When I went to college, one of the first friends that I made was a French tennis player named Philippe. Philippe was in Florida on a tennis scholarship and knew all the English swear words you would ever need to survive on a college campus. Upon his arrival, those were the only words he spoke in English, but the next week, there he sat with me and 300 other students in a 3-hour lecture on world religion. He had to work hard to pass that semester, but he did. In fact, he passed that first one and many more semesters until, eventually, he completed his doctorate.
I think of Philippe a lot when I teach my ESL students. I think of the humor with which he navigated the American college system, the ease with which he made friends, and the speed with which he acquired language; not just conversational language, but the language of education. I have often wondered what it is like being educated in a language that is not native to you (not to be confused with learning a language), but never had... the opportunity? The courage? The need... to experience that type of education first hand.
As part of an internship, I recently had the opportunity to participate in a week long German immersion program at Concordia College. I very quickly discovered that what I thought was German camp was actually camp for Germans. While I was aware that the camp operated only in German, I was unaware that the majority of the visitors were already fluent German speakers.
It was a position I had never been in before. I’m reasonably well-traveled, but like most Americans, my visits have been to places where English is either the primary language or spoken by the people there as a secondary language. I have always been blissfully surrounded by my native language.
German is not completely foreign to me. My school district valued foreign language education so we were introduced to French, Spanish and German in 6th grade, had trimesters of each in 7th, and chose a language in 8th. By the time I graduated from high school, I had taken German five days per week for five years. I took two more semesters in college, but I never immersed myself in the language with an international visit. I can still read in German. I still recognize basic vocabulary and can garner comprehension, but it’s been 20 years. The words just don’t come to
my mind in conversation anymore. They didn’t anyway.
I haven’t seen Philippe in years but I think of him every semester as a new group of beginners enrolls in ESL classes. I think about the sink or swim immersion that these students are undergoing just living in the United States, and I hope that my week of immersion helps me empathize with their struggles.
I think of Philippe a lot when I teach my ESL students. I think of the humor with which he navigated the American college system, the ease with which he made friends, and the speed with which he acquired language; not just conversational language, but the language of education. I have often wondered what it is like being educated in a language that is not native to you (not to be confused with learning a language), but never had... the opportunity? The courage? The need... to experience that type of education first hand.
As part of an internship, I recently had the opportunity to participate in a week long German immersion program at Concordia College. I very quickly discovered that what I thought was German camp was actually camp for Germans. While I was aware that the camp operated only in German, I was unaware that the majority of the visitors were already fluent German speakers.
It was a position I had never been in before. I’m reasonably well-traveled, but like most Americans, my visits have been to places where English is either the primary language or spoken by the people there as a secondary language. I have always been blissfully surrounded by my native language.
German is not completely foreign to me. My school district valued foreign language education so we were introduced to French, Spanish and German in 6th grade, had trimesters of each in 7th, and chose a language in 8th. By the time I graduated from high school, I had taken German five days per week for five years. I took two more semesters in college, but I never immersed myself in the language with an international visit. I can still read in German. I still recognize basic vocabulary and can garner comprehension, but it’s been 20 years. The words just don’t come to
my mind in conversation anymore. They didn’t anyway.
I haven’t seen Philippe in years but I think of him every semester as a new group of beginners enrolls in ESL classes. I think about the sink or swim immersion that these students are undergoing just living in the United States, and I hope that my week of immersion helps me empathize with their struggles.