This week with 1º Eso, I spent 20 minutes making animal noises in English. (Spanish roosters say qui-qui-ri-qui, dogs say guau-guau, and the rest of the animals are bilingual Spanish-English). Or in 3º Eso I finally clarified the difference between fun and funny. To do this I said "Playing football is fun, riding a bike is fun," and made a thumbs up sign. "A movie is funny, a joke is funny, a person is funny" ha-ha-ha-ha. "Riding a bike is not funny," as I pretended to ride a bike while fake laughing. That's just maniacal. Somebody thought this was funny, so hopefully they'll remember this important lesson.
Another important lesson for Spanish speakers is the difference between short i (as in shit) and long e (as in sheet). In Spanish, i is always pronounced as our "ee,' and they only have 5 vowel sounds in total. So it can be difficult for them to pronounce it, let alone hear a difference. To quote the video An Italian Man Went to Malta, "you betta not sheet on the bed, you son of a beach!"
And here are some interesting results from this week's oral exams (with 16-year-olds, mind you):
-Do you think teaching is a difficult job?
-Carlos Hernández
-What are your hobbies?
-I ride a bike and kill birds.
-What are your hobbies?
-Chewing sunflower seeds.
