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Korean students are out on their winter vacations.  In fact, they are pretty much done with the school year.

The new school year begins in March, and there are only a few school days between now and then, so, for example, in their diaries many students are referring to themselves as already being in the next grade.

Some students are moving up from elementary to middle school, and they are really not happy about that, as it is a huge transition in Korean students' lives, mostly with respect to the workload, tests, and expectations.

A few students have told me about noteworthy accomplishments, such as high scores on school exams. One student received an honors award at a university debate camp.  Another had a conversation with me before class--which she initiated--about her plans for the weekend; it is very nice to hear some of these kids progress so much with their English skills.

(Those of you who are native speakers of English, and not English teachers, likely do not understand how screwed up the English language is--it is crazy and complicated and strange and oh-so-hard . . . I am so happy that I was born into it and did not have to try and learn it.  This is all to say that when a student of mine can have a near-perfect five minute conversation with me, that is a wonderful accomplishment for the student.)

Our academy is going to have level tests for all of the students next week, and I am curious to see how some of them do.  After that, we will decide on new classes, books, etc.

This is going to be a busy month!