It's not easy being a language teacher

Six English teachers won awards for creative ways of teaching the language. These teachers teach different levels of students. Some teach primary school, some secondary school and others teach at junior college level. They all use creative ways to teach the English language.

This set me thinking about how we learn languages. I have learned several languages over the years. I have been subjected to weekly karaoke sessions in Thai, sentence drills in Khmer, copying letters of the alphabet in every language, ... creative ways to teach me the language. I didn't like karaoke at all!

Some people really enjoy learning foreign languages through singing pop songs in that language. I do not. I do not even enjoy karaoke! Give me old fashioned sentence drills and grammar explanations. Those methods work best for me.

So, I'm boring. But, I learn. Honestly, the method of teaching is very important. What works well for one person may not work at all for another. My Malaysian friend got so discouraged from learning Vietnamese from the start because the teacher kept berating him for his inability to remember previous lessons. He has lived in Vietnam for more than 10 years and still cannot speak the language. His wife, on the other hand, speaks it fluently. Same teacher. Same teaching method. Different students. Different learning styles.

I salute these teachers and so many more out there who have yet to win awards. They are doing their very best to impart knowledge to their young charges. May they always be appreciated by their students, whether they win any award or not. Teachers deserve an applause and all our love and appreciation.

Appreciate your language teacher today!

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