Teaching Week 1

Today was my second day of teaching. So far ALL of my students have asked the following:

1) Do you have a boyfriend? (Answer: It's a secret, but if you get an A in my class I will tell you).
2) How old are you? (Answer: Between 20 and 30. Now ask me something else).
3) What? (They say this pointing to the bandaids on my face, at which point I hold up my fists and say "Fight").

And that's about it. Despite having studied English for six years in middle school and high school they struggle to understand even the most basic conversation. Many of them are taking university-level English not because they want to but because they have to. Still, some students appear genuinely interested and that is encouraging.

My biggest struggle is learning all my students' names. I have three different classes of 22-24 students each, and each class meets only once a week. In one class, for example, I have two students named Tatsuki, one Tsunaki and one Chiaki. In that same class I have a Takenori, a Takahiro and a Tomohiro. In another class I have two Yuukis, one Yukio, a Yumi and a Yuko.
So far I have taken digital photos of all my students--name tags held out in front of them--so that I can study their faces on my computer and hopefully surprise them next week by getting all their names right. I definitely have my homework cut out for me...