So this is how my students feel

This morning, I received a text message from my Chinese teacher informing me that she was sick and consequently that our Chinese class was canceled today.  I was not in the least bit happy to hear that my teacher was ill; however, I must confess I experienced a thrill of joy when I read the message.  That message not only meant I unexpectedly had those two hours of classroom time added to my day, but also that I had the time I was planning on spending cramming characters into my brain before class.  So while I wish my teacher a speedy recovery, the news was more than welcome.  I’m certain, though, that when I’ve had to cancel class due to illness my students never shared this sentiment.  I’m certain they were greatly grieved to miss out on a learning opportunity.  Umm, yeah, don’t worry, I’m not that misguided.  Being a language student this semester has given me a wonderful glimpse into my own students’ experiences.  Below are some sentiments I’ve discovered that I quite likely share with my students.

• Even though I’m well aware that quizzes force me to learn the material, and even though my goal in taking the class is to truly learn the material, I still dread and hate quizzes.  I hold my breath at the end of class just hoping that the teacher won’t say, “Next class we have a quiz.”  When class ends without that fateful announcement, I walk out with relief and a bounce in my step.  When it does end with that announcement, I leave with a groan on my lips.
• Students talking to each other during class is often less a sign of disrespect and more a sign of confusion.  If you don’t have a clue what the teacher just asked you to do, you’re going to turn to the person next to you for explanation.  You’re not going to ask the teacher for explanation because chances are since you didn’t understand her the first time, you’re not going to understand her the second time.  Unfortunately, being the lone American and English speaker in the class means I have no one to turn to for clarification.  However, when the classroom breaks out into frantic whispers of Korean, I at least know that I’m not the only one confused.
• I can repeat a word ten times, but that doesn’t mean that when the teacher calls on me I’m going to correctly pronounce it.  This doesn’t mean I’m not listening or that I’m not paying attention.  It simply means my brain cannot register that sound.
• When I’m trying to write something down that’s on the board, I cease listening to what the teacher is saying.  I just haven’t developed the ability to both write unfamiliar characters and listen to unfamiliar words at the same time.  Silently pausing to wait for students to write the material before launching into a verbal explanation is extraordinarily helpful.
• If I’m unfamiliar with the content on the power point screen, I will not know how to select what is important to copy down.  Consequently, I will try to write every single character down.  I used to get frustrated with my students who insisted on writing every word that was on the screen.  I now see how doing this allows you to go back later and try to decipher what on earth the teacher was talking about.
• Sitting in freezing cold classrooms is miserable.  Frozen limbs result in a decreased ability to attend to the lesson.  Come on spring, it’s about time you show up around here!
• Repetition is key.  If I only hear a word or phrase once, I’m never going to remember it.  Repeat, repeat, repeat is the key in the language classroom.

On the subject of the classroom, and predictable patterns of student behavior, I have one note on the coming holiday.  May 1st is China’s labor day.  In the past, we used to have a week long break from classes.  However, a few years ago the government decided that the Chinese people needed to celebrate some of the more traditional holidays (like tomb sweeping day).  They had to get these holiday days from somewhere, so they decreased the length of the labor day holiday from eight days to three days.  This year we have Saturday, Sunday, and Monday off.  Woohoo, we have the weekend off!  Sorry for the sarcastic enthusiasm.  Anyways, the school has also decided to give Tuesday morning off.  That’s right; Tuesday morning classes are canceled but Tuesday afternoon classes will proceed as scheduled.  Now I would like you to leave a comment answering the following question: How many of my 25 students do you think will actually show up to class Tuesday afternoon? An important tidbit of information in making your wager is that the previous class was the midterm exam (consequently, students know there will be no quiz).  I will let you know the results next Tuesday!