ESL class today! Today was our first class since before Christmas. Since I spent almost the whole month of January caring for my parents, I had to cancel my class. It was wonderful being back! I had 3 of my 4 students and we caught up -- they read their journals, we did a word find using idioms & slang expressions, and then we played Scrabble. They had never seen the game and seemed to enjoy it. It will help them to start thinking more about English words and how they are structured.

We also watched a video that was made at the annual ESL party. One of my students participated in a presentation about the Chinese New Year and she enjoyed seeing how she and her friends looked and sounded.

My Iranian student brought doughnuts (that blew the diet!) and shared them with the class and then with the librarians. My student from Taiwan brought Chinese New Year's candy.

My student from Thailand was sad because she sometimes encounters people who make no effort to understand her English (which is quite good.) She feels rejected. She is a really lovely person and I enjoy visiting with her. We talked about not letting people take control of her feelings. I so enjoy meeting people from other countries that it surprises me when other people don't, and especially when they are rude about it!

Next week we will have a "calendar" class. I gave them all new calendars and next week in class we will look at all the holidays and learn about the American customs that go with each one. I also have another word find planned -- it is centered on White House Facts, and I thought that would tie into a discussion about the new president, the inauguration, etc. One student is studying for her citizenship exam and she is learning some of this type of information.

How do you feel about meeting someone from a country entirely different from yours? Do you feel threatened?