( Steph Lloyd )

There are several phrases that Matt and I use that we picked up from some of our students in Korea. One of them is “June nice!”

One of my students was having a hard time remembering his birthday in English. Repetition is key, so we went over their birthdays everyday, and sometimes I’d do a little pop when-is-your-birthday quiz. It was a lot of fun. This particular student was quiet, observant and shy. He was extremely smart but wasn’t as gifted in languages as his classmates.  (Yes, languages plural. Walking geniuses, I tell you.)

So one day we were going over some things and I guess I kept using the word ‘nice’. The kids picked up on it and started using it too. When I dropped the ‘when is your birthday’ question, little Jude’s eyes lit up and he yelled, way before his turn, JUNE NICE!! See, he had a hard time remembering ‘ninth’ and couldn’t pronounce the ‘th’ very well anyway.  I saw his face the moment it clicked.  It was so cute!  I was so proud of him.  I tried over the next couple of weeks to work on his pronunciation of ninth… but whether he didn’t care, or didn’t hear the difference, he continued to use ‘June nice’.  And every time he had a giant grin on his face.  It was beautiful.

Matt and I don’t use ‘June nice’ the way he did, we just attach ‘June’ to ‘nice’ whenever we use it. In order to use it right, you have to be really excited… and have a big grin on your face.  Not a fake one, a real one.  Two examples:

Matt: Steph, look at this picture I just finished…
Steph: June nice!

Steph: Does this outfit look cute?
Matt: Yes, it’s June nice!

Steph: What, the shorts I wanted at the beginning of the season are now half price?!?  I’ll take two.  June nice!!

Also of note, shortly after the ‘June nice’ event, my student decided to use an English name in class. I think he was holding out because he didn’t enjoy studying English for the longest time.  Once he had that breakthrough, a lot of things started to click for him.  I gave him a short list of names that I liked and he chose Jude, my favorite. I sure do miss those kids!