Class, Freshman English Majors

Today in class, I had the students interview each other and then introduce their partner to the class. This was a good way for me to get to know the students too. A lot of similarities came up among answers, as well as some unique ones. Mostly the students come from other, more rural cities in Anhui province. Many want to be English teachers or interpreters as their future jobs. Some want to be Chinese teachers in other countries so they had the opportunity to spread Chinese culture. One girl wants to be a pyschologist. About half of them have siblings. Their parents' occupations are made up of businessmen and businesswomen, farmers, and teachers. One student's father is a policeman, which impressed the other students. Their favorite activities include sleeping (by far the most popular answer!), watching tv, listening to music, watching movies, and sports such as badminton, basketball, soccer, tennis, and running.

They want to learn English to make friends around the world, to travel, and to communicate with foreigners. One of my students who is also the class monitor, Ernest (they all have English names besides their Chinese names), wants to speak English well because his dream is to to be a singer and to be able to sing with his idols. Many recognize that if they can speak English fluently they will get good jobs, and that is very important to them.

Their favorite American movies include Titantic, Gone with the Wind, The Princess Diaries, High School Musical, The Day After Tomorrow, Million Dollar Baby, and Harry Potter. Their favorite American singers include Emilia, Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, Madonna, and Christina Aguilera. Some had many favorite American movies and singers, so they couldn't settle on one. They are very interested in learning about the world and about American culture. Because of this, I am putting together a presentation for next week on American culture. We will watch an episode of the American tv show How I Met Your Mother and discuss it. As their homework they will each be assigned a state in the U.S. and they will prepare a presentation, acting as a tourism director, on why their state is the best to visit. I am looking forward to what they come up with!