My Students Say the Darndest Things

Yesterday morning I met Katka and Martina at the Flora offices for our drive to Benesov. This worked out quite nicely meeting them in Flora since it’s so close to my house. I got to sleep until 7:30 instead of like, 6! Ha. While I was waiting for them, the receptionist Andrea, who is also my student, brought me more free yogurt and pack of Actimel. Yes! Then she sat with me and talked to me about her new job and how much information she had to learn. All of students kept walking by and were saying hello. It’s so nice and fun how we’re getting more comfortable with each other! My intermediate lessons in Benesov finally went really well. Although I had been using an intermediate book for them, it being a business book was too difficult. I decided to do a fun vocabulary lesson so that they wouldn’t think I was boring, could have fun, and learn some new vocabulary for around the office. At first I was afraid it would be too easy for them, but it turned out to be the perfect amount of words that needed review and words that were new to them. I asked them to think of items in their office and write them down, then showed them a picture to help jog their minds, then taught them new words. Then they did three different activities I found in one of the binders in the school library. I will have to use those binders more often! One activity was picking up a slip of paper with a word on it and having to find the picture of the item. The next activity was drawing and labeling their ideal office, then explaining it. Magda wanted a handsome male assistant and Gabina wanted a swimming pool. Hilarious. The last activity was a picture of missing items. They had to describe to each other where their items were, i.e. the calculator is between the telephone and computer. Since they had to use prepositions for their answers, we went over those as well.

In the next lesson I had Pavel who is my favorite. He has to be in his 40s and really loves his wife and children. He also has a little one on the way! He’s just very personable and wants to learn very badly and always does exactly as I ask. Towards the end of the lesson he said that we would end early so that we could get to the cafeteria in time for lunch. I asked if they accepted credit cards and he said, “No, you just come with me.” Yes! Another free lunch! However, I’m not exactly sure if he paid for this meal himself or if it was on Danone. Anyway, we ate lunch together and talked which made me feel better about ending the lesson early. He whispered, “See the man BEHIND me?” It was really cute because he was so proud of himself for using a preposition like the activity we had just done earlier. (He explained that the man was very important…big fish.)

In both lessons we were also talking about the most famous people in their country and in the world. In both classes they all chose Barack Obama as the most famous male, and Madonna as the most famous female in the world. Freaking hilarious.

Favorite mistakes of the week made by my students:

“I hear you used to wear a very long hairs.”

“You are looking as angel.”

This reminds me that I forgot to write about the time I had to correct the most shocking and embarrassing preposition of them all! A student said “Last weekend, I was in my Grandmother‘s.” Oh. Dear. Lord. I had to explain to her that that meant having sex and that you should say “I was with my Grandmother” or “I was at my Grandmother’s house.” She was mortified, but took it very well. “Ahh…at at at, never in!”