Inspired by a post on theater director Anne Bogart's blog, I would like to try out a new form of blog posts. It seems so satisfying to write a lengthy epic blog post, but there is a disadvantage: it's easier to procrastinate (as one can see from this blog).
Rather than one giant post every once in a while, I'd like to try writing three daily observations - these posts will not be lengthy, but I might write with more regularity.
1. Today one of the new teachers at JC School, Min, asked me to proofread an essay for a student's speech competition. The task was easy enough, and after she presented me a present of a small bottle of frozen orange juice. I'm reminded of the role of gift giving in this culture, and how simple, nature-made gifts (like an orange, given to me by one of my favorite students from a couple months ago) can move you more than an human-made material.
2. This week has been another experiment in using poetry in the ESL classroom. This week I used one of favorite poem, Lewis Carroll's Jabberwocky. I've enjoyed using it because it teaches the students to make meaning out of what they do know, not what they don't. There are dozens of words in that poem that cannot be found in any dictionary, but at the same time, there are a couple of useful words in each line that when looked at together, carry a meaning. I encourage the students to draw pictures -- if they can draw a picture of it, they understand what's going on. This technique has also worked when teaching metaphors.
3. I don't see many people spitting on the street anymore. Last winter every time I stepped outside I was always greeted by the familiar sound of a Korean (almost always a man) gargling a hank of mucus in his throat before spitting it out on the street. This became such a common occurrence during the winter, I found it hard to believe that everyone was jst sick --- it must be some habit (like belching at the table) that's ok here but frowned upon back at home. ESL bloggers have attributed this unusual habit to the high levels of mold found in Korean homes. Spitting up muscus seems to be a habit amongst Korean children too; several students have stepped out of class to spit into the garbage and I've even had one (strange, braindead student) spit out onto the floor as if that were ok.
