I had four, count them four (4), Muslim women at my ESL table at church this week. I’ve been through several hours of orientation but this was my first night with actual students and karma shined down upon me.
The night was actually really challenging. I had a total of seven students at my table that I was responsible for helping. It was a bit overwhelming! Plus I’m not actually great at correcting people. I’m more likely to say, “That’s really close, good job,” rather than fix every small spelling and grammar error. But I figured out by the end that the whole point of my being there is to pedantically fix every small spelling and grammar error. The students really want to learn this stuff.
The students are from all over the world, of every age, and they work really hard. One thing I learned right away as we discussed what our typical days look like is that these people work HARD. The assignment for the small talk section was to use the present tense, start with when we wake up, and talk about our days. Mine was all, “I wake up at 5:30. I eat banana bread for breakfast. I go to work at a library. I come home and eat dinner. I watch TV with my husband. I knit an afghan for my niece. I pet my cat. I take a shower. I go to bed.”
They’re all, “I wake up at 3:30 a.m. I make breakfast for my family. I take the bus to the warehouse and work until 2:00. I come home and go to bed. I get up at 5:00 and eat dinner. I take a shower. In the evening I walk to English class.”
Except, of course, when they peppered their conversation with advanced cookery. One woman said, “I eat pasta with cheese but I prefer Bechamel.” I’m all, I got nothing.
I wouldn’t go so far as to say it was “fun.” It was challenging. But I’m committed for this semester.
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