Surfing in Waves of Humanity

There's a point in the ESL classroom, it seems, when the teacher just has to let things fly. Take, for instance, the discussion of what we do in the bathroom or bedroom; it seems the innuendo and humor translate pretty easily across language barriers. Tonight's class was going well, for the most part, with over twenty students including three new ones in this third week of the semester, but I felt disaster staring me in the face when people started breaking out into covert little giggles. Whispers and covered mouths. Guilty looks on their faces. So I tried to divert them from the obvious way they were going by revealing - gasp! - that I, for one, don't make my bed every morning. They happily admonished me and I was satisfied - we were no longer on the risky precipice of what we do in the toilet or the bed. I'll let some other teacher handle that!

I was satisfied, too, when one of my students returned with his dialogue journal (I'd handed out about twelve). It was neat - he revealed his favorite day was Friday, because that was the day he got to go to the mosque to pray. I love peeking into their lives. Dialoguing is definitely something I will incorporate into my future classrooms. For the beginning language level, it gives a chance for the teacher to guage a student's level, all the while learning about their background and concerns. It gives the student the chance to experience the joy of one-on-one interaction in their new language. It's also secret, and fun anticipating the next reply. Connecting and sharing, which is what language is all about at its core. I wonder how much time it would take to do that with forty students instead of only one?

No word yet from the Peace Corps. Time. Oozes. On.