tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-965824120120454342.post2602823938428452057..comments2023-10-21T11:44:45.588+01:00Comments on ResidentAlien: Write StuffMary Witzlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06458299046574564155noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-965824120120454342.post-1297272044045252932009-02-18T18:59:00.000+00:002009-02-18T18:59:00.000+00:00Carole -- You are so kind and appreciative that it...Carole -- You are so kind and appreciative that it is a pleasure to write for you.<BR/><BR/>I keep thinking I'll get to the end of these stories, but my kids keep doing daft things, thus forcing me to write more.<BR/><BR/>Kappa -- No, you are not being dramatic! On my second trip to Japan, I noticed that after a year my past participles were going and I was having real word finding problems. It's much worse if you're not living among English speaking people -- I suspect you aren't, right? When I started struggling to remember words like 'thumb' and 'post office', I figured it was time to go back to the States.<BR/><BR/>Tabitha -- I tell myself that the reason I'm noticing so many of my writing infelicities is that I've finally learned how to write -- I've just about arrived. And boy, how I want to believe that.<BR/><BR/>AP -- I'm glad your son is enjoying his teaching experiences in Japan. My husband and I both taught middle school students there and we loved it: they're still so sweet and enthusiastic about learning. Once they're in high school, they feel the full burden of their examinations bearing down on them, and they lose some of that enthusiasm.Mary Witzlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06458299046574564155noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-965824120120454342.post-28631458897581193772009-02-18T18:14:00.000+00:002009-02-18T18:14:00.000+00:00I have been reading your blog and enjoy it very mu...I have been reading your blog and enjoy it very much, but have never commented before.<BR/><BR/>I have a Son who teaches English in Japan and his stories are very funny and sweet. He teaches all ages and the younger ones are the best. Right now he is teaching Jr. High School and they seem to want to learn English.angryparsniphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17236094827257446781noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-965824120120454342.post-33890043846147303472009-02-18T16:28:00.000+00:002009-02-18T16:28:00.000+00:00Great post! :) I think everyone goes through tha...Great post! :) I think everyone goes through that...often more than once. :)Tabithahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17420910182752981979noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-965824120120454342.post-6235559176047295182009-02-18T07:26:00.000+00:002009-02-18T07:26:00.000+00:00Isn't it scary how you forget your English? (refer...Isn't it scary how you forget your English? (referring to your comment to Kim). It really is a catch twenty-two living in a non-English speaking culture--you have all these amazing experiences and yet...your English goes kaput. Okay, maybe I'm being overly dramatic.Kappa no Hehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00909580462578058631noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-965824120120454342.post-47187331251077693782009-02-17T15:58:00.000+00:002009-02-17T15:58:00.000+00:00Delightful. Well not for you as the teacher...but...Delightful. Well not for you as the teacher...but for me as the reader/fly on the wall. Thanks for the chuckles.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03828426520214270655noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-965824120120454342.post-11436712256436475722009-02-17T13:11:00.000+00:002009-02-17T13:11:00.000+00:00Katie -- I've got a whole new bunch of students th...Katie -- I've got a whole new bunch of students this term, and so far they're a big improvement on last term's batch. They appear to want to learn English, for one thing -- I was almost bowled over when I found that out! <BR/><BR/>Marcia -- Actually, I blush to remember how naive I was last term. For instance, I only took roll once, at the beginning of class. During the breaks, one third of the class would then disappear. You'd be surprised how quickly I've wisened up. Or at least in terms of teaching; I've still got a long way to go in the writing department.<BR/><BR/>Charlie -- You could use both names if Unsal had really managed to produce a whole sentence in English, with or without mistakes. But I'd be unconscious.<BR/><BR/>Charles -- Guaranteed if you wrote it on the board, a couple of your students would find themselves wondering why you didn't just write it on their answer sheets. I've had students whine about doing the simplest, easiest homework. I find myself fantasizing about those boring, no-nonsense, old-fashioned teachers who assigned wheelbarrows full of nasty homework and kept canes at the ready.Mary Witzlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06458299046574564155noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-965824120120454342.post-6091910320220047172009-02-16T20:44:00.000+00:002009-02-16T20:44:00.000+00:00Well, sometimes it doesn't seem much better here. ...Well, sometimes it doesn't seem much better here. I was telling students, out of the goodness of my heart, what the essay question on the test was going to be about. One student raises a hand and asks if it is on blackboard, our online classroom connection. I say, "no." She asks, well can you put it on blackboard? I say, "no, I'm not putting the test on blackboard." Sigh!Charles Gramlichhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02052592247572253641noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-965824120120454342.post-20919402673578211122009-02-16T19:15:00.000+00:002009-02-16T19:15:00.000+00:00May I call you Fyodor, or would you prefer Ms. Dos...May I call you Fyodor, or would you prefer Ms. Dostoyevsky?Charliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00722567671925063706noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-965824120120454342.post-19834888522831935612009-02-16T18:32:00.000+00:002009-02-16T18:32:00.000+00:00I guess we're all learning, just at different leve...I guess we're all learning, just at different levels! I admire how you can sniff out their ploys. I'm afraid I'd be too naive for your job.Marciahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10006966091789130047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-965824120120454342.post-58785038795960524732009-02-16T18:25:00.000+00:002009-02-16T18:25:00.000+00:00Mary, I must confess that I love posts like this; ...Mary, I must confess that I love posts like this; it's kind of like the lists of fraudulent insurance claims. I hope you have at least a couple of star students who make it easier and more rewarding at the end of the day.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-965824120120454342.post-54367030135026480582009-02-16T15:09:00.000+00:002009-02-16T15:09:00.000+00:00Robin -- I think it's funny now, but at the time I...Robin -- I think it's funny now, but at the time I was so angry I could have kicked a fence in. And three of her friends obviously had the same idea because they produced virtually the same piece of writing. <BR/><BR/>And yes, I'm smarter! Nothing to do with English, of course, but if I had to plagiarize, I could do it better. <BR/><BR/>Angela -- They have no idea, (I fervently hope). I'm sure most of my students would be thoroughly mystified by anyone who wanted to spend MORE time writing. <BR/><BR/>Nandini -- I envy the Turkish teachers because they know what the students can do in their own language. My students certainly speak Turkish just fine; stopping them is the trick.<BR/><BR/>I'm bilingual too, and on the first day of class, I told the students about this, assuring them I knew how tough learning a language could be. Three months later, half a dozen of them were astonished to find me reading a book in Japanese in the student union. They swore I'd never told them I could do this. <BR/><BR/>Chris -- I'll send you an e-mail! I had to take my e-mail address off my blog; too many agents were plaguing me with offers. <BR/><BR/>Kim -- I just hope that I'm not a gibbering idiot by the time I'm done teaching here. I'm already having a tough time remembering the past participles of irregular verbs, and how to use the more difficult modals.<BR/><BR/>Bish -- Their English is certainly way ahead of my Turkish, but I have a greater desire to learn. Sometimes I'm tempted to ask a few of the more reluctant students to step up to the lectern and teach me Turkish. At least some learning would take place then.Mary Witzlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06458299046574564155noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-965824120120454342.post-11287404114652778192009-02-16T13:13:00.000+00:002009-02-16T13:13:00.000+00:00On the bright side (surely there's a bright side?)...On the bright side (surely there's a bright side?) at least they are writing something down, and it's English, even if it is mangled. I wonder how well I'd do speaking/learning their language.Bish Denhamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13359927719391990534noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-965824120120454342.post-65754260764332559342009-02-16T10:17:00.000+00:002009-02-16T10:17:00.000+00:00How long before I get an email from you saying, To...How long before I get an email from you saying, <I>To My good friend Kim, I am Mary, American girl goes to university and teaching English. I has have ******* years old. I am like first term too much</I>?Kim Ayreshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02656677501116622953noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-965824120120454342.post-54407048601651442882009-02-16T09:15:00.000+00:002009-02-16T09:15:00.000+00:00Hi Mary,Sorry I'm not reading your post right now....Hi Mary,<BR/><BR/>Sorry I'm not reading your post right now....will come back. I'm trying to collect email addys...<BR/><BR/>This is a copy and paste message:<BR/><BR/>Hi,<BR/><BR/>I wanted to ask you if you could take a moment and send me an email at my new email address:<BR/><BR/>chriseldin1@gmail.com <BR/><BR/>(You don’t have to write anything, I just want your email address for my new contact list, if that’s okay).<BR/>The hotmail server where I am has been locked up for over a week, and I can’t access my contact list. I’m sorry I’m posting this on your blog. And I’m also sorry this is a copy and paste letter. Will be back around….<BR/>Thanks!! And if you can’t, no worries!Chris Eldinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11794946908789120139noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-965824120120454342.post-28444497512598585092009-02-16T03:46:00.000+00:002009-02-16T03:46:00.000+00:00Funny and frustrating! Probably both for you and y...Funny and frustrating! Probably both for you and your students ... any idea how they write in Turkish? I am bilingual, having studied Hindi and English since elementary school, but it's been very hard trying to teach my kids Hindi in the U.S. Wish I could do a Vulcan mind-meld ... Though, like you say, the learning never stops!Nandinihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14288011387138842112noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-965824120120454342.post-87465865540666946252009-02-15T22:36:00.000+00:002009-02-15T22:36:00.000+00:00Do they know that you're a writer as well as a tea...Do they know that you're a writer as well as a teacher? I wonder what they would think to know of your aspirations!Angela Ackermanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01808259088625142389noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-965824120120454342.post-22295218378144517862009-02-15T22:25:00.000+00:002009-02-15T22:25:00.000+00:00I'll bet you'd be about a zillion times better a s...I'll bet you'd be about a zillion times better a student than Fatma! <BR/><BR/>Oh, that was too funny. She is so silly that she thinks her sentences sound the same as the plagiarized ones. I can't stop giggling.Robinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12396540555696283171noreply@blogger.com