First Class at the Seminary

Now to get down to work. These are mostly the same guys I had in class two years ago, so it was a true reunion. While they are now at different points in their learning of English than they were before, our teacher/student relationship took up right where it left off.

To get things going and see where they were individually as learners of English, I had them write a letter to me, about themselves, what they want to learn, and their feelings about taking English. I gave them an hour of class time to do this and I worked one-on-one.

Next, I put them in groups of three and gave each group a specific location. They worked together to write a ten-line script about visiting there.

What is most interesting is that no matter who works with who, there is always a camaraderie that permeates the work.

Working together is natural for these students as it is part of what they learn in school. No one sat back in their group, but each contributed what they could.

You can see how nice the classroom is: well-lit, plenty of room, and (my favorite) long tables that facilitate group work. Their is air conditioning, but we try not to use it in such a large room.

Two things make a teacher happy: students working hard by themselves and students working hard in groups. I get both of those here.









Below is the view from my classroom. It is rice harvest time, and you can see that one row has already been cut. Luckily, today has been overcast and not that hot nor humid for the farmers. The beauty of the country never ceases to overwhelm me.