Chapter 4 ----First morning at a language school

It is 9 o’ clock on Monday morning and the sun is shining through the

windows of a tall building in Central London. Inside, a line of students is

walking slowly up the stairs to a large room on the first floor.

Two middle-aged women are sitting at a table at the front of the room. They

are looking at a list of students’ names. A tall man is standing just inside the

door. He is telling the students where to sit.

"Please fill the chairs at the back of the room!" he says in a loud voice.

The tall man is a teacher, but this is a big school. There are many teachers.

The other teachers are waiting in a room on the second floor.

One of the middle-aged ladies stands up. Most of the chairs are now

occupied. She can see faces from many different countries. She looks at the

students to get their attention.

"Good morning!" she says in a lively voice.

Some of the students say "Good morning!" but many are silent. She is not

happy with their silence.

"You’re all here to speak English! ... Let’s try again! ... Good morning!" she

repeats in a louder voice.

All the students say "Good morning!" in very loud voices. Then she smiles at

them.

"My name’s Mary Palmer and I’m your Course Director. This is my assistant,

Angela Leach. She’s going to check your passports. We’re both very happy to

welcome you to the English Language College. We’ve got the best teachers

in London and we’re sure that your English will get better. You’ll also make a

lot of new friends. There are people in this school from all over the world!

Stand up all the students who come from Japan! ... Thank you! ... Now stand

up if you come from Spain!"

There are eleven students from Japan - eight young ladies and three young

men. But there are only two students from Spain. One of them is a waiter

from Gijon. His name is Arturo. The other is a psychology graduate from

Madrid. She is called Rosa.