One of the things I love most about teaching English as a second language is hearing about Slovak cultural traditions, and reflecting on American traditions and holiday's.
This Sunday is one of those special celebrations in the United States; St. Patrick's Day. All this week I have been telling my students about the history of St. Patrick and how St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated in the United States.
Many students have never heard of the holiday even though there are several celebrations this week in Bratislava. Piestany is a small town and most people live in very small villages nearby and had no idea who St. Patrick was and what he did. Actually, most of us probably don’t know much about him either. St. Patrick’s Day is just a big party day in America, but is an actual public holiday in Ireland, Northern Ireland, Newfoundland, Labrador and Montserrat.
In conjunction with the lesson on St. Patrick, the parades, dying rivers green, drinking green beer and explaining about four-leaf clovers, Celtic symbols and Leprechauns; I talked about limericks. I thought it would be fun to have my students write a few.
I was surprised at how students immediately picked up on the idea of rhymes which can be hard for people learning the language because of pronunciation, but many students did quite well.
I didn’t realize limericks were not originally Irish but got the name “limerick” from the city Limerick in Ireland where they were created in a drinking game (after all we are talking about the Irish). It was fun explaining the first two lines rhyme and then the next two rhyme and then the final fifth line rhyme's with the first two. At first I just got blank faces but then they seemed to get the hang of it.
Here's a sample of my students limericks. I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I did.
When I was young I had a lot of fun
Everyday was great and full of sun
Now I am older, but in a good mood
Sitting in a calm place with delicious food
Because when I was young, everything was done
I bought a TV with a big screen
I have to keep it clean
I want to buy a DVD
It can be a great comedy
So go home and watch Mr. Bean
I was driving my car
The sun was shinning like a star
Despite it being too hot
I forgot to wear my favorite top
So I decided to go to the nearest bar
Can you find my puck?
I’m having no luck
I looked under the bed
Perhaps it’s in the shed
C’mon let’s buy a truck
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