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 .

[Gordon]

Construction. It seems that everywhere I work seems to be next to a construction zone.

One classroom I was in in Vancouver was above a store that was being renovated. The jackhammer would send shockwaves through the floor and it felt like your fillings were going to fall out. When they started up, everyone would lift their feet off the floor and I had to run to my seat too and teach in my chair until it stopped. A little like musical chairs.

[yaramaz]

Hi Richard,
Here in Cappadocia/Kayseri, most people who speak English will say Bless You, or at least that is my experience. I know this because every Spring and Autumn I have fierce sneezy allergies!!! If their English is poor, they will give me a kind �ok yasa. They all, however, seem to recognize it when I say Bless You...

[Capergirl]

*rustling papers* - Students looking for paper, borrowing paper, discarding paper, or preparing to write on paper.

*clunk, clunk, clunk* - The sound of the marker on the white board...sounds pretty loud in a quiet classroom.

*click, clack* - The sound of my high-heeled shoes, except when I'm in a carpeted class (the new classes are carpeted ).

*"Teacher! Please!"* - My African students trying to get my attention to answer a question...about every 10-15 seconds.

[denise]

[dyak]

My personal �favourites� -

*Mobile phone rings*

<Teacher sighs and stares unhappily at offending student>

<Student answers phone>

<Teacher incredulously exclaims, �Don�t answer it!�>

<Student sheepishly leaves the room>

<Student sheepishly returns to the room>

<Teacher reminds students of his hatred of mobile phones, especially those with non jazz-funk orientated ring tones>

<Teacher elicits from offending student whether or not his/her mobile phone is now turned off>

<Student stares blankly back as if a) mobile phones don�t have that function or b) it�s somehow an offence to either them or their phone>

and

Teacher: �Have you finished?�

Koreans: �Pinishee!�

Europeans: �fini shed!�

<Followed by amusing peer correction>

[Capergirl]

@denise...I make the same mistake. It seems that all of my really dressy shoes and boots have chunky heels, so I invariably end up wearing some clackers on test days.

@dyak...The cell phone thing is a major pet peeve of mine. The students from the UAE were the worst offenders. I would have to remind them at the beginning of each and every class to turn off their cell phones. One day, we were doing a listening exercise in class and one of the students left his phone on so that his girlfriend could listen in.