I’ve been working for just under a month at IES Zorroza middle school (ages 12–17 in Spain), and here are some of the many questions I’ve been asked:
- Do you like Justin Bieber? (When I answer no, all the boys cheer and all the girls look crestfallen. It’s happened in 16 classes.)
- Do you like One Direction? (See above parenthetical.)
- Do you have a boyfriend?
- How old were you when you had your first boyfriend?
- How many boyfriends have you had?
- Would you like to go out with me? (This one from a 12-year-old.)
- Do you want me to set you up with my older brother? (Is he attractive? Actually yes, that’d be great.)
- Do you have Whatsapp? (Yes, but don’t text me.)
- What’s your phone number?
- Which do you like better, Samsung or Apple? (Couldn’t. Care. Less.)
and my personal favorite. . . .
- Is it true that in the U.S., kids start watching porn at a younger age than here?
So not much changes across cultures. Middle-schoolers, whether in the U.S. or Spain or Zambia, for that matter, will always be obsessed with shitty pop culture and the dating pool.
- note: I have changed some of the questions from their original form. Due to the students’ low level of English, most questions come out along the lines of, “Jenny, you . . . is. . . . boyfriend?”
About The Author
Jenny
Jenny Marshall studied Language, Culture, and Society at the University of California Santa Barbara, and now teaches English in Spain. Here she writes about the intersection of language and culture, and lives a life translated by travel.
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