Job Discussion Forums

[denise]

Teacher talk, chalk on chalkboard, the gentle murmur of students working in pairs.

And then there's...

1) the sound of electronic dictionaries crashing onto the floor
2) the sound of dead silence after someone sneezes and I say, "bless you" (i.e., nobody says thank you!)
3) cell phones

Any other sounds, soothing or otherwise, that interrupt your teaching?

d

[shmooj]

We have a garbage truck that plays music. It parks outside our school to collect stuff from the immediate neighbourhood. Got used to it now...

BTW, where are you from? I though "Bless you" after a sneeze was confined to Brits due to it originating during the Black Death in Europe. In any case, students haven't the faintest idea what you mean in all likelihood and it would be quite an interesting point to talk about from a cultural point of view too.

[khmerhit]

Don't forget the noise made by puppies, often the puny bijou puuppies favoured by Chinese for their decorative qualities --- squawk squawk squawk --- if you try to remonstrate with their owners for the noise they are making, they will think you completely mad. That's how far removed from reality they are....

[yaramaz]

In a Turkish classroom (10-16 year olds)...

-teacher teacher teacher! (whined, shrieked, bellowed, ad infinitum)
-teacher, I'm boring (why yes you are!)
-teacher, I'm not listening (like the above quote, the kids need help with their vocabulary- this one means they can't hear what is being said)
-teacher toilet toilet toilet! lutfen teacher!
-me drink water teacher? (to be repeated 30 times per 40 minute lesson)
-the sound of worksheets being crumpled up or folded into paper airplanes
-the shrieks of freedom at the end of the lesson
-the constant shuffling of desks (esp with the littler ones who cant keep still)
- Good morning Students....Good morning teacher!....How are you today? ... Fine thanks and you? (can't get that out of my head-- I even answered that way when my ma called and asked how I was... fine thanks and you?)
-the horrible piercing bells that announce the start and end to lessons to the tune of annoying old songs (o susannah, o my darling clementine, etc)
-the muezzin's call to prayer which seems to always come in the middle of a video lesson...
-the smell of strong hot tea, of sucuklu tost, nescafe with white powder (not the kind I really need at the end of a long day, alas!!), lentil soup, kebab fat dripping from its spit in the cafeteria...
-chalk dust everywhere in the Primary school- in my clothes, my hair, my skin

Teaching in turkey is a full on sensory experience. There is constant noise hitting from all sides- the veggie and scrap metal guys bellowing from their carts down on the street outside the windows, the clip clop of horses pulling rough wagons full of melons and scrawny childen, the occasional ill or impoverished elderly couple slowly walking up the street, singing a gorgeous and haunting mournful tune as the inhabitants rush out to press food or coins into their hands.... And last year during the Iraq war we had to deal with low flying military planes rushing overhead, drawing all 25 or 30 children to the window with their invisible sub machine guns to do away with Bush and or Saddam....

I do like it here though...

[Steiner]

[yaramaz]

I'm Canadian and I've always said Bless you or Gesundheit. Turks who speak English (even minimally) will say Bless you if you sneeze. I've had flatmates from all over the English and non English speaking world and all have used or at least recognised the term. It's not that obscure....

[Wolf]

In class noises?

21 year old senoirs who have studied Engish for 10 years, and have one foot out the door to join the ranks of China's multilingual workforce . . . talking in Chinese during relatively easy group work assignments.

Questions answered with Communist Doctorine that the listener believes is the most relevant to the question (often it's not. I only make an issue of it when it doesn't answer the question.)

The classroom buildings are far removed from roads, machinery, dorms, sports fields, the speakers, etc. Only minor complaints.

[curveegrrl]

After more than a year away, I still have the Nova bells going off in my head. They no longer wake me up at night though!

[richard ame]

Hi
Yaramaz generally bless you is the last thing I hear from a Turk when I sneeze it's usuallly followed by "Cok Yasa".
At the moment those classroom noises are drowned out by the builders bashing the hell out of the floors, walls, and just about everything else, don't know how the kids do the exams at the moment . Still no doubt that will all change after the 6th when the baloon goes up big style .