Sunday, December 16, 2012

Homonym Hilarity

As a Native English speaker trying to teach the language to English as a Second Language Learners, it often becomes apparent how difficult the language is to learn. Take homonyms, for example, a group of words with the same spelling and pronunciation but with different meanings. There, their and they're is a good example of a group of homonyms that, unfortunately, even Native English speakers struggle with. While this causes me anguish at the sight of misuse on Facebook, it brings me joy in the classroom.

Scenario #1:
Question: "What is your favourite dish?"
Student: "Ummmmm, my favourite dish is a plate."

Unfortunately I did not have the where with all to ask her why a plate is better than a bowl or a cup.

Scenario #2:
Question: "Are the roads slick? Are they icy?"
Co-teacher: "What do you see?"

Think about it...

Scenario #3:
Question: "Say three things that smell good and three things that smell bad."
Student: "Three things that smell good are flowers, perfume and rain. Three things that smell bad are...boobs. Smelly boobs? Boobs right?

Nothing to do with homonyms, just an incredibly coincidental swapping of 2 letters.

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