Post Man - Jeudi, 19.10.06

Jeudi 19.10.06 Post Man

In the semi-darkness I clamber around the bedroom gathering my gear for the day. I don’t think either of my guests stirred; probably due to tiredness more so than my stealth-like tip-toeing. We told Kyla and James to stay on and snooze as they don’t have to be up at this unnatural hour.

Part two of my weekly lesson plan is put into action today. I have the same four classes that I had on Monday, though the first two are changed around:

8,00 – 8,45 CM2 C – Claude Duval
9,00 – 9,45 CM2 D – Regine Caruge
BREAK
10,00 – 10,45 CE2 C – Isabelle Acina
10,45 – 11,30 CE2 B – Catherine Thaly

To start I get the kids to recap on what we learnt in the previous class. Some classes are on the ball and tell me all about the map work and the four sentences I taught them: Hello. What is your name? My name is _______. Nice to meet you. Others really wrack their brains trying to find the words, though I eventually tease them out. We repeat, and repeat and repeat the phrases until I’m satisfied they’re getting closer to the correct pronunciation, or rather until I feel I’m loosing my voice! Some children are so softly spoken that I have to strain myself to hear them. I split the class in two and draw two big desert islands with a figure on each. I then add speech bubbles with Hello! written inside and tell the class (in English or French depending on their ability) that they have to pretend they are on a deserted island when they are asking one another the questions; in other words they have to speak loudly.

For the remainder of the class I have prepared some cards with Anglophone names on them: Blue for boys. Pink for girls. I tell them that while I’ve been here I’ve heard so many new names, and the same goes in the countries where English is spoken. I also tell them that even though a name, like David for example, is spelt the same way in Francophone countries, it is pronounced differently. I say the name first before showing them the cards. In this way I aim to make them listen first, become familiar with the sound and then when they see it they will hopefully recognise the different pronunciations and spellings. I have an assortment of names such as: Wendy, Harry, Holly, Frank, Emma, Brian, Janet, Chris… The kids then take a card each and present themselves using their new name. They seem to really enjoy this exercise and the teachers join in too. To wind down I then present some traditional Irish names: Sinéad, Eoin, Gráinne, Cathal, Siobhán, Lorcan. On the whole the day went well. There’s good feedback from both pupils and teachers so I’m glad that my work is being appreciated.

Another person who seems to be warming to me is la directrice, Madame Doh. She beckons me into her office, shows me a seat and asks how I’m getting on. She also gives me a code for the photocopier and paper. Our rendezvous doesn’t last long however, as some bold boys are ushered into the office. It turns out that when they were changing after P.E somebody thought it would be funny to throw someone’s runners into the bin. The culprit had a good aim and decided to add another pair to the pile… Boys will be boys.

As I get off the bus near my house I spot our neighbour, John and a friend driving towards me; with the car packed with the saxophone, drumkit and a keyboard it’s clear they’re heading to a music session. At least I know the neighbourhood with be noise free for the afternoon so I hit the hay for a midday siesta. When I awake I find two pink envelopes on the terrace table. They’re addressed to me and they both contain letters and birthday cards ;-) So after reading my post it’s time to wile away the evening by catching up on some other posts; those for my Journal de Route (Blog), or Journal de Ruth as it is often more fittingly and affectionately nick-named.