Yesterday I taught Class 310 the song “Mama,” sung by Il Divo, which I already taught the other two classes last week. This coming Sunday is Mother’s Day, and I’d like them to express their thanks and love to their dear mom. When I asked them to guess which sentence in the song touched me most, Derek (董德) said, “And I know you had dreams.” Bingo! Every time I came to this line, it brought a lump to my throat. I told the students that our moms had their dreams too, but that in order to take care of the family, they sacrificed.
Last week, Class 313, after hearing the song, asked me why I chose such a sad song. I said I would rather they felt and showed gratitude to their mothers now before it is too late. “Who do you think will take care of you when you’re sick? Not your best friend(s), not me, but your mom. Always remember to show your love to your mom,” I added.
I’m glad that we sang the song in class.
I love Il Divo. They have heavenly voice. Click to see/listen to them sing this song.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2aHWU9z5Sw
And the lyrics:
Mama Il Divo
Mama, thank you for who I am.
Thank you for all the things I’m not.
Forgive me for the words unsaid,
For the times I forgot.
Mama, remember all my life
You showed me love, you sacrificed.
Think of those young and early days.
How I’ve changed along the way.
And I know you believed.
And I know you had dreams.
And I’m sorry it took all this time to see
That I am where I am because of your truth.
And I miss you, yeah I miss you.
Mama, forgive the times you cried.
Forgive me for not making right,
All of the storms I may have caused.
And I’ve been wrong.
Dry your eyes [dry your eyes].
’Cause I know you believed.
And I know you had dreams.
And I’m sorry it took all this time to see.
That I am where I am because of your truth.
And I miss you, I miss you.
Mama, I hope this makes you smile.
I hope you’re happy with my life,
At peace with every choice I made.
How I’ve changed along the way.
’Cause I know you believed
In all of my dreams.
And I owe it all to you, Mama.
I got the link to your blog from Annie’s, who was also my university friend. I used to teach English in Taiwan. Now I teach Mandarin Chinese in the UK. I love this song of yours and also your teaching methods. I also use lots of Chinese songs in my teaching. I set up a Moodle class for my students to learn Chinese through songs: http://school.huayuworld.org/moodle/course/view.php?id=901
Would love to share teaching ideas with you.
All the best,
Hannah
Dear Hannah,
Nice to meet you. Thank you for visiting my blog. “Mama” is one of my favorite songs.
I visited your Moodle class. It’s interesting. I’ve bookmarked it. You must be a very popular teacher.
Yes, we can share teaching ideas with each other, though we teach different languages.