The past few Spoken English classes have been full of lively discussion and expression. A couple weeks ago we started “Star of the Day.” This gives each student a chance to speak in front of their peers and present something that is special to them. One student brought in a peacock feather that he received while on a holy pilgrimage with his father called Shabarimalah. Another student proudly cradled a trophy he had received in school for winning a “gifting contest.” Ravi walked to the front of the class and presented a small model of the Taj Mahal. He told us it is his dream to one day travel to Agra and see this awesome landmark in person. The look of pride on their faces and hearing them tell us about their special item in English has been a new highlight of our class. I look forward to seeing what the other “stars” will bring in the weeks to come.
Every one of us has a spirit of adventure deep in the fiber of our being. I wanted to bring this spirit out by having each student create a passport. The first step was filling out their personal information and decorating their passport. Each one is adorned with the Indian flag and the Indian mascot, a peacock. Each student put much effort in to the fine details of their peacock’s tails and the flag, pictured blowing in the wind. Next, I asked each student, “If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?”
Germany! The Gulf! Bangalore! Malaysia! Oman! America! Trivandrum! Brazil! Argentina! The students all shouted their answers out with excitement. The next question was, “Why do you want to go this place?” A pause, the students sat deep in thought. Then, we worked around the room and each student told us their particular reason. Anish wants to go to Oman to visit his father who works there. Kavhita wants to go to the Gulf to see the sand. Abhirami wants to go to Trivandrum to visit her Aunty. Rajesh wants to go to Brazil to see a football game and his brother wants to go to Argentina for the same purpose. (I sense a bit of a rivalry there.)
Next, the more logistical questions were discussed such as; How will they travel? Who will they take with them? What will they bring with them? After all the details were sorted out, each student entered in their passport their destinations, their purpose for going, and the other detailed travel information. To finish their first page in the passport, they drew a picture representing their destination. Each week we shall take a “journey with our imaginations” to new places. As far as I’m concerned the sky is not the limit. Perhaps we shall take a rocket to Saturn in order to see its rings. The adventures continue…..
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