Yeah, you read that right. Next time you complain about a "large" class of 30, remember our classes are usually 44-50 or more students. So, in addition to the challenge this poses to encouraging participation in practicing spoken English in the classroom, we were presented with the unique quest of giving many, many, many English names. If we didn't give them, we wrote ideas for names down and let them pick. If they chose their own, they pulled from (what little / what common) American pop culture has arrived in China (for most students, that amounts to "Titanic" and Michael Jackson) or pulled from old text book names. Some students created their own names. At least, I think they did. I certainly have never heard or seen some of these "names" before. All said, I really love the names they come up with / are given. And so do they, so it works well!
So, due to Kim's and my geekiness, there is now a fairly large population of Chinese students with names taken from the following:
1. Star Trek: The Next Generation (In one class, Will and Riker are two students, haha)
2. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
3. Buffy, the Vampire Slayer (Buffy is in one of my English classes, where I also taught them what "vampire" and "slayer" means)
4. My family (I have two Nancy's in one class, and about 5 more in other classes)
5. Kim's family (There are many Susan's, Carol's, a Melissa, and even a Robert)
6. Book and Music Exchange Employees (I am working on trying to get the entire staff from my time working there in one class. But, my average number of guys in each class is ..... 1-2)
7. Kim's high school class.
8. Friends of ours.
Crap, I just realized I could have pulled from the Dragonlance books, and had some Tanis Half-Elvens and Tasselhoffs running around. Bummer.
Some of our favorite names include, but are not limited to:
Pandora, Buffy, Qamra, Soap, America, Apple, China, Basil, Boy (a girl), Egg, CC, Gram, Rainy & Sunny (two deskmates in one of Kim's classes), Coco & Cola (best friends, in one of my classes), Yolanda (the student chose this name on their own), King, Wondering, and Nguib.
Least favorite names:
Sunny, Happy, Smile, Lahasia, Haley, Hailey, Harley, Ann, Anne, Annie, Anna.
So, with so many students, it is very tricky to remember their names. The "Do you remember who I am?" question felt embarrassing the first 20 times. Now, when I see students on campus, if I don't remember their names I open with, "What's your English name?", usually followed by, "What class of mine are you in?" -- and yes, I ended that sentence with a preposition. Blam.
We remember some students immediately, especially those who make themselves known (for good or for bad).
You should totally have a baby names book, complete with meanings and origins. I bet that would add to the "fun" of name choosing. I think my favorites on your list so far have to be...coco and cola! Great bff (or whatever they may consider it) names.
ReplyDeleteYou guys need a Squire! That would be awesome.
though, the more I think about it, Wondering is great too! Does the owner of that name walk around aimlessly a lot? Head high, looking for something? Ha!
ReplyDeleteGood to see your posts! Missed hearing from you both, but after reading these, I can see you have been extremely busy with teaching duties and creating nom de plumes for over a thousand Chinese students. As a last resort you can always turn to the bible or google for even more unique monikers. Good to hear you are flush with coffee at the moment; it must be our turn to furnish some beans, so what would you prefer at this point? Dark, med, or light? When you stayed here, you were drinking a light roast, but anything is possible. Let us know.
ReplyDeleteVery impressed with the work you are both doing there; as I've said before, what a great opportunity to something you enjoy. Looking forward to more posts when you have time!
you guys better name some people Jenny and Martin! Martin's sad that you haven't named anyone after him yet.
ReplyDeleteSo it sounds like you have discovered an alternate universe for yourselves in China... way to go! Didn't the Simpson's do this when visiting Shelbyville?
ReplyDelete