Letters from China

Owing to an excellent idea from Kevin, I have (as has Janet) recently begun writing letters to students in one of my classes. This particular class has the lowest English level among my classes and I have had some trouble getting them to speak. Since the students are generally able to write better than the can speak (having few opportunities to practice speaking), I had the whole class write me letters one day.

I took a box from the U.S. Post Office - thanks Mom and Dad for sending a package - in to class as our "mailbox." After the students finished, they put the letters in our mailbox. By the next class, I had a number of replies ready to deliver in the mail. I told them if they had mail to deliver to me in the future, to bring it to class and place it in the mailbox. I am hoping to spark a letter writing campaign here. This will give the students the chance to tell me things they may have trouble communicating orally, but most importantly, to get them practicing English outside of class. Most students said they never do!

The letters have mostly made for good reads so far. I plan on sharing some of the more entertaining lines that I get from students.

• We are love you teach us because a good teacher is better than thousands of book.

• First, I want to tell you our class is very like you, because you look very funny.

• I know you are very hard and difficult to teach us. But, at the same time we are studying hard. So I will forgive us and like us as other class.

• When I talked with you, my brain will become “stop,” look like the people saw the green light when through the road.

• When I met you first time in our classroom I felt very surprise but at the same time I felt nervous too. Its too good to be true because you are a only one foreign teacher whose had taught me!

• I am very happy that are become our new English teacher. You are very warm when we have English. I can’t understand what you say, I fell so boring. But I am still interested in English.

• Did you enjoy there [China]? If bound to be strange at first. Never mind. You’ll be all right in a week or two.

• I am very lazy so I don’t like to doing something (responding to my question - what do you like to do?).
  

• You hope married in China? Chinese girl is very beautiful, isn’t it?

Those are a few highlights from my first round of letters. I have had a few letters start to trickle in after my initial replies and will share more in the future.