We did something...different!! today

This week starts the second half of the first term. At this point they change teachers around, so we have two new teachers. But that's not what's different. These new teachers follow the same script as the old ones, so they know exactly what we've studied, and they use the same procedure to go through each lesson. Oh, there are differences - one teacher always starts with the first student on the right when we take turns around the room; another teacher starts in the middle. One teacher has us read long passages out loud and spends a short time explaining the passages while another teacher has us read short passages out loud and spends a longer time explaining the passages. But basically, the teacher could be a robot.

No - here's what was different. In the fourth period of class today, the teacher put us in 3 groups and sent two of the groups to different classrooms. Meanwhile 2 groups of students from different classes came into our room - thus mixing up the students from 3 classes. Then we paired up with a new student we didn't know from a different class, were given some conversation questions to use as starters, and were instructed to have a conversation with our partner.

Wow! We actually got to practice talking with a partner. No particular questions we had to ask. Nothing we had to report to the whole class afterwards.. No - we just got a chance to practice - stress-free - for about 30 minutes. The teacher was there to help us with whatever we wanted to ask. It was wonderful! How lively everyone became.

Was this in the script? I don't know, but I suspect so. I suspect it's Yonsei's attempt to be a little more modern. I think every Level 1 student did this today. Ah, lucky us. To just be able to practice, and to use our new skills to get acquainted with someone new, to actually communicate, without the pressure of having to perform in front of the class - I must remember how good this felt.