Teaching English
For the past few months I have been teaching English to some Mexican people who work in industry. There are a lot of American companies in Mexico, especially in the border towns. Ensenada is the southernmost "border town" in Baja CA and it is exploding with activity.
The people I am teaching work for a compnay whose plant is moving to another city quite far away and most of them don't want to relocate. Mexico is suffering from exploitation from the U.S., companies looking for cheap labor (apparently under NAFTA). As the standard of living got better for Mexicans, the American companies decided to set up shop in Asia for even cheaper labor. This is leaving folks here high and dry, which is sad.
Anyway, back to my students...they are of varying fluency in English. All of them understand English but are hesitant to speak it. They all think they need to drop their accents. One can never really do that with a second language learned as an adult, so I tell tham that they will always have an accent due to individual speech patterns and not to worry about it. They don't like to speak English with their own people because they are made fun of. I tell them ignore that and speak it anyway and never, ever to be afraid to speak English with me.
I learn so much from my students and they all study in earnest. It's great. They are all so kind to me, they love their "Teacher." Once we begin the classes, my name is Teacher from then on. It's very sweet.
I love being a helping hand with English for these people. Never before did I understand that speaking English is the key to freedom for many people. Wow. English is the current language of power. I feel very sad that my own language is going to hell in so many ways...I well remember my English classes in school and although I never had any patience with "simple past" and "dangling participles" (I still don't), I do have an investment in my language. I love its origins, looking up words and how they began. My students have the same enthusiasm now.
Since Latin is the root of Spanish and English is a descendant of German, the divergence is huge. Learning Spanish is expanding my mind a lot, giving me insight into the mindset of an entire culture with a rich and varied history. It almost feels like the days of old when Latin was the dominant language and only those affiliated with aristocracy or the church learned it.
Illiteracy runs rampant in this country due to school expenses being so high. Uniforms and school supplies are often beyond the reach of most of the population. I have never so much appreciated education as I do now. It is an honor and a privilege to teach these people. Once they are fluent enough, we can discuss philosophies, opinions, anything! It is terrific to look into the minds of my students, to learn their personal histories, their dreams and goals and their ideas about life.
The people I am teaching work for a compnay whose plant is moving to another city quite far away and most of them don't want to relocate. Mexico is suffering from exploitation from the U.S., companies looking for cheap labor (apparently under NAFTA). As the standard of living got better for Mexicans, the American companies decided to set up shop in Asia for even cheaper labor. This is leaving folks here high and dry, which is sad.
Anyway, back to my students...they are of varying fluency in English. All of them understand English but are hesitant to speak it. They all think they need to drop their accents. One can never really do that with a second language learned as an adult, so I tell tham that they will always have an accent due to individual speech patterns and not to worry about it. They don't like to speak English with their own people because they are made fun of. I tell them ignore that and speak it anyway and never, ever to be afraid to speak English with me.
I learn so much from my students and they all study in earnest. It's great. They are all so kind to me, they love their "Teacher." Once we begin the classes, my name is Teacher from then on. It's very sweet.
I love being a helping hand with English for these people. Never before did I understand that speaking English is the key to freedom for many people. Wow. English is the current language of power. I feel very sad that my own language is going to hell in so many ways...I well remember my English classes in school and although I never had any patience with "simple past" and "dangling participles" (I still don't), I do have an investment in my language. I love its origins, looking up words and how they began. My students have the same enthusiasm now.
Since Latin is the root of Spanish and English is a descendant of German, the divergence is huge. Learning Spanish is expanding my mind a lot, giving me insight into the mindset of an entire culture with a rich and varied history. It almost feels like the days of old when Latin was the dominant language and only those affiliated with aristocracy or the church learned it.
Illiteracy runs rampant in this country due to school expenses being so high. Uniforms and school supplies are often beyond the reach of most of the population. I have never so much appreciated education as I do now. It is an honor and a privilege to teach these people. Once they are fluent enough, we can discuss philosophies, opinions, anything! It is terrific to look into the minds of my students, to learn their personal histories, their dreams and goals and their ideas about life.
posted by Triana Elan @ 10:10 AM
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