I couldn't sleep last night, and I had a new private student today, so I didn't have the time to take an extended siesta like I normally do on days when I have class in la madrugada (the early morning. and also the name of a Norwegian rock band, as I found out when I googled it to make sure I had the spelling right). So, I'll have to leave you another night refreshing the page incessantly, waiting to hear about the rest of my trip home. But as a consolation prize, here's the most worldly thing I can come up with on 5 hours of sleep:
My new student, a 17 year old girl who speaks Spanish, Catalan, Gallegan, some French, and intermediate-level English, told me today how I must be so proud to speak English when people from so many other countries around the world are trying to learn it. Here she was saying this to me, someone who hasn't consciously struggled with English since I was 2 (besides that pesky speech impediment), when she's 5 years younger and is kicking my ass in the language department. I personally can't be very proud of something that I never had to work at. This is just one example of the times when it's been thrown in my face how lucky I am to have been born in a English-speaking country. It's really not an easy language to master, yet so many people either have a strong desire to learn it or are forced to for business reasons. How do you explain the difference between "remember" and "remind"? How do you teach someone to pronounce "scientists" or "texts"? And why can't it be "He said me" instead of "He told me"? Not to go off on a rant, but I never even thought about how lucky I was to know English until I saw a different side of things. If you're reading this, I hope you feel lucky too.
P.S. Sophia and Lauren - is this the same for you?
P.P.S. The photo is what came up when I searched "learn English" for a picture to add, and it's kind of awesome, so I'm using it:
1 comment:
I agree with you that I do not feel proud about the fact that I speak English the way I do, because like you said it is not something we had to work at. In some ways I do feel lucky, because it is a really important language in today´s world. On the other hand, however, I often feel guilty. My students are forced to learn English, like most kids in Europe, and I can see how that can be frustrating for someone who is aware of the fact that a much smaller percentage of people in the world are making an effort to learn their mother tongue.
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