Class today.

Today is Thursday, and Thursday's are the last day of my work week (lucky me!). So the lesson I was teaching I had done a few times and new how long certain things took, how to give the instructions, what kind of thing students got hung up, I was set for smooth sailing! But for some reason the lesson wasn't going as well as expected. The classroom set up was different, it was the largest class of students, and every class is different with its own style. I had found a better way to challenge the advanced students, the intermediate students were doing fine, but the less advanced students, I didn't feel like I was benefiting them or being as helpful as I had been in other classes. There was one student in particular that I knew wasn't getting it. He wouldn't speak any English to me, I tried using basic words but he kept turning to his friend and asking what I said. I had to keep checking in on other students who wanted my attention, but I was getting more and more disheartened. At this point his friends were making fun of him, and most if the class had finished the activity that he hadn't even started.

Determined to not let this student leave with a blank page, I worked through forming a sentence from a list of nouns adjectives and verbs they had created earlier. Red and snake were two words I had helped him with, so I knew that he knew them, I asked what color the snake was, he said red (English, finally!) then I asked him what the snake does, and he said plays. Yes, the red snake plays. Sudah, begus! You've done it, good! It took a second to sink in, then he whipped out another sentence much more complex, I was impressed! Then his next sentence came, it was amazing! There were a few minor errors but they were complex sentences that made sense! The look on his face had completely changed. At first he was nervous and trying to avoid me, but by the end he was confident and smiling! It was really great. Even if he hadn't actually learned anything, he at least got a boost of confidence in his English skills. It changed my whole mood about the class, because I knew I made a difference for at least one student who needed the encouragement.