If it's wrong, I've probably said it...
Chain stories rule!
Published on October 1, 2004 By chiprj In Blogging
Well, we had a bunch of time left over at the end of the last class hour today, so before letting the students start the weekend early, I had them tell another chain story. This was a different group of students from the last time, but this one was just as entertaining.

Once upon a time (litererally the student said 'when a tiger smoked a cigarrette' which is a phrase that means a long time ago), there was a very manly woman. (This sentence completely threw the rest of the class room into chaos as they had no idea what the smoking tiger line meant and the manly woman line made them laugh. So, the student restarted the story with a new sentence.)

A long time ago, there was a farmer. The farmer worked very hard. One day, a rabbit came to the farm. It was a very cute rabbit. The rabbit bought a carrot from the farmer. He was a three-legged rabbit, so he decided to use the carrot as a leg. The rabbit was very special and could talk. He went to sleep. Along came another rabbit and he ate the carrot-leg. The first rabbit woke up and saw that his leg was eaten. Both rabbits set out on a walk. They met a cat. The three-legged rabbit told the cat that he wanted to be a real boy (in a pinochio type voice). The cat told the rabbit to ask the farmer. The rabbit went to the farmer and used a knife to cut off the farmer's leg and slice it (since we just learned all about cooking and food preparation vocab in the most recent unit, I asked if the rabbit sliced the leg up thinly or thickly - the answer was thickly). The rabbit decided to live in the leg. One day, the other rabbit came to the leg house. The three-legged rabbit killed this rabbit and cooked rabbit stew. He served the rabbit stew to the farmer and they ate very well.

On that note, I let them go home five minutes early. These guys are really doing well in the class and I love the chain stories. It forces them to listen to each other and they often correct each other on little things before I do. They are also forced to think on their feet as every sentence offers them something new to deal with. They also get a chance to add anything they like to the story and keeps them into it. Some of them will actually comment after another students sentence about how they have the perfect sentence to add in next, even if it isn't there turn. It's a lot of fun for everyone! And they never cease to make me smile.

Comments
on Oct 01, 2004
These are so funny! They cut off his leg and the rabbit lived in it!
on Oct 01, 2004
These are so funny! They cut off his leg and the rabbit lived in it!


Sometimes, I have to ask them to tell me what they wanted to say in English, just so I'm sure they realize what they just said... The one that added this sentence meant to say exactly that!

Earlier in the class, one of the students was practicing a new grammar form and tried to say that not just anyone could ride a horse, but boo (another student's Korean name - a female) could. Instead, he ended up saying that anyone could ride boo like a horse... it would have been very unprofessional to piss myself laughing in front of class, so I had to bite my tongue before I could fix what he said...
on Oct 01, 2004
Earlier in the class, one of the students was practicing a new grammar form and tried to say that not just anyone could ride a horse, but boo (another student's Korean name - a female) could. Instead, he ended up saying that anyone could ride boo like a horse... it would have been very unprofessional to piss myself laughing in front of class, so I had to bite my tongue before I could fix what he said...


!! Kinda like when my four year old says "Sonofabitch!" when he drops stuff . . . it's so freaking hilarious, but you know you can't encourage it . . .
on Oct 01, 2004
it's so freaking hilarious, but you know you can't encourage it . . .


BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Exactly! My new phrase for this classroom is, "We encourage crazy talk, just so long as it's grammatically correct."
on Oct 01, 2004
"We encourage crazy talk, just so long as it's grammatically correct."


I love that!
on Oct 02, 2004
I think it's really cool that you're getting the students to be involved in the learning like that. Creating in a new language is very important in internalizing it and making it yours. The only reason I ever did that sort of thing at DLI was the Marine CPL (then SGT) who sat next to me was a master at it, and I would get jealous.
Even now, I can't really create with it. SGT Monobrow is much better at Arabic bullshitting than I. I'm much better at just reading/listening.
on Oct 02, 2004
I think it's really cool that you're getting the students to be involved in the learning like that


Thanks. It's amazing how into this type of language usage the students are. They love it. I usually use this as a way to fill in time at the end of a grammar hour. We very often finish the exercises early. The best part is that many of the students will try to work in the new grammar patterns/forms we studied earlier in the hour, just to make themselves practice, without my prodding them to do it.
on Oct 03, 2004
I'm glad that you've got a group (or two?) of motivated language learners. I'm sure you must've stressed to them at some point that the only way to internalize the new grammar is to use it...
Seriously, good job.
on Oct 03, 2004
I'm glad that you've got a group (or two?) of motivated language learners


I am amazed at the level of motivation these students have shown. Most of them want to learn Korean and realized how great a position they are in here at DLI. Some of these guys actually picked Korean as their language of choice at MEPS. It's so different from just 10 years ago when I was a student. We had one student in 50 choose Korean and she was out of the course and the Army within 6 weeks of day one. She got a civilian job offer and decided she wanted out.

I'm sure you must've stressed to them at some point that the only way to internalize the new grammar is to use it...


I have stressed this to them. In addition to using the language, I've encouraged them to experiment and stretch themselves by using the langugae in ways that are fun and interesting to them. Personalizing the language also helps in internalizing.

Seriously, good job.


Thank you!