Both Rachel and I gave presentations to the students to help them get to know us better and practice their English.
We created slides with a mix of English and images to share about our lives, families and favorite activities.
I was really impressed by the level of attentive listening they brought to listening to us present, some of them even jotting down notes.
After our presentations, Rosalia asked comprehension questions based off what we shared, and students could recall a surprising amount of detail, including that my roommates dog is named Ursula.
The students then followed up by posing questions about our lives and the US in general. One of the first questions was, “What do you think of Donald Trump?”, followed by, “Why is there so much gun violence in your schools?” and “What do you think of racists?”. I was so impressed by the students to have the background knowledge, English capacity and curiosity to pose such deep and thoughtful questions. Answering these questions and providing nuanced US perspectives, especially since Rachel and I digress on issues like gun control and live in very different communities, was an opportunity for the students to see a much more complicated vision of the US then what the media portrays.
A link to my presentation if you’re curious what I shared:
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1Eg-TvL4MUB8jSmpf3AMYtPuOeipEWfou_E-y5_fflVg/edit?usp=sharing
msfd.international 