Jordan and I both finish classes on Friday afternoons at 4, so our usual Friday afternoon routine is to take a bus into the city after class, buy some movies, get Pizza Hut, go home, binge. Last Friday we decided to postpone our ritual and I forced Jordan to come with me to this English Corner. There were two classrooms packed with English students, and Jordan and I both entered a room full of cheering undergrads (which is basically what we have come to expect upon entering a room, so everyone prepare yourself to treat us with that kind of respect when we get home). The students had already arranged the desks into groups of about ten, so Jordan and I were both ushered to different groups. On the board, the students leading the English Corner had already written our discussion questions:
1. What is your opinion on the clone?
2. Where do you think the women should stay? At the home or at the company?
3. What do you think about the gays' marriage?
Let me tell you, it was an interesting 2 hours. I tried to correct any grammatical errors I saw in the questions, but mainly I was just interested to hear what they thought about these topics since I doubt they have many opportunities to speak freely on such "taboo" topics here. We basically touched on each question and then started talking about life in America. How do Americans feel about the clone? Jordan was apparently asked if he "was a gay marriage" (I guess they didn't realize that we were married, or perhaps they still were struggling with what exactly it meant to be gay).
I saw a bunch of my students and I was impressed with how dedicated they are to their studies. If only I had made an effort to start some sort of Chinese Corner at CU, and then actually attend it on Friday afternoon!
We have already been invited back to English Corner this Friday afternoon, and we're looking forward to seeing what questions they'll have this time.
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5 comments:
Yay English Corner!!!!.....Just trying to keep all that cheering going! Maybe we can get it going the FIRST time we see you guys again, but forget about it after that!
What CLONE are they so worried about?
Miss you!
That is SO great! You guys sounds like you are basically celebrities there! I love it! Sounds like your adventure is going really great, we love hearing all about it!
That is really cool!! I would have loved to attend that English Corner and hear what they had to say on those topics. I'm glad you two are having a good time =)
I even got to hear about this from Megan directly on skype but reading it on the blog makes me laugh out loud all over again- love it! My only concern here is when Megan tells us she will now expect applause when she returns...this could be a rude awakening, enjoy it while it lasts, ha ha. I miss you!
I think it is great that the students have come up with their own questions that they are curious and open about.
My own experience of English corner has often not been so enjoyable. It has been painful like pulling out a tooth because they expect the English teacher to do most of the talking. The students have often often asked me too many personal questions. I think that they pry and don't mind their own business. I find that very annoying.
I am really happy to hear that those students at that University are taking their own responsibility instead of expecting the teacher to do it for them.
I am currently doing several teaching jobs in companies and language schools and would love to teach English where you teach when my current contract ends mid year.
Lina
(Comment my friend who is teaching English in China asked me to post.)
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