or rather, “Can I sign up for English class?”
And at this point, it’s mid-way through the fourth week of classes, but people are still asking this question.
Oh English class, where do I begin? No, I kid, I really enjoy it. I have four classes that each meet twice a week, two a day from Monday-Thursday. Two classes for adults and two classes for youth. There’s about twenty students per class, so a little less than 80 altogether. In all the classes we play a lot of games. I don’t have books or anything, but try to make the class interactive (pictionary, charades, presenting in front of the class, board work, etc.), mixed with basic grammar and vocab. It’s all beginner levels, but pretty fun. For the most part, the students all show up on time/on time-ish (then some even come a half-hour early - woah, overachievers). They ask questions, participate...and apparently advertise the classes to their friends to sign-up, too. And even though we’re nearly a month into class, I still haven’t mastered saying, “No, this class is full - you can’t sign up.” Mostly because I’d feel like a huge jerk if I ever did. I know its not exactly fair to current students to add more and more people, and the new students will be behind for a while, but I feel really bad saying no. So I don’t, haha. Maybe when I start running out of chairs I’ll turn people away. But right now there are a few more empty chairs, so I figure that if people want to sit there, who am I to say they can’t?
Wish them luck because today and tomorrow are the first exams... which the class actually requested to have. When they asked me to prepare a test, I thought, “Wow, really? Are you sure?” I’ve asked myself a lot of questions in the DR, most recently: “Exactly who requests exams, anyway?” At least now I’ve got that one answered.
* * *
And now, let me just share a little from the “first day” of classes last month:
I get a call from my contact, Yudelka at the cultural center asking me if I’d like to go to the center to meet the students who’ll be participating in the English classes. She tells me that this is the sign-up day, the classes won’t start until the following week, and we can plan the weekly schedule for the classes when we meet. That sounded alright by me, so I set out and walked the few blocks to meet her at the center. I get there, and she brings me into a classroom. The classroom is full of students sitting in desks, and the ones that don’t have a desk are lined up along the walls. Yudelka introduces me to this group of people, a range of ages 8-55 or so, and announces to the room that those who haven’t signed up for English class yet can do so today. I look around. There seems to be about 35 people in the room - a perfect amount for the two classes I had agreed to teach twice a week. Some of the students in the chairs and those leaning against the walls move to the front of the room to sign up. There’s a list of names in a notebook, and I glance over to see how many people have signed up for the English classes so far. There are 68 names.
A little more than I expected. I figured there’d be 20 people tops in each of the classes, and here’s a list of nearly 70, and a line of more people writing down their names. By now Yudelka has divided the group into adults and kids, and takes the youth to a different classroom. Before she leaves, she asks me, “Can you teach four English classes instead of two? There’re so many students!” Before I answer she leaves me with the group of jovenes and adults. I figure she’s coming back in a minute to finish organizing the schedule with the group, so I wait with the class for her to return. It’s an awkward minute or so as every student is looking at me expectantly over the composition book, pencil and eraser lined up neatly on each desk. After two more minutes, it’s clear that Yudelka’s not coming back. And its also pretty plain that the class is waiting for me to start teaching. So this little meet and greet afternoon suddenly transforms into the first day of class. Hmm wasn’t expecting that.
Well, a heads up would have been helpful, but there’s a lot of enthusiasm for English in the room, so I go with it. I start to think about all of the lesson plans I worked on that are tucked away in my computer awaiting the start of classes for the following week. There’s a stack of student handouts already photo-copied in my bag at home. This afternoon however, I have literally nothing with me and I’m feeling unprepared. But with a roomful of students staring at you, with their notebooks and pencils at the ready, you can’t really say, “Oh sorry! I was told we’d be starting next week. Mind if we meet later?” The computer teacher next door brings me a piece of chalk, and with that, class begins. So marks the “first day” - certainly not a lot of resources, but turns out having a room of people willing to learn, and a single piece of chalk isn’t the absolute worst way to start.
More soon!
XO
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