Not
Just English
by Gabriel Forsyth
A dear friend of mine from India told me that in India they believe the
three highest professions in life are priests, doctors, and teachers. Priests
help people spiritually, doctors help people physically, and teachers help
people mentally. Teachers are highly respected because of the understanding
that knowledge is invaluable and to pass knowledge on to others is a tremendous
responsibility. Among the knowledge teachers can pass on, learning another
language is among the greater empowerments a person can receive. Honestly,
where would the human race be without the ability to communicate? As our
world continues to grow smaller the need to communicate grows larger thus
producing a high demand for learning multiple languages.
Thousands of people from around the world immigrate to the United States
of America each year
looking for an improved quality of life. Whether they are able to
achieve an improved quality of life largely depends on their acquisition
of the English Language. Otherwise, without a proficiency in English, the
opportunities for jobs are limited; they can be exploited in terms of salaries,
and their children’s educations suffer because of an inability to
contribute to it.
I have been teaching English as a Second language for two years to adults
who have immigrated to this country. I have come to notice a majority of
my students lack proficient knowledge not only in the English Language but
also of the world beyond their home country. Many of my students’ educations
in their home countries were partial and limited. Some lack even a basic
knowledge of elementary world geography.
The appealing thing about teaching ESL is that your curriculum is as vast
as the language itself, therefore you can teach a wide variety of topics
while remaining faithful to your core purpose of teaching the English Language.
Over the last two years of teaching ESL, I have put into practice several
different ways to incorporate U.S. civics and global awareness into my English
lessons. Having taught all levels of English proficiency, I have found these
various ideas can be modified to meet the needs of students whether they
are just beginning to learn English or are well advanced in their journey.
The News
The internet is a rich source of information that ESL teachers
can pull from. The options for lessons using news stories ranges from
reading comprehension exercises to classroom discussions. I like to search
for interesting national and international news stories that I can print
off and incorporate into my lessons. This allows me to teach my students
new vocabulary and reading comprehension while helping them to be informed
about the world they live in. Sometimes I use big stories like the youth
riots in France and hurricane Katrina while other times I use lesser known
stories like the elections in Ecuador. Internet sources of news – http://news.yahoo.com,
www.msnbc.msn.com, www.foxnews.com
Photography
If a picture is worth a thousand words, then could we not
use a picture to teach a thousand words? I love to use photographs to
create classroom discussions and writing prompts. A picture of a village
in Sudan or a busy street in Hong Kong can be used to teach new vocabulary
as well as to discuss a variety of topics both social and political.
I have found pictures to be a great way to incorporate global awareness
and civics into my ESL lessons.
Magazines like National Geographic and Newsweek are great sources of pictures
that you can clip and build a portfolio for use in the classroom. Photoblog
websites like www.trekearth.com are also valuable resources for finding
pictures to use in your lessons.
The students
When I have classes where the students do not all come from
the same country, I try and take advantage of this through class discussions
where the students can share with each other things they make their country
of origin unique. You can create discussion questions to facilitate this,
for example: What are the differences between the neighborhood you live
in here in the United States and the neighborhood where you lived in your
home country? How is shopping here in the United States different than
shopping in your home country? What are some things that are special to
you about your home country?
The art of asking the right questions is essential to incorporating civics
and global awareness into your lessons. Recently I asked a group of my ESL
students to tell me what languages they would like their children to learn
in addition to English and Spanish. I was fascinated by the responses I
received. Most of my students listed French as a language they wanted their
children to learn, and a few others listed such languages as Chinese, Japanese,
Italian, and Arabic. I have also asked many of my classes what other countries
they would like to visit. The idea is to get them thinking globally, dreaming,
and ultimately learning about the world we live in.
The result
Teaching ESL demands teaching more than just the English
Language. I have had many of my students email me telling me how they
have appreciated learning about other countries and cultures including
the United States. The most common reasons that my students give for wanting
to learn English are to be able to help with their children’s education
and to be able to obtain employment or advance in their employment. These
goals will be more fully realized with proficiency in the English language,
and with a greater understanding of U.S. civics and a heightened global
awareness.
About the Author
Gabriel Forsyth teaches English as a second language and does freelance
writing. He has been teaching ESL for two years. He has traveled to seven
different Countries and plans to continue increasing that number.
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