My New Class

My new class was Current Issues in the World. This meant the students would read English newspapers. Not only that they would discuss global issues in English. This also meant they were holders of advanced skills of English.

When the class began, my students were not near the level. Some of them did not know that the plural form of ‘she’ was ‘they.’ They knew about verb conjugated but did not know that the past tense of ‘go’ was ‘went.’ They said, “Yes, I am,” to the question of, “Do you like tea?” This short answer, by the way, was the maximum they could say.

I met the head instructor of the English Department to talk about the condition. He said, “Change the contents.” I said it was easy to do but the class was Current Issues in the World. He said, “Never mind. The students’ level is not up to the level, right?” I said OK and changed the nature of the course. I discussed basic grammar like the plural form of “she” was “they.” The past tense of “go” was “went.” If I said, “Do you like tea?” the correct answer was, “Yes, I do,” not, “Yes, I am.” If they did not like tea, the correct answer was, “No I don’t,” not, “No I do.” I did that for three months and my students finished Current Issues in the World.