Baaaa

Together with my colleague James, I was teaching a class of novices how to use the possessive forms "apostrophe s" and "s apostrophe".  I was looking for an example of a plural noun that does not end in "s" and therefore requires the "apostrophe s".  I came up with the word "sheep".  But none of the Novices had any idea of the meaning of sheep.  

Thinking back to the excellent instruction sessions I attended at the beginning of my time as a volunteer, I remembered the importance of acting and mime as teaching tools.  So I got down on my hands and knees, looked as stupid as I possibly could and said "Baaaaa,   Baaaaa".  Immediately the novices erupted in laughter and told me that they now understand the word sheep.  I was particularly proud of my performance.

Out of curiosity, I asked the class, "what is the Lao word for sheep".  With a big grin, one of the Novices told me: "Baaaaa".

 

- This blog post was written by Rod Tucker from Australia who was on the project for 4 weeks with his wife Gretel.

Baaaa