This morning I felt like I was a good teacher. (The fact that I care to even mention that might give you an inkling how very seldom I actually feel that way.) I undertook an experiment and I still can’t quite believe it worked. Most of my colleagues would probably think me crazy but here goes:
I watched a film with my Third Years. So what you say? It was a film in English, a film set in Belfast (so all you got to hear were Northern Irish accents), a film that didn’t have German subtitles, only English ones. Now let this sink in. Most of my pupils have very low reading skills, an attention span shorter than the average music clip, and don’t even get me started on their English…
I watched a film with my Third Years. So what you say? It was a film in English, a film set in Belfast (so all you got to hear were Northern Irish accents), a film that didn’t have German subtitles, only English ones. Now let this sink in. Most of my pupils have very low reading skills, an attention span shorter than the average music clip, and don’t even get me started on their English…
But I very much wanted them to see this movie. There had been a unit in their student books about Ireland, but I felt they hadn’t really made a connection, that those pretty travel brochure pictures had passed them by without leaving much of an impression. And since Northern Ireland was completely ignored in their book, I thought well, if you want something done…
Alright, I admit I think the mention of bombings and shootings during the Troubles grabbed their attention but nonetheless. They watched the film, or rather the first half of it (by the way, a thing called “The Mighty Celt” with Robert Carlisle and Gillian Anderson) in silence and concentration and were totally okay with the fact that they didn’t get half of the dialogues’ content. Nothing short of a miracle. Sure, we had discussed before how you can try to understand situations just by watching people’s faces and gestures and by listening to their tone of voice. And sure, I gave them little bits of information along the way or stopped the film for a minute to explain something important to the plot. But still, there had been a good chance straight from the beginning that half of them wouldn’t be able to “allow” those gaps and to settle into the film at all but would very subtly inform me of their discontent.
So this story hasn’t got much of a punch line. I’m just so proud of my Third Years (and a tiny little bit - or rather a wee bit - of myself) and wanted to high-five someone all day. Nine days out of ten they drive me round the bend, but somehow tenth days like today…well!
Alright, I admit I think the mention of bombings and shootings during the Troubles grabbed their attention but nonetheless. They watched the film, or rather the first half of it (by the way, a thing called “The Mighty Celt” with Robert Carlisle and Gillian Anderson) in silence and concentration and were totally okay with the fact that they didn’t get half of the dialogues’ content. Nothing short of a miracle. Sure, we had discussed before how you can try to understand situations just by watching people’s faces and gestures and by listening to their tone of voice. And sure, I gave them little bits of information along the way or stopped the film for a minute to explain something important to the plot. But still, there had been a good chance straight from the beginning that half of them wouldn’t be able to “allow” those gaps and to settle into the film at all but would very subtly inform me of their discontent.
So this story hasn’t got much of a punch line. I’m just so proud of my Third Years (and a tiny little bit - or rather a wee bit - of myself) and wanted to high-five someone all day. Nine days out of ten they drive me round the bend, but somehow tenth days like today…well!
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