Last updated 6/18/09



Tuesday, November 11, 2008

More stupendous stories

Edit: 11:07 pm JST - Added "Yankin it in Europe" to my "Other Places to See" column.

I just wanted to share some more awesome writings 'a la my students.
Let me emphasize that I am not making fun of them at all. Mistakes are the cornerstone of language education. We learn from them and they can be pretty damn funny. I've been learning Japanese for over four years, and I still say a lot of stupid stuff. That said, this is one of the reasons I love teaching a lot of these kids - they often surprise me with their creativity and sense of humor.

This assignment was part of a lesson on ordering food in English. Students worked in pairs for about 10 minutes to come up with their own mini-skits. Here are some of the results:

1.

Waiter (W): Hellow, welcome to Namizu's Restaurant. May I take your order?
Customer (C): Can I see a menu Please?
W: Sure
C: I'd like you Please.
W: Perdon?
C: I'd like you Please!
W: Yes!
C: Really?!
W: Yes, I love you.
C: Let's go to your house.

Soon hug forever... -end-

2.

W: Hello! Welcome to Friend's. I take your order
C: Yes, can I have a steak please? But don't made in China.
W: Sure Would you like some thing to drink?
C: I'd like a cola please
But don't made in China
W: Anything else
C: No thank you that's it
W: Thank you?

3.

W: Good morning, welcome to MacDonald. May I take your order?
C: Can I see a menu, please?
W: Sure
C: I'd like egg mcmuffin
W: Would you like something to drink?
C: I'd lik a cola, please
W: Anything else?
C: I'd like a smile, please.
W: Sure.

These kids have clearly mastered the art of comical writing. I especially love how the two who wrote #2 don't trust China. Questioning the quality/safety of Chinese goods is almost always funny. Unless you live in China.
I also had a pair adapt a skit to ordering gas, and I had another pair who wrote something similar to #3, except in their version after the customer orders a smile, the waiter gets pissed off and yells at the customer to leave.

Anyhow, that's about it for now.
If I can muster the free time soon, I plan on attempting some video blogs. I've been inspired by a friend of mine, so let me just take the time to plug Rob's video blog: Yankin' it in Europe: An American Guide to Studying Abroad. I should note that it pertains largely to studying in Europe, although I can vouch for the fact that some of his suggestions and observations do hold relevance in other regions (like Japan), as well. I would recommend checking it out - Rob has a good knack for combining humor with interesting facts and tidbits. And honestly, his videos and camera techniques are improving with each episode. If you're interested in London or international, uh, stuff - check it out.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

thanks for the shameless plug, "ecyrus"


and yep, I caught myself at the last moment there from calling you by your real name...oh the joys of The Internets

Anonymous said...

and of course I realize I called you by the wrong moniker...bah

Blue Shoe said...

Haha...no problem. Paul or blueshoe are both fine.