Caveat: The worst possible gift

The below is paraphrased, because the level of English is a bit lower than is easy to quote directly – there are a lot of re-phrasings and "do you know what I mean?" from me, and from the student, a lot of false starts and "teacher guesses at student meaning with requests for confirmation". Actual classroom conversation at the lower levels of ability are pretty complicated and drawn-out negotiations of intent and semantics. But the spirit of the conversation is accurate, after we worked out our meanings.

Teacher: "What is the worst possible gift you could receive?"

Jack: "An English book!"

Teacher: "So if I gave you an English book, what would you do?"

Jack: "I will give you a Korean book."

My students are sometimes quite adept at detecting my anxieties.

[daily log: walking, 7km]

One comment

  1. David

    The worst possible gift? I would say the best possible gift.
    If we wish to acquire (high-level) skill in a foreign language, we must expose ourselves again and again to (scholarly) native samples of that language. Reading, in my opinion, is the best way to do so. When we read, we can see details that might be swallowed in oral communication and we can take the time we need to process complex or simply unfamiliar expressions.
    Wanna learn a foreign language? Read, read, read!

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