Unfiltered Story #32180

I teach English as a Foreign language to a group of middle school age students. They have a lot of personality, but are pretty low-level comprehension, meaning that while I enjoy their company and frequently find their antics humorous, they can sometimes be a challenge to teach. In particular, I need to remind them when they are accidentally being rude.

Student 1 (to me): Teacher! Dictionary!

(Note: in my class, this means they don’t know a word and want to look it up on my computer with Google Translate)

Me: You can if you can ask nicely.

Student 1: *stands there dumbfounded*

Me: How do you ask for things nicely?

Student 1: *still silent, struggling to comprehend*

Student 2: (stage whispering) May. I. Use. The. Dictionary!

Student 1: Oh! May I use the . . . (looks back uncertainly at Student 2, who nods) the dictionary?

Me: And what do you say next?

Student 1: Uhh . . . uhh . . .

Me (sounding it out slowly): P . . . . Pl . . .

Student 2 (Whispering again): Please!

Student 1: Please?

Me: Yes, you may.

The student then proceeded to type 프라이드 칙인 into the computer. Since the Korean language does not have the “f” sound, this sounds, phonetically, like “pried chicken.” Wouldn’t you know it, the translation was fried chicken.