I don’t care what anyone says: Learning English is hard. Teaching English is hard, but learning it is harder. I’m so proud of all of the English students I’ve had the privilege of teaching over the years. This fall, I’ve gotten the opportunity to teach another group of beautiful, talented students to navigate learning and using their second language. Some students can’t read or write in their own language. Some can, but don’t know any English yet. Still others are familiar with basic English, while others can communicate in English, but want to improve their reading and writing. It’s challenging to teach a group like this. But even more than challenging, it’s rewarding for everyone involved.
All of our current students were immigrants from Latin America. Some have been in the US for 1 year, some for 20. No matter how long they’ve been here, none of them have returned home since they arrived. Some are here with their families, others are not. One student hasn’t seen her parents in over 20 years. Thankfully she just received her passport this week so she can visit them. Naturally she is overjoyed and cannot wait to be reunited. She works very hard at her job and has learned a lot of English along the way. And still she comes to English class because there’s more to learn.
I’m inspired every week by the women who come to our classes. Mothers, grandmothers, employees, friends. Hard-working individuals just like you and I, people with stories and backstories and dreams and families. I might be better off than them, living in my native country, but I am no better than them. They’re my equals. They have things to teach me. Each week I pray I’m not wasting their time, as I work to teach them, where they’re at, who they are. I think they appreciate interacting with a native English speaker, and there’s no doubt in my mind their English is improving. I hope they have the confidence to practice in public, at work, at the grocery store. I hope people are friendly when they try.
Teaching English is about more than teaching the words. We have many, many discussions about the cultural implications of language. How what we say and how we say it is a matter of culture. Not just where you’re from within the country, but what’s appropriate to say when and why, how to interpret more than the words but the attitude. I want our students to feel confident, a trait many people, especially women, struggle to be. They are valuable and smart and deserve the chance to increase their ability to interact in English. That’s why I show up every Thursday morning, not because I have to get through my curriculum, but because my students show up eager to learn. They deserve to belong, and learning English contributes to their experience of belonging. They’re home, and they’re welcome.
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