I imagined being taken on a tour or asking questions to the head nun, but by the time some 70 little nuns in pink robes and quietly assembled and a mat had been placed in the front, I figured I'd better do something.
There's no need to explain sign language like give reasons why we're practicing English with our hands. They naturally took to it and covered the alphabet, numbers and a whole mixed bag of words. Maybe they already knew everything because they sat attentively like, "what's next?". It still amazes me how much people can absorb when they see it, even once. I taught letters one time and many caught the difference between "S" and "A" even though it's just a thumb position and despite the fact that they're sitting eight rows back in a crowd of 70.
Obviously, they're ready to learn but we still have to figure out how to make it happen. Some teachers come as volunteers, but otherwise the temple depends on alms and donations to pay the teachers. They don't have computers. Otherwise, I'd just give them everything I have.
