Job Discussion Forums

[renzobenzo1]

I am pretty naive and ignorant when it comes to this.
I expect to speak English wherever I can.
Sure I learn the basics, but I think if I could speak fluently I would be more connected with people and gain more respect (care to comment on this).

Then again for 1 year teaching stints and then moving on to other locations leaves me little time to practice..then again I am pretty lazy when it comes to it really.

Maybe I should just choose 1 location and stay there for 2+years and make a real go of it....

What about y'all?.... Do you make a vaild attempt in your teaching/travelling? Has it made a difference for you?

[naturegirl321]

Depends if you want to adapt or not, I've met plenty of people who have married locals, lived in a foregin ntry for years and have very little grasp of the langague.

I learnt some Chinese while in China and now have been in Peru for four years and use SPanish more than English.

[spiral78]

I think not making the effort is kind of disrespectful and rude, but I also know that if you're working normal private-school hours, hanging out with expats, and you're in a place where English will get you by, it's tough to commit the time and energy needed to learn language.

Yeah, if you are someplace 2 years or more, you're more likely to be motivated and interested...

I think if you can pull it off, it's VERY valuable in terms of broadening your experience in that location - not to mention that being a language LEARNER makes you a better TEACHER.

[Chancellor]

Here's another consideration: attempting to learn the local language gives you an idea of what your students are going through trying to learn English.

[spiral78]

I said that, too

[denise]

In the Czech Republic and Japan, I took informal classes, tried self-study (but no discipline! aaaarrgh!), and ended up just being able to do the basics--order in restaurants, buy train tickets, etc. In Peru I did pretty much everything in Spanish--not just mundane tasks but meeting and conversing with people on pretty much any topic. Here in Oman, I haven't really made an effort... in all the shops and restaurants, people speak English anyway! (And 9 times out of 10 they're Indian, not Omani, so even the Omanis will speak English.)

I think the factor that has determined my successes or failures has been how much of the language I knew before arrival. I had already studied Spanish, so picking it up again was easy--although I'm sure I make loads more mistakes now than when I studied it in a classroom. I'm a better classroom learner than self-paced learn-through-immersion learner.

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[spiral78]

Denise, give yourself a bit of a break...I can't speak for Japanese, but Czech is among the most difficult languages for a native English speaker to learn. Spanish is technically easier for us

[MELEE]

I already spoke Spanish before I became a TEFL teacher. It has made a world of difference in my life as a TEFL teacher.

I also did 18 months in Japan. I started studying Japanese on the flight over. I took classes 3 times a week, with a private tutor, and studied situational langauge based on the situations I was really in on a day to day basis. Having a private tutor gave me the flexibility to look at a lesson in the book and say "I don't think I will ever need to say these things" and skip that lesson. I didn't make an effort to learn to read or write. I did learn a lot of katakana (the script used for foriegn words) and carried a miniture chart with me all the time. I never intended to stay long in Japan and that really affected what and how I learned. I also think I learned 90% of the Japanese I knew in the first 3 months I was there. After that my learning stagnated because I was able to shop and order, ask directions, and greet people. The main functions I needed for my life in Japan.

Most of the Japanese people I knew well, spoke English. However here in Mexico, most of the Mexicans I know do not. I feel like a part of the community here, and that was never an option in Japan--BUT, big but, I've been in Mexico for 10 years, my husband and children are Mexican. As I said, I never intended to be in Japan for long.

I strongly agree that being a language learner makes you a better langauge teacher.

[Phil_K]

I think that it also earns you more respect from the locals, and certainly allows you to integrate better into the country. I get the feeling that I am not necessarily regarded as a strange foreigner any more after 7 years (also in Mexico). I don't know how old the OP is, but I arrived in Mexico at the age of nearly 39, with little more than si, no, por favor, gracias and jalape�o, and although I took formal classes, I think most of what I know, I asborbed. After all, it is said that language is better acquired than learned.

[MO39]