English class...

We had a good class today. We are still working on prepositions and today we talked about prepositions of time and place. Of course, we who speak English from birth do not always have the rules of usage in our heads as we speak. (We also don't always know where to put the commas, as this sentence demonstrates.) Today I found a rule that I thought was especially interesting. We use the preposition "on" when we speak of small islands. Huh? Ok, let's see -- "We spent a week on Maui." Yep, that works. If Maui is a small island then what is a large island? Australia? We spent a week on Australia? Nope, that does not work. So I know that I automatically change the preposition when I change from Maui (small island) to Australia (large island). However, I have no conscious memory of ever learning that particular rule. Are there any Language Arts teachers out there who can comment on this?

About mid-way through the class two people came barging in and announced that they heard I taught an English class and could one of them join the class. I said, "No, sorry, this class is full and I will not accept any new students at this time." (We barely have room for the ones we have!) The librarian who supervises ESL classes followed them into the room. She escorted them out and enrolled the prospective student in a new class that is just being formed. I was happy to know that we have some new teachers -- we always seem to have more students that teachers to teach them.

Another activity was for the students to look at a picture of a family enjoying a fall picnic next to a covered bridge, and to describe it to me in English. They had no idea what the covered bridge was. That made me think -- are covered bridges a uniquely American thing? Do other countries have them? I'd like to know so I hope some of you will comment.

(Curiosity led to google "covered bridges" and I found that, indeed, there are other countries with covered bridges. I hope someone will comment and tell me about the covered bridges in your country.)

Lately I have noticed that M, who normally struggles, is showing more animation than she has shown in the past. I think the light has finally dawned. She seems to be excited during class. I LOVE it when a student finally begins to understand. The other students are always willing to help her even though they don't share a common language. This class is finally beginning to bond.