My Students Rock

While reading my students' first paper, I quickly discovered that they are incredibly smart! Their English skills far exceed typical American students studying a foreign language during their second year of college. Granted, in Chinese high schools, English is stressed as a more important subject than foreign languages are in America.
My students exemplified expansive vocabularies, using words such as "inquisitive", "eloquent" and "versatile". Their grammar does warrant some attention. They like to add a lot of unnecessary commas and need a lesson in quotations and tenses. Although, overall, the papers were well written.
 
I was impressed not only by ability, but also their comments and the experiences they shared. Many shared profound insights and wrote quite poetically. I even spotted the use of a few metaphors. Some favorite books mentioned were Jack Kerouac's On the Road and Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, which is so cool. A few wrote about how they are from poor villages and hope to eventually build better schools or other facilities there, and innovate ways to provide the residents with more opportunities. One student shared how she has already helped establish a work-training program that has helped many youth from her hometown land better-paying jobs. My students are not only intelligent, but incredibly interesting!

Beyond their notable papers, they offered some great perspective on how I can best benefit them in the classroom, and make class more engaging. I was not only appreciative since I am new to ESL instruction, but relieved for the helpful suggestions since the other foreign teachers complained that their students declined to offer any suggestions. The most significant information offered was that they have only written formal papers, mostly argumentative. Therefore, they are interested in learning different writing styles. Many wanted to do a few lessons on poetry. Also, there is a strong desire to learn more about American literature. Most of these requests were vague, but a group of girls offered one specific subject - They want to understand the influence of religion on American novels. So I received some wonderful feedback, which has proven immensely helpful in drafting my syllabus and lesson plans.

Again, my students rock!