My English World

My school has a wing that is designated as the English World. My classroom is the study room of the English World. There is also The Yongso Store, where students can buy prizes with Yongso dollars that they earn with good behavior. A group of mothers run the store and the students have to use only English when they are purchasing their prizes from the store. The students can buy everything from stickers and markers to games and art sets.

            The English World also includes a cinema where students can watch movies everyday during their free time. The cinema has real movie theatre seats and a big screen. The cinema also doubles for a karaoke room when the disco ball is turned on. The lyrics of songs are projected onto the screen, a microphone is set up and students can sing their hearts out to the English pop song of their choice.

            My favorite part of the English World is the area that is designated for role-plays. There is a big room with multiple areas for students to act out role-plays. The room has a hospital, a bank, and an airline check-in counter among other things. Once a month each class will go down to the role-play area and act out different situations. I think that this area is a wonderful way for students to learn practical English in addition to the textbook English that they learn in class.

            The shades that pull down in the hallway have different pictures from English speaking countries. My room has four shades that make up Buckingham Palace, the hallway shows a typical American shopping center with coffee shops and minivans. My favorite are the shades at the end of the hall that are of San Francisco and one has the Full House home on it. When I got excited and started talking about Full House no one knew what I was talking about. I still smile to myself when I pass that shade on my way to the cafeteria each afternoon.

            My duties in the school vary from teaching twenty-one classes per week to being the host of the school’s morning news broadcast. I pick an English song each month and teach it to the students over the broadcast and in class. I have open cinema hours for the students to practice the song and at the end of each month I will be the judge of a karaoke contest. This month we are starting out with Yesterday by the Beatles. The students need some slow songs to keep up with the lyrics. Next month I am trying to challenge them with a slightly faster song, but one that repeats the chorus often. We will be signing Hawaiian Roller coaster Ride, from the movie Lilo and Stitch. I will be taking video of the karaoke contest this month. So far the children look adorable belting out Beatles songs and I only imagine with practice they will get better by the end of the month.