French in class here than I used German in class while I was in Austria. Technically, we're supposed to be doing immersion with them, but if I'm talking slowly (like a snail) and repeating myself three or four times, I'm sorry--switching over! It's not like I can get in trouble. I have the kids in small groups, so there's no teacher, and who's going to rat me out? The kids? HA! I can't get fired anyway, so it's a moot point. I can basically do whatever I like, and what I like is to help them. It's really only a word here or there that I translate, either from a word I've already said in English, or a word they're searching for. If they ask me and not their friend, all the better. Because you know they'll chatter away with the friend about something completely unrelated, but I'll steer the topic back.
The one thing that has made me reconsider using French in the classroom at all is the other day when we did stereotypes. It was a group I'd already had (stereotypes is my lesson #2 in the arsenal) and we were talking about baguettes versus "American" bread, i.e. sliced bread. I tried to explain it six differed ways, but they didn't get it. "What don't you get?" I asked.
"Slice. What is 'slice'?"
"Slice is tranche in English."
"What?"
"Tranche"
Ensue torrent of giggles. Apparently I pronounced it wrong.
May I, in my defense, state that I have a cold? Nevertheless, I think their punishment will be TOTAL immersion from now on.
At the middle school, I'm in the classroom with the teacher, so that is virtually no problem. I've had to prepare more for these lessons, simplifying mostly, and switching topics every ten minutes (as opposed to every fifteen) for the lower level of the students. Teaching, it occurs to me, is sort of like trying to hit the sweet spot between what the students actually know and the magical test-level knowledge they are expected to acquire. It's like one of those crazy Venn diagrams used by stock traders.
I haven't been preparing much at the high school, since I only see each group once every four weeks. In fact, I've only done two lessons so far: the Introduction and Stereotypes. Interspersed with those, I've done itty bitty grammar lessons, like the use of adverbs (always, often, sometimes, rarely, never) showing habitual action, and past tense (and goodness, they could use the practice). I generally ask them how their weekend was.
This is all A2 level, so nothing ridiculously hard. Unfortunately, I'm finding myself using A LOT more French in class here than I used German in class while I was in Austria. Technically, we're supposed to be doing immersion with them, but if I'm talking slowly (like a snail) and repeating myself three or four times, I'm sorry--switching over! It's not like I can get in trouble. I have the kids in small groups, so there's no teacher, and who's going to rat me out? The kids? HA! I can't get fired anyway, so it's a moot point. I can basically do whatever I like, and what I like is to help them. It's really only a word here or there that I translate, either from a word I've already said in English, or a word they're searching for. If they ask me and not their friend, all the better. Because you know they'll chatter away with the friend about something completely unrelated, but I'll steer the topic back.
The one thing that has made me reconsider using French in the classroom at all is the other day when we did stereotypes. It was a group I'd already had (stereotypes is my lesson #2 in the arsenal) and we were talking about baguettes versus "American" bread, i.e. sliced bread. I tried to explain it six differed ways, but they didn't get it. "What don't you get?" I asked.
"Slice. What is 'slice'?"
"Slice is tranche in English."
"What?"
"Tranche"
Ensue torrent of giggles. Apparently I pronounced it wrong.
May I, in my defense, state that I have a cold? Nevertheless, I think their punishment will be TOTAL immersion from now on.
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
New Job
As I mentioned earlier, I got a new job!
I've had it for a while, so it's not exactly new...but it remains a second job. Basically, my landlord has a friend who teaches English to adults as part of a job training or self-improvement course set up by the French government. The goal is to take an ESL test at the end of a six-week intensive immersion training course (called the TOEIC) which will make these candidates who participated more employable, and (one would hope) more fluent in English. It is particularly geared toward the unemployed (like everywhere else at the moment, France has a pretty high unemployment rate) or those looking to switch careers--either completely or in the form of a promotion. . It happened very spontaneously because my landlord is friends with the woman who runs the program. Basically, they were desperate. I happen to be a native English speaker. As they say, et voilà!
Anyway, I talked to the woman who runs the operation here in La Ciotat. They were basically desperate for an English speaker, so I was hired without an interview. Though I'm technically not allowed to have a second job here, an exception has been made: provided I don't shirk my high school English teaching responsibilities. Which I wouldn't (I consider myself very conscientious) and besides, there's not much to the high school responsibilities, and there's not much difference between the two jobs. I'm basically putting in more hours, that's all.
The course is a benefit of the French social security system, and my salary is paid for by the French government Sometimes the students are grouped by their professions, i.e. all secretaries in one group, all flight attendants in another, but my group was quite varied: three med techs, a nurse, a real estate agent, a press agent, a couple of international businessmen, a high-end fashion salesperson, a flight attendant, a tour guide and a dental hygienist.
I'm not really busier than I was in Austria. I've been reusing lesson plans to the hilt (hoping it doesn't show and come off as lazy...) but I've also been tailoring them to a French audience. Since my students started coming, we've been having a lot of fun in class (I think). I'm trying to be as supportive (i.e. as uncritical) as possible to let them embrace learning English, even if they make lots of mistakes. Rome wasn't built in a day, after all, and I think they get enough disparagement from their teachers. If they get more from a native speaker, they'll probably never learn English!
Besides, I must always remember that I myself am a learner of languages. My French is pretty good, but I'm not a native speaker by any means, and I make plenty of mistakes myself. The coolest part of teaching is when I can give the kids slang or regionalisms, and then translate them. I think it catches them by surprise because they're led to believe I don't know any French.
My best example is from yesterday. We were talking about stereotypes of the French vs. stereotypes of Americans. I hinted around about the French being more "romantic" but they didn't get it until I spelled it out. One boy said, "Oh, no. That's more the Italians." I and I said, "Sure. But there are plenty of pick-up artists in France." They stared at me blankly until I intoned, "A pick-up artist is a dragueur, by the way," which sent them rolling in the aisles.
My compliments to French in Action for teaching me that word in the first place!
I've had it for a while, so it's not exactly new...but it remains a second job. Basically, my landlord has a friend who teaches English to adults as part of a job training or self-improvement course set up by the French government. The goal is to take an ESL test at the end of a six-week intensive immersion training course (called the TOEIC) which will make these candidates who participated more employable, and (one would hope) more fluent in English. It is particularly geared toward the unemployed (like everywhere else at the moment, France has a pretty high unemployment rate) or those looking to switch careers--either completely or in the form of a promotion. . It happened very spontaneously because my landlord is friends with the woman who runs the program. Basically, they were desperate. I happen to be a native English speaker. As they say, et voilà!
Anyway, I talked to the woman who runs the operation here in La Ciotat. They were basically desperate for an English speaker, so I was hired without an interview. Though I'm technically not allowed to have a second job here, an exception has been made: provided I don't shirk my high school English teaching responsibilities. Which I wouldn't (I consider myself very conscientious) and besides, there's not much to the high school responsibilities, and there's not much difference between the two jobs. I'm basically putting in more hours, that's all.
The course is a benefit of the French social security system, and my salary is paid for by the French government Sometimes the students are grouped by their professions, i.e. all secretaries in one group, all flight attendants in another, but my group was quite varied: three med techs, a nurse, a real estate agent, a press agent, a couple of international businessmen, a high-end fashion salesperson, a flight attendant, a tour guide and a dental hygienist.
I'm not really busier than I was in Austria. I've been reusing lesson plans to the hilt (hoping it doesn't show and come off as lazy...) but I've also been tailoring them to a French audience. Since my students started coming, we've been having a lot of fun in class (I think). I'm trying to be as supportive (i.e. as uncritical) as possible to let them embrace learning English, even if they make lots of mistakes. Rome wasn't built in a day, after all, and I think they get enough disparagement from their teachers. If they get more from a native speaker, they'll probably never learn English!
Besides, I must always remember that I myself am a learner of languages. My French is pretty good, but I'm not a native speaker by any means, and I make plenty of mistakes myself. The coolest part of teaching is when I can give the kids slang or regionalisms, and then translate them. I think it catches them by surprise because they're led to believe I don't know any French.
My best example is from yesterday. We were talking about stereotypes of the French vs. stereotypes of Americans. I hinted around about the French being more "romantic" but they didn't get it until I spelled it out. One boy said, "Oh, no. That's more the Italians." I and I said, "Sure. But there are plenty of pick-up artists in France." They stared at me blankly until I intoned, "A pick-up artist is a dragueur, by the way," which sent them rolling in the aisles.
My compliments to French in Action for teaching me that word in the first place!
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Kids Today
My students have not been showing up to their scheduled meeting times.
Let me explain the system: I, unassuming language assistant, i.e. "the American" am expected to take a group of 5-10 students from various classes once per week per class to fill 10 hours of "English study." I have 10 different classes once a week. Basically, all I have to do is talk to the kids in English for an hour, they shuffle in, shuffle out and are somehow better prepared for their bac at the end of the year.
That is, if they bother to show up.
Since my hour with them is supposed to be an extra hour of English, in addition to the two that they get in regular English class (three total per week), I have not taught any English classes. I am not in the classroom with them, but in my own, separate classroom to meet with the small groups of students during gaps in their schedules, or what used to be their free time.
Some of them still think it is their free time.
I hope sincerely this will change by the end of the week. I was told it should not be a problem at all, but I am still having a hard time believing 16- to 18-year-olds will willingly wake up at 8AM to come and speak a language they're not very good at (and in every likely scenario despise) to a complete stranger who also happens to be a native speaker of that dreaded language, and is probably fat, boorish and inane like all of the stereotypes of her country suggest.
I hope this is not the case--that this is what French teenagers thing of me and my country. But, I can only guess what they think. Since so few of them have decided to put in the effort of even meeting me, what else can I think?
Let me explain the system: I, unassuming language assistant, i.e. "the American" am expected to take a group of 5-10 students from various classes once per week per class to fill 10 hours of "English study." I have 10 different classes once a week. Basically, all I have to do is talk to the kids in English for an hour, they shuffle in, shuffle out and are somehow better prepared for their bac at the end of the year.
That is, if they bother to show up.
Since my hour with them is supposed to be an extra hour of English, in addition to the two that they get in regular English class (three total per week), I have not taught any English classes. I am not in the classroom with them, but in my own, separate classroom to meet with the small groups of students during gaps in their schedules, or what used to be their free time.
Some of them still think it is their free time.
I hope sincerely this will change by the end of the week. I was told it should not be a problem at all, but I am still having a hard time believing 16- to 18-year-olds will willingly wake up at 8AM to come and speak a language they're not very good at (and in every likely scenario despise) to a complete stranger who also happens to be a native speaker of that dreaded language, and is probably fat, boorish and inane like all of the stereotypes of her country suggest.
I hope this is not the case--that this is what French teenagers thing of me and my country. But, I can only guess what they think. Since so few of them have decided to put in the effort of even meeting me, what else can I think?
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