Pues Eso

My absolute least favorite phrase to hear in my English classes is “Pues eso.”  Essentially it means “ok, that.”  Typically the students use it when they ask me how to say something in English, and instead of repeating it they say “ok, that.”  For example (this would all take place in Spanish) “Teacher, how do you say sweeping the floor?” “Sweeping… the… floor.” “Pues, eso.”  I try to say it very slowly and emphasize all of the sounds sometimes writing it on the board, all they need to do is repeat it.  Yet, that seems to be too difficult sometimes.  After a morning of hearing nothing but “Pues, eso” in the secondary school, I went to the primary school and poor Antia made the decision to respond “Pues, eso” instead of trying to repeat the sentence.  It was like nails on a chalkboard.  Since the students in 6^th grade are still willing to listen to the teacher and try to make changes you tell them to I decided to nix this nasty little habit.  I told Antia and the class that I never wanted to hear that phrase ever again, it’s not in English and it’s not a real answer, so never again do I want to hear it in the class.  I still hear it every week.  Now every class the 6^th graders greet me with “Hello Emily, pues eso.”  But, no longer do they use it as an answer to an actual question which makes me so happy!