Wicked things OTHER people's students have said

So, I wanted to share with you a brief incident that happened long ago, but which I just learned of.

One of the students at my school has an english level of "5" on the scale of 1 to 10. This means that he is in that grey area where he could have a native speaking english teacher, but could also have a japanese speaking teacher.

It so happens that the two Japanese english teahers (or "JETs" as they are known in company parlance) are particularly good at their jobs, and also teach level "6" students, but this is a pointless point, other than the point of your information and ... showing off my typing skills. wheeee!)

....

Anyway, this student was (un?)fortunate enough to receive a downgrade of his teacher status. He departed from my native speaking co-worker's class and went back to a JET class because of scheduling issues. No offense meant to my two talented co-workers, but still... that sucks. And it serves to set the scene...

One day, he called the school to explain that he couldn't come because he had to go to his uncle's funeral.

My dear coworker, Jamie Sensei, who is (as you can guess) his former native english teacher and not so hot at the whole "japanese" thing, answered the phone.

Unfortunately, our student in question couldn't think of the word "Funeral", so... he settled for the closest thing in his mind.

"Sorry, Jamie Sensei... I can't come to class. I have to go to my uncle's.... goodbye party."

which is sort of true, I guess.

Anyway, Jamie told him to "have a great time, and give your uncle my best wishes for his trip."

the student couldn't think of how to explain, so he just said "OK! I will!"

and that was that, until he happened to have a class with one of the JETs that touched on "parties"...this lesson helped him learn a new word AND led to the anecdote that led to this post.

ok. Funny finished is.