I thought the teachers in my family (and there are quite a few) would find this funny. I have managed to find a way to incorporate both R Kelly and GQ Magazine into my class. In an attempt to beef up the listening skills of my students I asked them what types of things they like to listen to, like sports commentary, music, radio programs, ect. The overwhelming majority said songs. The trouble with songs is that you have to find a song with clear enough lyrics that non-native speakers can understand, and also that the lyrics fit what you are studying in class. For my begining class we have been going over the verb "to be" and the contractions of the verb. (These are especially hard because contractions don't exist in Spanish, and the students don't understand why we need two forms of the same thing.) So the song I found was "World's Greatest" by R Kelly. I'm wondering if I will also need to explain the difference between misdemenors and felonies...
To introduce present continuous in my class, I have pictures from magazines of people doing different things to show, "He is running." or "She is brushing her teeth." Well, the only magazine floating around the hostel was GQ. Turned out to be perfect! There is a picture of LeBron James playing basketball, a guy cooking, and someone showering. LeBron was playing basketball shirtless, the guy cooking was wearing his underwear, and the person showering was an add for Old Spice that showed a centaur in the shower. Luckily I was able to find other pictures that worked, but then my students started asking about the magazine itself. What could I say? How do I explain "metro-sexual" to a country founded on a machismo mentality? All I can say is that I can guarantee my classes will never be boring!
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
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Haha...I love it Jody, you're so creative :)
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