The Second Installment of Things My Students Say…

I have been giving my students SAT words to improve their vocabulary. Generally they understand the meaning of the word but understanding the nuances can be more difficult, or how to use the word properly, which makes for some interesting sentences:

§  I abstain to drink beer.

§  It is formidable for me to make sexual intercourse.

§  I abstain from drugs because I am underage.

§  I abstain to make sex with you.

§   The underwear that Peter wore yesterday was absurd.

§  I abstained from drinking the drugs.

§  I abstain a beer because I need to abstain to sex but sex not do it.

§  Jay-Z says that we must drink more beer because it is very well in our bodies but according to me I detest his ideas.

§  It is formidable to fight against all gangstars in America.

§  Adolph Hitler was a xenophobic man.

§  John is ambiguous to his parents because he is a bastard.

§  John augments his trousers.

§  Mary is adept at eating food.

§  Many children become xenophobic when they get a white man.

I’m not faulting my students for incorrect usage at all, and I recognize the difficulty of correctly using some words, like xenophobic. I am just challenging them to broaden their repertoire of words and think outside of the box. Creativity isn’t something Rwandans generally possess, being used to rote memorization and factual regurgitation, so if I can get even just a handful of my students to adopt a few of the words I give them and use them correctly I’ll be satisfied. In the meantime I’ll enjoy the hilarious attempts at creativity.