Below, I have pasted an email I received from one of my students. His class will be finishing up shortly so he sent me a note. I have removed personally identifying materials. I should also mention that C has also been getting thoughtful emails and text messages thanking her for her class. I suppose it's possible they are buttering us up for a better grade but I think it's highly unlikely. Most of these students are in line for As anyway. They are just appreciative of having encountered a different teaching style.
NOTE: I didn't correct the mistakes in the mail, but I am not leaving them in to ridicule my student. I couldn't even come close to writing something like this in Chinese. He is a very good student and I enjoyed having him in class.
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Dear David:
I am a student of yours ,in Class10 Maritime Engineering. Yes I am XXXX who is interested in both you and your lesson.Since you know ,I always used to sit in front of classroom. Although,I am not good at English ,especial spoken English,I can grasp the main ideal you espressed at lesson .I have leared more from you ,which I can never gain from any ohher place ,for instance ,the accent of American ,the form of expression ,the culture of westerner ,and so on .On this point ,all of my classmates should express great gratitude to you ,think you very much,David.
I do not know how do you feel about our class .In the process ,some of my mates were not earnest,and not all of us were punctual,and so forth ,which allways made you at loss .Some times you had to make us be quiet .I know ,all of this bad phemenomenon or perfonrmance made you felt disappointed ,to a foreign teacher ,especially you as a new comer ,that might be a kind of disappointment or a chellenge of your job in China. But in fact,almost none of us do not like you or your tuition.You are our first foreign teacher,so you are particulliar.Comparing whit our former Chinese English teacher ,the class you tought is very interesting .To say the least ,I am a loyal fan of you. Approaching to the end of the semester ,I feel relucktant to say farewell to you and your excellent class .Once so many times ,I had made up my mind to make friends with you, so as to helped you and learned smothly spoken English from you ,but I never expressed this mind to you for no apparent reasons.
Well ! I will never meet you and communicate with you after the final exam.Which is a kind of grief to me in a sense. In one"s life ,a person will come to so many people,but the person will only can keep few of them in his\her mind. I belive you will be one of those who are kept in my mind untill the day I disapear from the world ! Nest monday ,obviously,is the end of the course ,but not the end of the motion ,as well as the relationship between us. Whenever and wherever you can resort to me when you are in trouble ,on the piont you belive I have the ability to offer what you need ! Lasterly ,resly think you for your teach !The years will obscure what teach me ,but not you -David my first foreign teacher !
Best wishes
Sunday, December 03, 2006
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3 comments:
aww! good job guys! that's so awesome! it must give you a really nice sense of accomplishment. :)
wow, so many thoughts, such little time & space to express them (esp since i know i'll have to battle your word verification engine, so i'm setting aside 15 mins for that... looks like ofdjra right now, but that j could be a g...)... so, for starters, 1 main thing i've gleaned from this blog is that the chinese culture is significantly less homophobic than the american culture. i mean - the comments you posted earlier in the semester about guys expressing that you are an attractive American man - & this letter. more than likely, these are heterosexual guys. which is great... b/c you just would never see heterosexual american men saying and writing things like this about other guys. i mean, i'll occasionally utter "you're my boy, Blue" but even that made you feel a touch uncomfortable, i think, when I shouted it across the office :)
Maybe the Chinese are just more expressive in general. Unlike we hardened American males who have been taught to suppress our affection toward other males. ok, i'm just gonna let it out... I love you Blue! I need you back here! Come back to me Blue! course... I love Green too. And I don't mean that in the loving-someone-else's wife type of love... just more like the Chinese, affectionate, not-afraid-to-be-called-gay kind of love :)
Ok, back to writing this BRD.
Peace out!
Blue
"Frank the Tank! Frank the Tank!" Sorry I just can't help it.
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