"We had pet chickens. And we thought that we need showers, so the chicken need showers too." (Some of my friends say really unpredictable things in what was, up to that point, a relatively normal conversation... things that leave me crying from laughing so hard.)
"But in India – do you know in India? – they have a religion that believes in many gods!" (Proof that conversation prompts in class [what are traditions in your family?] sometimes go unexpected places.)
"She is chatting with her boyfriend. Video." [a few minutes later] "Now she is cutting bangs." (One of my students narrating to me over qq (internet chat) what her roommate was up to.)
"What superpower would you want?"
"Controlling people!"
"Taste all delicious foods."
(Lunch time conversations with students. Honestly, I never know what I'll get from some of them.)
"I forgot who I'm having lunch with..."
"Oh, I will call them. Wait a moment."
(So I was standing around in one of the four dining halls, hoping that my lunch buddies would happen to show up... and eventually asked one of their classmates. Fortunately, she actually knew who I was supposed to be meeting... and called them.)
"Mostly girls like this TV show... so he is a.... very special."
"It's because there are mostly girls in our class, gives us things in common to talk about, so I can understand them!"
(Lunch time conversation with two male students about a historical drama that one of them follows.)
"...but her boyfriend is not like those things."
"Yeah, true."
(Conversation with a few of my girls about what characteristics are important to us in a man and their current boyfriends.)
~~~
This semester is full and crazy, full of conversations about anything and everything. It is exhausting... and it is a lot of fun, and a lot of opportunities to go deeper with my students.
I am especially impressed with vocabulary including things like "bangs."
ReplyDelete"Taste all delicious foods."
ReplyDeleteAs a superpower. Well, that's...interesting. :)