Another picture from the "Students Say The Darndest Things" file (first entry here). Henry is a smart but cheeky student. On a recent dictation, instead of writing the correct sentence for #10, he created his own sentence:
I read this in the voice of Sean Connery in SNL Celebrity Jeopardy (YouTube link).
Though there is nothing incorrect about "I like your mother. = I love your mother.", it's not what I said, so I had to take points off. It's worth noting that he was even careful enough to add a period to each sentence. Henry has never met my mother, though I'm sure he'd like/love her if he did.
My students are really interested in English, but sometimes not in ways appropriate for class. Bob, one of my naughtier students, quickly learned how to say "yellow CD," which when translated into Chinese means "porn CD." I think he was also the first to say to other students, "You are my son!" which for some reason is a terrible insult. Another student favorite is "You are a yellow dog!" which they might think means "You're a pornographic dog" (though who knows exactly what they're trying to say).
This is Bob.
Enthusiasm for English is good, but I try to channel it properly. If they say something that is way too rude (for instance, "yellow CD"), I won't respond. If they say something along the lines of "I likes your mother," I'll help them correct their grammar. Hopefully one day they'll start making sentences the same way my smartest girl students do: "I want to be a ballerina." One can dream...
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