A Pat on the Back

At my previous school, it was easy to feel satisfaction. Just getting through the day's 9 classes was reason for jubilation. Things are much different now. I have to really look hard to see the job I've done, to critique or praise it. I usually have 2 hour and a half classes in a day. The rest of the time is used preparing for and then analyzing the effectiveness of the classes. Indeed there's too much time to think about it.

But I take this job seriously and, even with all the indifference I hear from my co-workers, I want to do a good job here. Some that have been at PNU for too long see our effort as futile and the English we're trying to teach as impractical. It's true, the amount of in class time is too short to impart any concrete improvements or mend their broken sentences. I'm not bothered much by this. I acknowledge that my students are mainly freshman engineering majors beginning a long road of English study. As they advance in their major, all the textbooks will be in English and their level will have to be quite high. It's for this reason that I've taking responsibility to not nit-pick their minor deficiencies but rather to try and create an awareness of the practicality of English and hopefully inspire an appreciation of how far they've already gone in studying the language. I want them to be aware of this skill and work to refine it. I don't want them to say 'hey baby' and then laugh for 10 minutes like they did in high school.

I get temporary satisfaction when I do my comedy bit about how there's no potatoes in Korea's potatoe soup or how I prefer their pronunciation of 'sau-say-gee' (sausage) as opposed to our own but it's still hard with their limited efficiency to know how well I'm reaching them. Yesterday, however, I got a good sign I'd like to relate.

We are now on the final week of our 7-week course so I'm giving out final examinations I designed myself. Last night, my class finished their test and said a broken but meaningful goodbye. "I'll missing you." They left and I set to marking the test. A fer minutes later, about 15 of the students returned with a cake, candles and some love letters for me. I was shocked and so pleased. I thought about how they came back to speak to me even though most students their age thinking speaking English is so stressful and they loathe it. I could've hugged them and I probably would've communicated my appreciation better than through speech, but I refrained. They sang me some sort of Korean congratulatory song and we ate. We both wanted to say ore than we could but I gathered that they really enjoyed my class and wanted to keep in touch even though they're no longer my students. I told them I agreed and that they can now call me 'hyun-neim' (uncle). They left and I continued checking the tests until I came across one from a rather shy boy that had a note at the bottom. I'll dictate it word for word.

To Daniel,
I have much fun time with you in this class.
When I came to this class, I afraid say English.
But now, I like say English, saying English is very fun.
When I study English, I'll miss you.
And I want to study with you next time.
Goodbye!

(Exactly the words I needed to hear).