The children I’ve recently started to teach here in Bulgaria don’t take English very seriously. It’s not that way with all of them, but most of them. You see, here in Bulgaria, the high schools are very specific. A student can apply to an art school, a technical school, a language school, and many others depending on their interests. So, for those students who don’t plan on going to a language school and feel that they don’t need to check the bilingual box on any future job applications, they just don’t care all that much about my class.
I also feel that their lack of knowledge combined with textbooks that are not only above their heads but completely unrelatable culturally, they get frustrated and that frustration manifests itself as a couldn’t-care-less attitude. I won’t let this discourage me. They’re great kids. Funny and witty and full of ambition. I know that if they were given a reason to care, a reason to take English class seriously, they could be great students. I’m not saying they’ll all be fluent by the end of the year but they’ll make progress.
Right now I’m just trying to figure out what makes them tick. They may not enjoy English for English’s sake, but there’s got to be a reason or two out there for them to buckle down. Getting to know my students well is going to be the key here, and keeping a positive attitude. I plan on wowing them every chance I get. Going above and behind and dragging myself back home at the end of the day from pure exhaustion. But they will learn. They will. If God is my…just kidding, I’m not that dramatic, usually.
Anywho, wish me luck as I try to woo the hearts and minds of 60 or so elementary and middle school students.
-Age
