口譯式口語(yǔ)訓(xùn)練 第4期:北京生活的一天(4)

I teach a total of four classes. The ages range from two year olds to six. Each class is similar except for the youngest which is basically just playtime. These babies can hardly speak Chinese, much less English. I come in to the classes and greet the kids with a huge smile and a booming "Good Morning!" to which they all say in unison "Michael Laoshi hao!" "No, no, no. Let's try it in English." I say, "Bu yao shuo Hanyu xing ma?" The kids always want to speak Chinese with me (naturally) so I have to remind them that when I show up it’s English time. "Michael Laoshi, good morning!" They finally come around and we sing a song or two to get warmed-up. My own rendition of the classic "Head, shoulders, knees and toes" usually gets them all in the mood. After we jump around and sing together I hush everyone up and get everyone seated in his or her little chair with nametag. It is a big deal to kindergarten kids that they sit in the correct chair. It is not uncommon during game time, for instance after Musical Chairs where the chairs get mixed up, for the kids to cry when someone else sits in their chair. When this happens I just laugh, squeeze their face and tell them to play the game.