That means "hello"!
Two days ago Chris and I started our English teaching. Neither of us had ever taught English before. I was seriously nervous, but of course it was more fun than we thought.
We began with a 5th grade phys ed class at the Catholic school in town - incorporating games with English learning. Simon Says was the most successful game - this was after trying to teach them a version of Rock, Paper, Scissors, Shoot using animals - the kids just started acting like crazy animals all over the room - it was hilarious! After we reviewed some of the vocab with the kids at the end of the class period (like numbers, body parts, and animals), the kids started singing "We will, we will, ROCK YOU!!" - complete with hand clapping. Did they even know what they were saying? It was a sight that will keep me laughing for months.
Later that night, Chris and I began our English classes with the university students that come by the Living Stones center from BirZeit University. We broke up into separate groups of about 6 each. The enthusiasm of the students to learn new vocab and have better pronounciation really encouraged me! After telling them a bit about myself (complete with a map of the US on the board), we worked through an article I printed out from the Philadelphia Inquirer about China's stance on the crisis in Burma and how it might affect their ability to host the 2008 Summer Olympics. It could have sounded like I was teaching them about political insurrection - introducing them to words such as "protest," "campaign," and "advocacy" - but that's ok I guess :)
After our class, a couple of the students invited Chris and I out to a "club" down the street - it's actually what looks like an abandoned house that two guys sell hagila (hubbly bubbly) and drinks out of. We chilled outside in the courtyard around some tables - laughing and talking. I think the English speaking really helped us bridge some gaps with one another - it was a lot of fun. These are some of our friends we hung out with: Hassan, Renad, and Samuel.
Well, I must get back to some paper writing - Chris and I are trying to psych ourselves up by listening to a Jurassic Park soundtrack... Maresalam (good-bye).
Two days ago Chris and I started our English teaching. Neither of us had ever taught English before. I was seriously nervous, but of course it was more fun than we thought.
We began with a 5th grade phys ed class at the Catholic school in town - incorporating games with English learning. Simon Says was the most successful game - this was after trying to teach them a version of Rock, Paper, Scissors, Shoot using animals - the kids just started acting like crazy animals all over the room - it was hilarious! After we reviewed some of the vocab with the kids at the end of the class period (like numbers, body parts, and animals), the kids started singing "We will, we will, ROCK YOU!!" - complete with hand clapping. Did they even know what they were saying? It was a sight that will keep me laughing for months.
Later that night, Chris and I began our English classes with the university students that come by the Living Stones center from BirZeit University. We broke up into separate groups of about 6 each. The enthusiasm of the students to learn new vocab and have better pronounciation really encouraged me! After telling them a bit about myself (complete with a map of the US on the board), we worked through an article I printed out from the Philadelphia Inquirer about China's stance on the crisis in Burma and how it might affect their ability to host the 2008 Summer Olympics. It could have sounded like I was teaching them about political insurrection - introducing them to words such as "protest," "campaign," and "advocacy" - but that's ok I guess :)
After our class, a couple of the students invited Chris and I out to a "club" down the street - it's actually what looks like an abandoned house that two guys sell hagila (hubbly bubbly) and drinks out of. We chilled outside in the courtyard around some tables - laughing and talking. I think the English speaking really helped us bridge some gaps with one another - it was a lot of fun. These are some of our friends we hung out with: Hassan, Renad, and Samuel.
Well, I must get back to some paper writing - Chris and I are trying to psych ourselves up by listening to a Jurassic Park soundtrack... Maresalam (good-bye).
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