English Names

So far, I've only had 1 class where the students do not all have English names. Nobody in my Mongolian class yesterday had English names. Their homeroom teacher gave me a list of their names written out in pidgin. She thought she was being helpful, but when I asked her about English names, she sounded confused and said, "Can't you read Pidgin. I think it is very easy." I told her, "I can read it, but not well, and I will get the 4 tones wrong, but I will try." I'm not sure if she understood everything I said, but she smiled, and waved goodbye.

When I began to take role, I told the students, "I will just call out your first name. Chinese write their 1st name second, and so I say 'feng?' and nobody answers. Then I notice some kids are whispering to each other. Some understand what first name means, and they are trying to tell the others. So I read the name a couple more times, then add the last name, 'xi feng?' finally, a timid girl pops up her hand. Students are laughing at my pronunciation. That's it, I think. I'm giving them English names.

What I do is write, "Girl Names, and Boy Names" on the board and underline them. Then I began to list off as many names as I can think of. The class is interested and I hear akward pronunciations of "Lucy, Nicole, Max, Jack, Anna..." I fill half the board with names, then explain that this is English class and that everyone has a chance to take on a new identity and be called whatever they like. I read the names outloud and tell them that by the end of class they will need to decide on a name. I also tell them that they can pick a silly name like, "candy, sky, green, and brain" like some of my other students did.

Throughout the class students would ask, "I like the name Molly. What does it mean?" I had no idea, and told them in English we don't have poetic descriptions of names like in Chinese and Mongolian, but I said that I would look them up online, and next time I would tell them what their English names mean.

So, by the end of class everybody had an English name. 2 girls both chose Sally, and another 2 both chose Rose, and they were horrified that someone else had their English name too, and came up after class to scribble them out and chose a new name.

I left class feeling a bit guilty. Most of these Mongolian students already have both Mongolian names and Chinese names, and now they have to add an English name onto that. I wanted to be able to say their everyday names, but my studies in Chinese total one week of walking in the street, and a BBC Chinese tone game. The only word I know is Mongolian is 'muk' for meat, and that I learned in the newly released movie, "Mongol." I would like to learn more, and am excited to be able to communicate even just the simpliest things on the streets with people. When Ned and I go to order at a restaurant, Ned just moos like a cow, or clucks like a chicken. It will be nice when we can communicate a little more than that.

All in all, I think giving my Mongolian class English names was the right decision, if only for the sole reason for managment control. I have over 200 students now in 6 classes, and after National Day on October 1st, I will have over 300 in 9 classes. There is no way I will be able to remember and dinguish my students apart if they went by their Chinese/Mongolian names. Atleast now, it will be easier to remember a "Rita" or "Alex" and place it with a face, then try to pronunce and forget a "Bai Zhenhua, Wujisguleng, or Wu Hong Xia."