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What if the Hokey Pokey is what it's all about?
Posted by Teresa Ulrich
on
7:11 AM
I will post about Suphan Buri soon.
I would like to blog about something, though, while it is fresh in my mind.
At the English camp, I taught the Hokey Pokey. What a genius song for English learners! They learn right, left, in, out, front, back, hand, foot, head, shake, turn... so many good things to teach with this song! Plus, they get a kick out of how silly it is. I also taught this to the English for Music class today. What a HOOT! Haha... I tell them that it's a party song, and we sing it whenever we roller skate. XD It's true, though! I will post a video of the English camp in a few days when I have more free time (after Tuesday, because I taught all afternoon and I have choir tomorrow morning). I may teach it to the choir tomorrow just as an ice breaker. The students seem to like it a lot.
The English for Music class went very well. The students are shy, but eager to learn. You'll see in my upcoming Suphan Buri blogs about my concern for the... lack of punctuality. To my surprise, the students were reprimanded for being tardy. They were made to stand up in front of the class and give me a reason for being late. If they were late because of lunch, I just laughed and said, "Eat earlier!" Mostly what I did for the class was read a paper on Mozart. Their teacher, Tor, speaks English very well, but he wants them to hear a native speaker. So I read each word and they repeated it. The sounds which give them the most trouble are 'ch,' 'v' and 'r.' They also have a problem with ending consonants. It's just not a part of their language. I had a hard time learning how to sing in German, so I definitely remember what they are going through.
Today, after the English class, I left with Fon to go to a nearby university. I will be a guest conductor for their upcoming choir concert. I must say, I am so impressed with the responsiveness of these students. You give them an instruction, and they immediately implement it. On top of that, I was able to layer instructions... meaning, I would tell them to work on something, and then I was able to add something else to it, and they were able to perform both tasks, and then I could add a third, and they could retain it all. Wow! That's a very hard thing for American students to accomplish! What a dream for any choral director to have.
Afterward, a few of the students and Fon took me to the night market. Picture junk food alley, only 10 times healthier and 10 times more food. My first dish of pad thai... very good! Pictures to come soon!
That's it for now. I'm very tired! Must get sleep!
I would like to blog about something, though, while it is fresh in my mind.
At the English camp, I taught the Hokey Pokey. What a genius song for English learners! They learn right, left, in, out, front, back, hand, foot, head, shake, turn... so many good things to teach with this song! Plus, they get a kick out of how silly it is. I also taught this to the English for Music class today. What a HOOT! Haha... I tell them that it's a party song, and we sing it whenever we roller skate. XD It's true, though! I will post a video of the English camp in a few days when I have more free time (after Tuesday, because I taught all afternoon and I have choir tomorrow morning). I may teach it to the choir tomorrow just as an ice breaker. The students seem to like it a lot.
The English for Music class went very well. The students are shy, but eager to learn. You'll see in my upcoming Suphan Buri blogs about my concern for the... lack of punctuality. To my surprise, the students were reprimanded for being tardy. They were made to stand up in front of the class and give me a reason for being late. If they were late because of lunch, I just laughed and said, "Eat earlier!" Mostly what I did for the class was read a paper on Mozart. Their teacher, Tor, speaks English very well, but he wants them to hear a native speaker. So I read each word and they repeated it. The sounds which give them the most trouble are 'ch,' 'v' and 'r.' They also have a problem with ending consonants. It's just not a part of their language. I had a hard time learning how to sing in German, so I definitely remember what they are going through.
Today, after the English class, I left with Fon to go to a nearby university. I will be a guest conductor for their upcoming choir concert. I must say, I am so impressed with the responsiveness of these students. You give them an instruction, and they immediately implement it. On top of that, I was able to layer instructions... meaning, I would tell them to work on something, and then I was able to add something else to it, and they were able to perform both tasks, and then I could add a third, and they could retain it all. Wow! That's a very hard thing for American students to accomplish! What a dream for any choral director to have.
Afterward, a few of the students and Fon took me to the night market. Picture junk food alley, only 10 times healthier and 10 times more food. My first dish of pad thai... very good! Pictures to come soon!
That's it for now. I'm very tired! Must get sleep!
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