[emile]

Hello Marie,

Ouch! Your story brings back memories for me, too.

What I've learned about Chinese students, though is that 'boring' is not as harsh to them as it is in English. When we say 'Your book is boring', that's like a huge insult to the author, but for the Chinese, it's just a way to say 'I don't like it that much'. Add this to the fact that they're kids and they don't have a good grasp of the language.

So when the student said your lesson is boring, it could mean many things. For example, it could mean 'Your lesson is frustrating to me because I don't understand it and you talk too fast'. Or, of course, it could really mean that it's boring, but somehow I doubt that since you put so much effort into making it fun for them.

Also, a class of sixty kids is too much, but that's probably beyond your control!