Idiom of the Week

To exemplify how culture and language are interconnected, I start each class with the "Idiom of the Week." After having my students guess what they think it means, I explain the vernacular. For example, the first week I wrote on the board, "To break the ice," as a lead-in for our 'Snowball' ice breaker.


This week's idiom was, "Call a spade a spade." I explained the cultural signifance of Westerners' desire or need to be straightforward and, at times, frank. Chinese, on the other hand, are very indirect in their manner of speaking. This indirectness can be very time consuming! When confronted with the language barrier, I will have a friend help by asking the question for me. I anticipate a quick answer, but the two will carry on for five mintues as if a simple "yes" or "no" is just not sufficient. I cannot wait till I can comprehend more Chinese so that I can better understand this sinuous conversation.

I am currently teaching the writing process through a descriptive writing assignment. The students seem to think that they can create their best work in just one sitting. Their homework was to compose a rough draft, which I asked for them to revise for next week, using the rhetorical tools learned in class. Most students had expected to turn in the assignment today and move on to another paper. After the bell rang, one of my few male students asked if their revised paper would actually be turned in next week for grading. Not wanting to say no (they will be learning the value of peer reviews next week!) and give him reason to not rewrite his draft, I hesitated. Sensing my hesitiation, he said, "Come on, Ms. Lindsey, call a spade a spade!"