Wacky Test Answers

Hey everyone!

It's been another long while, but once again, I've been very busy...this time, with grading papers.  When I took my UCSD Extension courses for my TEFL certificate, one of my teachers was always talking about the horrors of grading 200+ papers. I always imagined it would be bad, but I thought that maybe...just maybe...she was complaining a little too much.

Oh, how wrong I was. It was completely warranted.

My students recently finished their midterm testing. I have 6 classes at my base school, each with about 40 students (...two of those classes have 41 students instead of 40).  I also have one class that has 7 students...so in total, I had to grade 249 papers after I had come back from a vacation.

My teachers also wanted them graded very quickly, so I had to finish within a day and a half. I thought this was doable...

I spent all day Monday grading tests...from 8:30am to 6:30pm (which was overtime for me) and I still hadn't finished it. I spent all my time between classes the next day grading, and then until 6:30pm again, and I had finally finished.

Let's just say that I am not looking forward to the next testing period...

Anyways, as soul-sucking as grading tests was, I managed to come across some great Engrish gems (and some clever answers too). You get some crazy stuff when you ask students to write sentences...

Here are a couple that I managed to take a picture of:

"Do you play any winter sports?"

Huh?

Here are a few more I came across:

Question:  What month and day is Halloween?

Answer:  I eat a Pumpkin.

Me:  ..... 0.0;;;  Watch out Ryan!

Question:  Which is colder: Russia or India?

Answer:  I am India.

Me:  Really now...?  lol

Question:  Where is the flower?

Correct answer:  It is under the tree.

Answer:  Andre the tree.

Me:  Maybe Dora the Explorer or Diego would know this tree...

Question:  Where is the cat?

Correct answer:  It is on the table.

Student answer:  It is on your table.

Me:  It's my table??  haha Well, I guess it could be...

Oh, one of my favorites...

Question:  What month and day is Halloween?

Answer:  I'm sorry.  I can't remember!

Me:  Well, at least you're honest (and have good grammar)!  ^^;

I also recently had a student ask "How much do I cost?" instead of "How much does it cost?" haha

Poor kids. English is a tough language to learn, especially for Japanese people (most of whom aren't exposed to it at all in early childhood, which is the most important time to be exposed to languages). Well, I'm glad most of them are doing their best, even if they don't speak much in class.  ^_^

On a somewhat related note...if it's one thing that I've learned from living in Japan, it's that you're always gonna make funnies when you're learning another language...it's a part of the process. And becoming better at that language involves realizing this, being able to laugh at your own funnies, and, most importantly, instead of being crushed by the inevitable embarrassment that comes from these mistakes, learning from them is key. I'll keep doing my best.  :)