ESL Class: Around the World in 180 Minutes
Myanmar, Peru, Serbia, Chile, Russia, Mexico, Ethiopia, and India.
I got to vicariously visit those countries, and more, when "Great Outfits" was the topic of the day for students in my English as a Second Language (ESL) class.
The co-teacher and I had asked our adult ESL students to wear an item of clothing from their homeland (or the place where they were born -- not sure how to politely phrase this, but that's a topic for another post). They were given the option to bring pictures if they didn't want to wear traditional clothing.
On the appointed day, in a class of a dozen people, only a pair of women from Myanmar wore traditional dress -- beautiful, brightly colored, long wrap skirts with delicate blouses.
After the ladies from Myanmar modeled their Great Outfits, everyone was given an iPad to find and share images of traditional clothing from their culture.
Before we could organize a structured conversation game centered on the pictures, the students took off on their own --
Spontaneous conversation in beginner conversation class!!
They all seemed to really enjoy sharing something unique to their cultures -- describing the clothing, when it's worn, who wears it.
They spontaneously moved around the room talking in pairs and small groups, asking and answering questions. The buzz was beautiful.
For 180 minutes on Wednesdays, I get to see people from many countries and cultures come together for a common purpose and interact without friction. They work together. They laugh together. They form partnerships and they help each other.
For 180 minutes each week, I get to see what I imagine peaceful coexistence would look like.
The co-teacher and I had asked our adult ESL students to wear an item of clothing from their homeland (or the place where they were born -- not sure how to politely phrase this, but that's a topic for another post). They were given the option to bring pictures if they didn't want to wear traditional clothing.
On the appointed day, in a class of a dozen people, only a pair of women from Myanmar wore traditional dress -- beautiful, brightly colored, long wrap skirts with delicate blouses.
 |
| Peruvian |
.jpg) |
| Serbian |
Before we could organize a structured conversation game centered on the pictures, the students took off on their own --
Spontaneous conversation in beginner conversation class!!
They all seemed to really enjoy sharing something unique to their cultures -- describing the clothing, when it's worn, who wears it.
They spontaneously moved around the room talking in pairs and small groups, asking and answering questions. The buzz was beautiful.
For 180 minutes on Wednesdays, I get to see people from many countries and cultures come together for a common purpose and interact without friction. They work together. They laugh together. They form partnerships and they help each other.
For 180 minutes each week, I get to see what I imagine peaceful coexistence would look like.
.jpg){kind=link}
Comments
Post a Comment