My speaking class is not a class I’m putting a lot of effort into. This year it was only half a semester, there is no grading required and in general it’s a class I have resented because I had to work extra hours for no extra pay.
But the kids are all right. Today in class we did 2-minute presentations again. Show-and-tell. Their choice, anything they wanted, but they had to talk for two minutes. After Sunny’s shining performance last time I made him go first. His show-and-tell? Cigarettes.
He talked about how much he loved them, how he smoked one when he failed a test and was depressed. And smoked one when he did very good on a test and was happy (“Do you do good on tests?” I asked him. He’s not the most dedicated student I’ve met.) At one point he said to everyone that, “maybe you don’t like cigarettes because you think they are bad. No! They are good!” Of course I couldn’t let that go and I said, “Cigarettes are bad. They can make you sick. Give you cancer.”
“Then I will be happy to have cancer!” he said raising his hand with the pack of cigarettes in them. “Don’t smoke, everyone. Please, don’t smoke,” I said after he finished.
Several other students went and many showed books, which I was very impressed by. Obviously a book loving group and some of the students stories were quite moving, like the girl who carries a empty notebook with her everywhere she goes because a friend bought it for her and she’s afraid writing in it will ruin it. Or, the one girl that said she reads all the time but, “you think it would make me a profound girl, but actually I’m superficial.”
One girl impressed me by saying her favorite actor had “rock-hard pecs and a 6-pack.” Good English!
Then a girl showed a little wind chime with a crazy face on it. “I named it Jack,” she said and everybody started laughing because one of the boys name is Jack and she was looking right at him. “Because I think all cute but weird looking things should be named Jack,” much to everyone’s amusement. Then she looked at him and mouthed, “I like you!” really obviously. I don’t know what’s going on there and if she’s fucking with him or not, but it was hilarious.
Then it was Jack’s turn. Jack has a running gag that he’s in love with me, so when he started he said his favorite thing in the whole world was me. Which got everyone pretty much rolling on the floor laughing so much. Then he actually showed a kind of electric key in which you need to do internet banking in china. He uses it to play video games and you have to have it to play, so he is careful not to lose it. He said it’s so important that one of his roommates threatens to take it from him.
He said his roommate threatens him by saying, “If you don’t satisfy me I will destroy it. So I satisfy him.” Everyone was laughing, but me just a little bit more for the word choice.
Anyway, it’s a class I put very little thought into, so it’s surprisingly fun when I give them free range and let them go crazy. Meanwhile in the class I love, my “babies” we only have 3 more classes until our time together is completely and utterly over. We’ve been together 4 long years and our last class, the week before Christmas, is going to be dedicated to our memories and our time together. It’s gonna be a tough one to get through…..
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