Why do I enjoy to teach English as a 2nd Language? Let me provide you ten reasons (and ten paragraphs about why this need to matter to you):.
One: I love to teach.
2: I love English.
Three: I love language in general; finding the connections between English and other languages is a perk.
4: I enjoy to hear other people speak their native languages fluently, quickly, and perfectly.
5: I’m very patient and a good listener, and I like to practice things I’m proficient at.
Six: I love to take a trip– no, that’s wrong. I do not travel. But spending time with people from other cultures enables me to picture that I take a trip.
Seven: I love to feel like an ambassador to … whatever country my trainee is from.
Eight: I enjoy finding out about history, and a lot of other nations on earth have more history than mine.
9: I’m an author; composing is my primary income, and I like to write. However composing is a singular activity; teaching allows me to interact with individuals and adds another layer of richness to my life.
10: It offers me something wonderful to dream about. Please continue reading … Why should you care that I like to teach ESL?
Here, in ten short paragraphs, is my answer.
I tell my students, rather apologetically, that Americans normally do not respect people who don’t speak English. (By the way, I don’t state this till I sense they are thinking it.) Why do not we? Real, the world is rapidly becoming an international society, and English is ending up being “the” international language. And maybe sooner or later quickly every educated person worldwide will have a working knowledge of English.
But how did we, as a nation, ended up being so provincial … so arrogant … so smug? Even if your ancestors came here on the Mayflower– as mine did– or perhaps if they are Native Americans, your people initially spoke some other language. Modern English has been around just a couple of a century.
And what a disaster it would be if those other languages vanished, or became ancient relics of lost civilizations, to be studied just by academicians and never utilized in everyday life. Think of living in a world where everybody had the exact same preferred color, or the very same hobby … where every radio station played the very same music … or every dining establishment served the exact same food. How dull! Here’s an easy (and enjoyable) method for each people to do our little part for international relations: be client with someone who is discovering English, and while we’re at it, show an interest in their native language. We’re guaranteed to find out something remarkable.
Wherever we live, any place our ancestors came from, our language is thoroughly intertwined with our history, our culture, our sociology … even our biology. Consider that whatever sounds are missing from our native language, unless we somehow discover them as young kids, will be lost to us forever. We lose a big piece of our cultural identity if we pretend that Modern English is the only language that counts.
Now, my dream … for several years, I have actually wanted to take a trip to England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales– the lands of my forefathers. A couple of years ago, I began to study Italian, and became enamored of not just the language, but the food, the art, the architecture, and naturally the history. Now I want to go to Italy.
More recently, as I dealt with a trainee from Switzerland, I was soon blown away by what I discovered of the abundant cultural history, the range of natural scenery … the castles and cathedrals and trains … the a great deal of language groups for so little a country … and now I wish to go to Switzerland. Offered sufficient time and experience, possibly eventually I’ll wish to go just about all over. However for beginners … western Europe.
So I dream that some day I’ll be welcomed to stay with a family … perhaps a non-English-speaking household in an English-speaking country, or maybe a family in Italy or Switzerland … and be a tutor and buddy to the adults and/or the children in the household. While they find out English, I’ll learn about their culture … and take a trip! And I will be a goodwill ambassador, an example of the generous spirit of America.
I hope all my fellow Americans will discover it in themselves to value the languages of the world and the people who speak them. If you do take a trip, please make an effort to say a few words in your host country’s language. You probably will not have to say much, for individuals you satisfy will probably wish to take the opportunity to practice English. But I believe they will value the effort. If you do not take a trip, just take a look at individuals around you and see the variety of backgrounds.
Can we believe that something great can come out of every bad thing that takes place? The Old Testimony story of the Tower of Babel explains God’s punishment of humanity for their pride in thinking they might reach paradise by building and climbing upon this fantastic tower. All of a sudden speaking many different languages, they could no longer interact and were not able to finish the job. The good that has pertained to everybody due to the fact that of it is this: we have the countless treasure of thousands of languages, and the social, cultural, and natural diversity that opt for them.
Head out of your way to spend some time with somebody who does not speak proficient English. The delight of interaction that transcends language barriers will be yours.
