AMERICAN BALLS

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I brought two of them with me from home (although bet they were made here), intending to use them to break the ice (Tuesday's "Idiom of the Week", btw) in class. You know, to use in a getting-to-know-you activity where a smiley-face covered beachball is tossed happily from person to person, each of whom who is then expected to divulge (in an utterance remotely resembling English) a bit of personal info based on freshly reviewed vocab, before picking the next "victim". Sound fun? This should help, I thought when I first thought of it, loosen up the class and obviate the need for volunteers or any knowledge of names to call on. The outcome of said exercise speaks volumes about Chinese students, and my expectations of success reams about my misconceived, preconceived notions.

Let's start with names, shall we? They're impossible to remember correctly after a single pronuciation, by the way, or impossible to see from their hastily crafted and mostly microscopically scrawled name "plates" (despite my bilingual insistence on BIG pinyin letters). And, when they are legible, no diacritics are supplied to stand between me and calling someone, let's see, say..."great liar" instead of, perhaps.."spring flower". Step back from the abyss. Oh, and then there is the handful of students armed with such, shall we say, unique names (see earlier post) that I can barely bring myself to say them out loud. The tongue bleeds.

Suffice it to say that no one, not one single solitary 18-20 year old out of 40 to 50 possible canditates, half of whom are prepared, EVER volunteers. Ever. Every man-jack of them studiously avoids eye contact. Not too difficult to surmise whence the Chinese expression "The nail that sticks up gets hammered" originates. Whereas, we're encouraged to "Stand out". Hmmmm...

Into this willful silence I introduce the BALL. Can you picture it? I carefully explain the procedure, not at the time taking in the tremor of terror that I now understand must have rippled through the student body. I take the intiative. Make the first toss, taking careful aim at one of my good students. It hits the top of her suddenly downturned head, apparently, unbelieveably, shocking her, then bounces back to the desk behind her, whose occupant proceeds immediately, instinctively, to bat it back to the row behind without missing a beat. And so it goes. Oh, and did I mention that spontaneous giggles and gasps accompanied the whole excruciating ordeal? Boys and girls alike. I find said reaction promising.

Next class, I'm planning to teach them how to say Dodge Ball in English. Here I guess they just call it Ball.

(P.S. Thanks, sis, for washing and deflating those bad boys.)

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Comments

[Treva]

LOL
Hi Cyndi, I just managed to catch up and read your earlier posts. I am laughing hysterically. I just returned from a business trip with our Chinese agent and there were a few instances of complete misunderstanding between us so I understand your pain -- and I'm just trying to converse with one person that actually speaks pretty good English. Can't imagine how you are doing it, but you go girl!!

[Barbara]

Balls?
I think this is hysterical! I can just picture the scene. Maybe they would appreciate the American movie Dodgeball.... :)

[Jane Day]

After all, it's only a game.
I hope you will be successful in explaining to your new students that the rubber ball game originated in THE ANCIENT NEW WORLD - NOT IN ANCIENT CHINA. This may be difficult in translation. Let me know. Love, M

[denvermom]

Ball Game
Dearest Cyn, I do hope you are explainingthe origin of rubber and the balls made from it. The originof such a marvelous invention outside of China may be a great shock to your young audience. Love, M