Suzanne-OB 3

During the second to last week of class, I had the pleasure of observing Michele Downie's advanced level reading class. I knew Michele's name from some of the CIES students I was interacting with,and I was excited to observe her class because she seemed to be a favorite. I was also excited to see what the most advanced students had to offer. I wasn't let down in the slightest. I think it's easier for us, as up and coming teachers, to positively judge upper level classes because the teaching process runs so much more smoothly, so this is no way meant to overshadow the other classes I observed, but Michele earned her positive judgment from me.

She opened the class by asking the students if they had any questions relating to the vocabulary from last class, and none did. She then put a worksheet on the projector to help the students better understand the concept of free will and how it relates to democracy, a topic they were exploring in this and previous classes - very advanced subjects, but ones that didn't seem out of reach to the students. Then she pulled out an article that the students had read in the class beforehand, an article debating different sides of free will, which was very advanced - a read even for me. But the students could handle it. They felt comfortable with Michele and each other and spoke without needing to be asked, with the exception of a few, and naturally, some students spoke out more often than other students. If a student asked a question, Michele would ask them to repeat it louder for the rest of the class - always a good tactic. She also had them try to define different vocabulary words instead of explaining them herself, which encouraged participation from within the class. In general, she had control over the room and commanded attention and the classroom environment was comfortable and engaged, but sometimes it felt more like a lecture and less like a discussion.

The "housekeeping duties" were done at the end of the class, which didn't seem to be as effective as doing them in the beginning, because the students' minds already seemed out the door - especially since it was the class before lunch AND the students had been drained from taking their TOEFL tests all week. But I liked that she talked about what the plan was for the next class - that way, students would know what to expect.

Carolina CO3

For my last class observation I went to the library. However, when I got there I was told that the teacher I had set up the observation with had canceled at the last minute. The woman running the program looked at me for a while and then asked if I wanted to actually TEACH the class myself. Under pressure I said yes. Ahhh! Here I was intending on sitting and observing the class and now I was in front of it with no materials, no lesson plan, no idea of how the classes were generally run. The woman gave me a sign up sheet and left. I was officially on my own. I racked my brain and jotted down a few notes and sketched out a quick lesson plan in my notebook and then sat down and took a deep breath. Imagine how intimidated we were teaching our culture class--when we had time to create a lesson plan and knew the students. Now imagine having no preparation and not knowing anyone. Yeah. So I started off by going around the room and introducing ourselves and talking about where were from, how long we had been speaking English, and why we were here in Tallahassee. I ended up having a class of about 9. After that I broke everyone up into pairs and had them talk about where they wanted to be in ten years/what was their life goal. Since there was an uneven number I had to be paired off and wasn't able to go around the room and check on everyone. I gave them all a heads up on how much time they had left to talk and made sure both partners had a chance to talk. After that we went in a circle and told the class what our respective partners' goals were for the next 10 years. Later we discussed problems they had been having in their English studies and went over idioms--a common subject that seems to confuse a lot of English learners. The whole class took about 70 minutes which was as much activities as I could come up with in such a short time (the students said normal classes took about 90 minutes). Though this was one of the most nerve wracking experiences, I am SO glad I got to experience it. I now know what it will be like to teach without notice or supplies!

Carolina CP10

After the international dinner, Soe Soe, Eunsung, Are, Jordan and I all decided to go hang out at Aladdin’s Shisha Café. We went and sat down for a while and drank tea and had hookah. It was such an amazing time filled with good friends and even better conversation. We had to opportunity to talk to Soe Soe more about her culture and how she was just waiting to hear about the next step in school she was about to take. She is so unbelievably knowledgeable and so young it’s amazing. After Aladdin’s we went to Steak and Shake and we got Soe Soe, Eunsung, and Are their first milkshakes! I was so excited for them. They all got hamburgers and fries too and were so excited! It was really late (or early in the morning…) at this time and they wondered why there were so many people in the restaurant. I explained the phenomenon of how drunk people will often go to a fast-food place late at night after the finish partying. This was so funny to all three of them. We finished our milkshakes and continued talking about all the differences in our cultures and if they liked America. While they were all three homesick, they all seemed to truly be enjoying their time here.

Carolina CP9

Jordan and I decided to take Eunsung to Korean BBQ and they were finally open! The restaurant, to those who haven’t been before, is so tiny it has about three tables and you go up and order off of a menu of about 5 items. However, it is soooooo good. I got the classic Korean BBQ with beef and it was one of the most delicious meals I’ve had in a long time. Eunsung said that this place was really authentic and this is how the food was actually made and served in Korea. Jordan got a dish with egg in the middle of it surrounded by lots and lots of veggies. Eunsung got Korean BBQ with pork. It was so much fun to finally be showed something from Eunsung’s culture instead of introducing her to American traditions. I love how we can constantly share new things with one another.

Carolina CP8

Eunsung invited me over to her house to just hang out. Her, Are, and I have really become good friends. We got some snacks at Publix then went over to Eunsung’s apartment in Alumni village. We sat on the floor in her living room and talked for a while and then I asked them in they had ever used Hulu, the internet site where you can watch free tv and they said they hadn’t. I told them how I had seen a commercial for a completely Korean station on Hulu and used Eunsung’s computer to show them. They both squealed with excitement when I showed them because it turned out it had all of their favorite Korean shows on it. We ended up watching about 3 hours of Korean television with English subtitles. I encouraged them to read the subtitles to help them with their English even when they weren’t studying. We ate a classic dried seaweed snack from Korea and had ice cream and just hung out. It was so amazing and chill and there was absolutely no language barrier. It was so much fun—just like having a girls night in with my American friends!

Carolina CP7

After tutoring Eunsung and Are we decided to get dinner together. They had really wanted Italian food but nowhere was open so we went to Bamboo House. I made it clear to them that just because they were Asian didn’t mean I thought all Asians ate Chinese food. They laughed and said they knew—they just loved Chinese food too! So we sat and talked for a long time about what restaurants they had in Korea. They said Outback Steakhouse is a popular “American” restaurant and this made me laugh because in American Outback Steakhouse is meant as an Australian themed restaurant. Nevertheless Eunsung said it was a good place to go in Korea if you wanted “American” food. They said they also have Chinese restaurants in Korea, and Japanese. Basically the food is pretty similar to America in that you can get almost any kind in the bigger cities such as Seoul.

Carolina CP 6

The day after we went to Sister Sinks we decided to take more conversation partners to St. George Island. We ended up with the same group the went to Sister Sinks plus Eunsung, Are, and Katie. It was so much fun! We got snacks again and lathered up on the sunscreen. In fact, the only people that got burnt were me and Jordan—our pale Korean friends stayed nice and white! It was so funny. We went in the ocean and played in the sand and had a classic American day at the beach with watermelon and sand castles. I loved sharing this experience with Eunsung and Are. After the beach I went to get dinner with Eunsung, Are, and Metab at Boss Oyster. They had never had oysters before and LOVED them so much. It was so much fun watching them hesitantly eat these raw specimens.