Two notes have appeared in my pigeonhole in the staff room over the past few weeks. They are letters of apology written by students from one of my classes.
“To mademoiselle l’assistante,
Hello. I’m sorry. I want apologize for missing your hour one week-ago. It’s very stupid, but with the holidays, the end years parties, I forgot it. Please forgive me. I can’t find another words.”
“Madame l’assistante,
I pray you will forgive me for my absence (or blackout). Unfortunately, I forgot that my number was up. Because of, on one hand, the holidays mades me lost my head, on the other hand, I had this day the “girls thing” I had a real bad stomachach. I’d like to save myself, but how? In conclusion, I am really sorry.”
The lesson they are both referring to happened in January, during the first week back after Christmas holidays. That week was quiet; several students from different classes were no-shows. However, this one group of 1e students (equivalent to Grade 11 back home) was particularly bad: all but one student skipped the class.
Upon hearing this, their outraged English teacher instructed them to apologise to me. I suspect the method of delivery was left up to the kids, which is why I received letters (the students here being extremely self-conscious and worried about their spoken English, especially when speaking to a native English speaker). However, I have received only those two to date (a fact that has outraged their teacher even more). Still, I find them interesting, and unintentionally hilarious. The misuse of certain expressions, the willingness to talk openly of personal issues, is charming. And their rather cryptic use of English is even somewhat poetic or philosophical at times (who hasn’t asked the universe, “I’d like to save myself, but how?”).
These notes serve a dual purpose: they make me smile, and they also give a hint as to the areas of grammar we should be working on in class! But perhaps most striking is their very existence. Think about it: when was the last time you heard of a 16 year-old offering a hand-written apology to his instructor when he skips school? 
