Well, my title can be misleading. Here's the disclaimer: I do not mean that students who improve themselves of their own accord are rare, but that it has, until now, been a rare occurrence in my classes.
Last week, I hiked all the way up to Vashi to teach a class, (yes it felt like a hike!) and I am dreading the days I have to head to Kharghar. Anyways, during introductions, it was great to meet an eclectic batch, with whom I thought I could have some interesting sessions.
One student entered late, almost by the time we were done with the introductions. As is usual in all my classes, students had to introduce themselves with their names, and tell the class one thing about themselves that no one in the class knew. That's when usually the BS is cut out, and the nervousness creeps in. You'd be surprised to know that some of them are completely out of their depth when it comes to telling others something new about themselves, something they have not memorised by then. On many occasions, I have received questions like "What to tell?" or statements like "I don't know what to say." About their own selves. With whom they have spent over 20 years. Imagine.
Getting back, however, to the student who entered late. She was the last one to introduce herself, and told us that she is also a psychology student at a college in Dhobi Talao and the commute from there was why she was late. She went on to talk about herself, quite eloquently, and at a time when the class thought she would not stop, she happened to say, "I have never talked like this in the presence of so many people, this is definitely a first for me."
From the several sentences she said then, her articulation about what she said was quite evident. It was in the break that she approached me, and told me that she had a huge problem in conversing in English until she joined college, because teachers in her school did not pay attention to detail when using correct English. It was not a grievance, merely a statement.
She went on to tell me that when she went to college and rubbed shoulders with those who could converse well and be to-the-point, she realised she was lacking in some way. Luckily for her, she had made some great friends and asked them to help her in improving herself. She made it a point to use correct language the way they asked her too, but most importantly, she went on to read books suggested by her friends. She gave all credit to the books that helped improve her language skills and articulation. "You know," she said, "all that I have said in this class today, is thanks to my reading! Otherwise I would be talking in Hindi, not English."
I was surprised at her revelation, but soon happiness took over that surprise. The benefits of reading are not unknown to me, but when a student comes and lists them to me proactively, I am going to gloat. Just for the fact that it validates all my efforts in getting my students to read some material every day - anything that interests them. I was pleased to know that for her social work project in college (okay, it is mandatory for her, but she is putting in the effort to do it well) she is teaching English to economically disadvantaged children from vernacular schools. In fact, she even asked for a few tips to resolve difficult situations with them.
Just when I was feeling extremely satisfied with my conversation with her, she narrated her problem. "Shraddha, my old friends from school do not understand me now that I go to this college. The minute I start talking in English, or let them know the correct way of saying things, they put me down by making sarcastic remarks about my college and me. I am at a loss." She has stopped saying much in their presence now.
It is a situation that may of us face, where we can happily correct strangers, but not those who are near and dear to us. We are afraid of hurting them. It is simple. You put your priorities straight. When communicating with friends, the relationship trumps the correct use of language. So you just leave it at that. And that's what I told her as well.
Last week, I hiked all the way up to Vashi to teach a class, (yes it felt like a hike!) and I am dreading the days I have to head to Kharghar. Anyways, during introductions, it was great to meet an eclectic batch, with whom I thought I could have some interesting sessions.
One student entered late, almost by the time we were done with the introductions. As is usual in all my classes, students had to introduce themselves with their names, and tell the class one thing about themselves that no one in the class knew. That's when usually the BS is cut out, and the nervousness creeps in. You'd be surprised to know that some of them are completely out of their depth when it comes to telling others something new about themselves, something they have not memorised by then. On many occasions, I have received questions like "What to tell?" or statements like "I don't know what to say." About their own selves. With whom they have spent over 20 years. Imagine.
Getting back, however, to the student who entered late. She was the last one to introduce herself, and told us that she is also a psychology student at a college in Dhobi Talao and the commute from there was why she was late. She went on to talk about herself, quite eloquently, and at a time when the class thought she would not stop, she happened to say, "I have never talked like this in the presence of so many people, this is definitely a first for me."
From the several sentences she said then, her articulation about what she said was quite evident. It was in the break that she approached me, and told me that she had a huge problem in conversing in English until she joined college, because teachers in her school did not pay attention to detail when using correct English. It was not a grievance, merely a statement.
She went on to tell me that when she went to college and rubbed shoulders with those who could converse well and be to-the-point, she realised she was lacking in some way. Luckily for her, she had made some great friends and asked them to help her in improving herself. She made it a point to use correct language the way they asked her too, but most importantly, she went on to read books suggested by her friends. She gave all credit to the books that helped improve her language skills and articulation. "You know," she said, "all that I have said in this class today, is thanks to my reading! Otherwise I would be talking in Hindi, not English."
I was surprised at her revelation, but soon happiness took over that surprise. The benefits of reading are not unknown to me, but when a student comes and lists them to me proactively, I am going to gloat. Just for the fact that it validates all my efforts in getting my students to read some material every day - anything that interests them. I was pleased to know that for her social work project in college (okay, it is mandatory for her, but she is putting in the effort to do it well) she is teaching English to economically disadvantaged children from vernacular schools. In fact, she even asked for a few tips to resolve difficult situations with them.
Just when I was feeling extremely satisfied with my conversation with her, she narrated her problem. "Shraddha, my old friends from school do not understand me now that I go to this college. The minute I start talking in English, or let them know the correct way of saying things, they put me down by making sarcastic remarks about my college and me. I am at a loss." She has stopped saying much in their presence now.
It is a situation that may of us face, where we can happily correct strangers, but not those who are near and dear to us. We are afraid of hurting them. It is simple. You put your priorities straight. When communicating with friends, the relationship trumps the correct use of language. So you just leave it at that. And that's what I told her as well.
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