I am not in the MOOD!... She was embarrassed.

[Latoof]

Hi,
My friend was talking to our teacher and he asked her why she did not participate in the class. She said "I am not in the mood" she meant that she was tired, annoyed, upset... The teacher turned to the other teacher setting next to them and said "Listen, she said a horrible thing today... Tell her what does it mean to say that she is not in the mood" The other teacher said addressing her "well, you have to know that this phrase is used between couples".
My question, is this the meaning of the phrase? cannot it mean another thing like the feeling of unger or annoyance?
Thanks

 

[Natalie27]

Hi,
My friend was talking to our teacher and he asked her why she did not participate in the class. She said "I am not in the mood" she meant that she was tired, annoyed, upset... The teacher turned to the other teacher setting next to them and said "Listen, she said a horrible thing today... Tell her what does it mean to say that she is not in the mood" The other teacher said addressing her "well, you have to know that this phrase is used between couples".
My question, is this the meaning of the phrase? cannot it mean another thing like the feeling of unger or annoyance?
Thanks

What she said was right. She wasn't in the mood, she didn't feel like it or could care less. I don't think I like that excuse and it sounds lame and very indifferent - especially if you address the teacher. BUT there is nothing sexual about it. Not in that context. This phrase is very popular and used a lot...especially by teenagers that are generally known by being somewhat moody or even lazy at times.
Keeping in mind the country you're teaching English in, one shouldn't be too surprised about the teacher's reaction. Of course, you can tell your husband/lover you are not in the mood but the context is obviously different.
:lol:

 

[Sam-F]

To answer yor question, when said between couples one would most frequently expect it to be heard in bed. ie: "I am not in the mood for..."



Hope that helps!

 

[Tdol]

It can be sexual,but it doesn't have to be; it can just be used to say that you don't feel like anything.;-)

 

[Casiopea]

Hi,
My friend was talking to our teacher and he asked her why she did not participate in the class. She said "I am not in the mood" she meant that she was tired, annoyed, upset... The teacher turned to the other teacher setting next to them and said "Listen, she said a horrible thing today... Tell her what does it mean to say that she is not in the mood" The other teacher said addressing her "well, you have to know that this phrase is used between couples".
My question, is this the meaning of the phrase? cannot it mean another thing like the feeling of unger or annoyance?
Thanks

Your teachers should have explained to the class that "I'm not in the mood" has more than one meaning. What your classmate said was appropriate and correct for the situation. :up: S/he was not in the mood to study/participate because she was feeling sad or angry or upset. It's a perfectly good phrase and it need NOT refer to sexual activity.

Your teachers need to go back to school.

 

[Latoof]

Your teachers need to go back to school. [/quote]

I do think so

I would like to ask about an expression where this vague meaning is avoided.
Can I make it more accurate by saying "I am in a bad mood" or "I am not in a good mood"?

Thanks in advance. :wink:

 

[Casiopea]

Can I make it more accurate by saying "I am in a bad mood" or "I am not in a good mood"?

Thanks in advance. :wink:

:up: Both sound fine. There's also, "I'm not in the mood to_______ (FILL IN THE BLANK e.g., participate, study, go to the movies, etc.)."

 

[Natalie27]

Your teachers need to go back to school.

I do think so

I would like to ask about an expression where this vague meaning is avoided.
Can I make it more accurate by saying "I am in a bad mood" or "I am not in a good mood"?

Thanks in advance. :wink:[/quote]

A student can say: "I didn't participate because"...

I just didn't feel like it.
I wasn't feeling well.
I wasn't into it.
I wasn't in the right frame of mind.
I felt out of it ( possibly tired, spaced out, etc)
I am indisposed.

Kids are simply ingenious when it come to excuses. :lol:

 

[Casiopea]

Kids are simply ingenious when it come to excuses. :lol:

No kidding. :lol:

 

[Latoof]

Thanks everybody for explaining :lol:

 

[Reemani]

I would liek to thank all people who supprted Latoof's friend, and i would like to join and support you too. what her friend said wasn't meant to be harmful to any one of them [I believe and not think it's true], and I also want to say that there is nothing wrong with {I'm not in the mood} unless other people thought about it wrongly.

 

[wunaide]

I'm not really sure why any native speaker would take "I'm not in the mood" to have any sexual connotations whatsoever, but there is a problem with telling a teacher that you are "not in the mood" for a class, and that problem involves Register.

Register is that aspect of language that is governed by the distribution of social power in a linguistic exchange.

For example, you might say to a child

"sit down and eat your dinner",

but you would say something quite different to your boss who has been invited over to dinner to encourage the same physical reaction. Something like

"would you like to sit down? perhaps we should start dinner now ...do you think?..."

would be appropriate to such a situation, whereas if you used an inapproriate Register and said to your boss "sit down and eat your dinner", the chances of getting that promotion you had been seeking would probably have reduced considerably.

Saying "I'm not in the mood to study today" to a teacher implies that you have the power to choose what you should do in class, and this contravenes the rules of the student-teacher power distribution. It is no wonder that a teacher would be offended by this. It would be as if a child who had been asked by a parent to dry the dishes, or a person who had been given a vitally important business dinner invitation by someone in a senior position had responded with "not today, I'm not in the mood".

Successful excuses maintain the socially accepted distribution of power in a particular relationship. Thus rather than saying "I'm not in the mood to study" a student would be much better off saying something like "it's such a great class I wish I didn't have this terrible headache - i hope it goes away soon so that i can join in....", or something along those lines anyway. That shows the teacher that you are adhering to the social rules of the relationship, which is to say that you accept that the teacher has more power than you in the classroom.

An understanding of the importance of Register is a vital component of language learning and language teaching.

 

[Latoof]

Wow,
Thank you very much for the explanation.
Yes you are right, the relationship between teacher and student must has what you said about the power of respect and that what is happening. Our relationship with our teachers is built on respect, however we are such friends teasing each other all the time and laughing on each others mistakes. This situation was one of these once. He was teasing her, but he meant no harm nor she did.
I was asking because I want to know the meaning and nothing more. Yes when this happened I am now well prepared to understand the doiple meaning of this phrase. Thank you very much again.
Thanks all

 

[Natalie27]

I'm not really sure why any native speaker would take "I'm not in the mood" to have any sexual connotations whatsoever, but there is a problem with telling a teacher that you are "not in the mood" for a class, and that problem involves Register.

Register is that aspect of language that is governed by the distribution of social power in a linguistic exchange.

For example, you might say to a child

"sit down and eat your dinner",

but you would say something quite different to your boss who has been invited over to dinner to encourage the same physical reaction. Something like

"would you like to sit down? perhaps we should start dinner now ...do you think?..."

would be appropriate to such a situation, whereas if you used an inapproriate Register and said to your boss "sit down and eat your dinner", the chances of getting that promotion you had been seeking would probably have reduced considerably.

Saying "I'm not in the mood to study today" to a teacher implies that you have the power to choose what you should do in class, and this contravenes the rules of the student-teacher power distribution. It is no wonder that a teacher would be offended by this. It would be as if a child who had been asked by a parent to dry the dishes, or a person who had been given a vitally important business dinner invitation by someone in a senior position had responded with "not today, I'm not in the mood".

Successful excuses maintain the socially accepted distribution of power in a particular relationship. Thus rather than saying "I'm not in the mood to study" a student would be much better off saying something like "it's such a great class I wish I didn't have this terrible headache - i hope it goes away soon so that i can join in....", or something along those lines anyway. That shows the teacher that you are adhering to the social rules of the relationship, which is to say that you accept that the teacher has more power than you in the classroom.

An understanding of the importance of Register is a vital component of language learning and language teaching.

????
study" a student would be much better off saying something like "it's such a great class I wish I didn't have this terrible headache - i hope it goes away soon so that i can join in....", or something along those lines anyway.
????

I really feel the need to comment on this one, Wunaide...
For the life of me, I can't see ANY kid say something like this to a teacher. We teach in a very relaxed and informal atmosphere. There is some formality to it as well but that level is already set and agreed upon by most teachers. If a teenager/college student said something like this, the kid would be probably razzed for the rest of his life. Personally kids would think he suffered a massive heat stroke and I would think he is nuts! :loling:
However, I do understand what you were trying to say to get the point across.

 

[wunaide]

Natalie, my main point was that consideration of Register is important in language teaching and language learning. I'm sorry I didn't have time to list for you the infinite number of possible utterances the student in question might have more gainfully employed.

"Razzed for the rest of his life" indeed. You sound more like teenager than mature teacher. In my experience as a schoolboy, any young student who was able to manipulate a teacher by providing an excuse that "worked" received the praise and admiration of peers. As kids, we were always looking for ways to manipulate teachers, and skill with Register was how we used to achieve it. The more appropriately phrased BS the better! It was always extremely gratifying to be deadpanning to a teacher in perfectly appropriate Register while your mates were laughing up their sleeves. For certain teachers this activity became somewhat of a competitive student sport!

I am presently employed teaching senior high school children, and I can assure you that this kind of behaviour amongst students persists to this day (it has been many years since I was at school), and has existed since before Socrates' time, AND it exists cross-culturally.

Furthermore don't give me that half-baked relaxed-and-informal 3 week EFL course twaddle. To make real progress in other languages one must do at least some serious study, and serious study - for many if not most - is not always (if ever) enjoyable. Sure, I don't drive my students hard all the time, and I make sure that occasionally we have some very informal classes. However, the students that make the huge linguistic leaps are the ones that stick it out when it looks like things are getting a little hard to grasp, and the way that I ensure that I give these serious students the best chance to succeed is at the outset to establish and thereafter maintain my authority in the classroom so that I can control those students whose minds start to wander when there is serious work to be done.

 

[Natalie27]

Wunaide, ... have a nice day!


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This post has been edited for content by Casiopea.

 

[wunaide]

Thanks Natalie.
I will have a nice day.


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This post has been edited for content by Casiopea.

 

[Latoof]

Hi everybody,
I would like to know what is going on here?
Are you fighting or what? I am sorry if it is because of me. However, I was saying the truth our relationship with our teacher is built on respect and some fun. I really enjoy it this way, everyone does. I agree with what is said about that teaching is something very important and it cannot be just a teacher and a student. It really goes beyond that.
I hope that we still friends.
Thanks all.

 

[Casiopea]

Wunaide, ... have a nice day!


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This post has been edited for content by Casiopea.

When you have a chance I wonder if you could scroll down and read Latoof's recent post. :up:

 

[Casiopea]

Thanks Natalie.
I will have a nice day.


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This post has been edited for content by Casiopea.

Please see Latoof's recent post.