昨天星期六，成人英語教學證書班第二學期開始。我和搭檔選了第一組做15分鐘的教學示范，因為我們都想盡早把這擔子放下。我們的教學主題是 分享一位對自我以致家族很具影響力的親人或祖先。除了聽力，學員間一對一的分享，讓學生自愿向全體報告分享，我花了3分鐘朗讀那篇關于曾祖父和荔枝園的真實故事。結束后同學都給了很好的評價，都說能聆聽和閱讀一篇真實的故事，非常激動。兩位同學更在課后悄悄告訴我，我們組的教學示范是當天早上最棒的。
朗讀文章再次記錄如下：
In the year 1908, that great grandfather was born, the last emperor of the Ching Dynasty Puyi ascended to the throne in China. Grandfather grew up in a small village in Guangdong province in the south of China close to Shantou. Because of his diligence and wisdom, he and his family were able to purchase acres and acres of land. At the time when my grandfather, the youngest child of the family was born, great grandfather was growing many different crops and had nearly 3,000 lychee trees. One summer afternoon, a thief who was also a neighbour and had been without food for days came to the lychee orchard. He hid himself in the branches of the tree and hungrily gobbled some of the red fruit. When great grandfather was entering the orchard to make an estimate on the quantity of lychees ready for sale, he saw seeds being spat to the ground from the trembling branches. Great grandfather immediately realised that there was a thief up in one of his lychee trees. Realising that many of the villagers were starving because of a prolonged famine in the province, great grandfather coughed near the tree and turned away from it. The startled thief understood that it was a signal to allow him to leave the orchard quietly without being caught.
The same kind of incident happened many times. Great grandfather became known throughout the village for his kindness and forgiving nature. I used to hear this story of great grandfather every summer when lychees were available on the market.
The orchards have been gone for decades and so too the wealth of the family. My grandfather lost all of the family wealth to gambling, drinks and opium. He used to say that, ‘It is a blessing in disguise that the entire wealth of the family dwindled away to nothing.’ If the family had remained wealthy, every family member would have suffered from repression and severe torture in a series of political upheavals in the 1950’s and 60’s.
The same kind of incident happened many times. Great grandfather became known throughout the village for his kindness and forgiving nature. I used to hear this story of great grandfather every summer when lychees were available on the market.
The orchards have been gone for decades and so too the wealth of the family. My grandfather lost all of the family wealth to gambling, drinks and opium. He used to say that, ‘It is a blessing in disguise that the entire wealth of the family dwindled away to nothing.’ If the family had remained wealthy, every family member would have suffered from repression and severe torture in a series of political upheavals in the 1950’s and 60’s.
1 comment:
I was touched the very first time when I read your piece. I always say it's a good one. I am sure you can find more interesting stories to share with your fellow classmates and your students in future. Keep it up!
Chung
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