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Justin Trullinger

Joined: 28 Jan 2005 Posts: 3110 Location: Seoul, South Korea and Myanmar for a bit
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Posted: Thu Jan 04, 2007 2:19 pm Post subject: |
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| What's with this desire to neuter students? |
I sometimes feel that desire, but then, I teach teenagers. Mostly, I manage to repress it.
One frustration I felt as I was studying Spanish is that in a classroom environment, most people, students and teachers alike, seemed to feel obligated to engage only in measured, well mannered use of language. Which may be fine, if you're always that way in life. But most of us learn languages to use them, and using them can include being upset, angry, sarcastic, kinky, excited, overjoyed, etc; NOT all of which are moderate emotions, and not all of which call for moderate expressions.
I still remember a teacher who I loved who bucked this trend. One day in class the electricity went out- He asked if we knew what to say in this situation, and sixteen students obediently intoned, "the light has gone out."
"Incorrect," said the teacher. You say "hostia puta! Se fue la puta luz, otra vez! Como puede ser que no mantengan nuestra aula!"
Best,
Justin
PS- For non Spanish readers, that's an extremely profane rant about the light going off. |
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John Hall

Joined: 16 Mar 2004 Posts: 452 Location: San Jose, Costa Rica
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Posted: Thu Jan 04, 2007 9:54 pm Post subject: |
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I have to agree with Justin. Language involves expressing emotions. So, there is a place for expressing and/or acting out emotions in class.
But you always have to be careful. You really have to know the students well. Otherwise, you can get into trouble. |
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