- I had one student tell me he finally understands his grandmother when she speaks to him.
- Another family was telling me about their exchange student from Colombia, and my student listens to him on the phone and understands what he is saying to his family (although I told him to stop eavesdropping - LOL)
- Another student told me she has decided to go to Mexico this summer to see how good her Spanish really is.
- Three parents told me that their child has been watching installments of a BBC program we've been watching in class at home.
- A few more families told me that their kids are speaking in Spanish at home just for fun.
- The math teacher told me a few of the kids are speaking in Spanish during math.
- One boy who struggled so much last year was so excited to be going to high school to take more Spanish and asking me which language he should add as his third language.
- And two parents told me they have asked their children for help communicating with somebody at work and have gotten that help!
I've been feeling really down about my teaching lately. Which makes this so much more special. I have not been as creative or energetic or as into the kids as I should be. The non-teaching parts of the job just drain me so much. I was so excited to hear all these wonderful things - especially where the kids could talk to their relatives. What else matters?
Wow!
Oh, and I spoke my little bit of Mandarin to a few families and that was so much fun too. One father just looked at me all wide eyed and asked his son if he had understood me then answered me in Chinese. Another mother asked me as if she hadn't quite caught it, "Did you just speak to me in Chinese?" Heh. And that's because my students are sharing their language with me. And that thrills me to no end too. And I FINALLY learned how to say one students name. With the correct tones. Hopefully I'll be able to remember it come June when I read her diploma out loud.
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