Day Three: pronunciation class

Day One was two beginner-level classes that both went wonderfully. Day Two was a single intermediate-level class that, while not quite as riotously good as the previous day's classes, was nevertheless good.

Today, Day Three, was my pronunciation class, and I'd say that it went well, all in all. The only hitch was that I had twenty-three students. Normally, for conversation classes, the maximum number of students is twenty, but because this pronunciation class is both a new course and a different animal from typical speaking classes, I wonder whether it counts as a special case. The attendance rules may be different. At least one student in the class told me he was there simply as a tourist—there was no guarantee that he'd be back the following week, so it may be that I have only twenty-two registered students.

In any case, having twenty-three students today meant that three students went without a syllabus and first-day materials. Everyone shared, luckily, so there wasn't a big problem, and I'll be printing out extra copies of the syllabus for students next week.

This is the first of my classes to reach or exceed the 20-person limit. All three of my previous classes have been short: 18 and 17 beginners the first day, and only a cozy 14 intermediates yesterday. That number will likely change next week: some students get confused about where to go on the first day; they sometimes end up skipping the first class as a result. Attendance isn't a huge issue the first week, but it gets serious starting with Week 2.

So I'd say we're batting a thousand thus far: I've liked every class I've taught, and I have high hopes for all of them. Two more classes to go—both beginner-level afternoon classes, 1PM and 3PM. May the streak of good luck continue.


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