Let's Celebrate Cultural Commonality

   The biggest delight in teaching ESOL is not in seeing students' differences but in discovering that "surprise something" they all have in common.

   Years ago when I wrote a word for a class of Vietnamese and Mexican warehouse workers in Duluth, a man said, "Is Latin word."

   "How did you know that?" I asked.

   "Grow up Catholic in Vietnam. Learn Latin." 

   I immediately resurrected that dead language for Vietnamese and Hispanics alike.

   In a class at Gwinnett Tech, most of my students were doctors, engineers, computer analysts and priests. I can't recall what concept they were struggling with, but I thought syllogisms might help make it clearer. As I wrote T's, F's and arrows on the board a young man cried, "No! I had this in Pakistan and I hated it there!"

   "Welcome to America," I said, "because you're going to hate it here, too. In fact, to make you really feel at home, you can work the first example."

   All the other students coached him in the best English they could muster up. And I discovered they understood the logic better than I did!

   While subbing at Nesbit Elementary, I visited a friend on my way to work. She greeted me with a chuckle and a caterpillar in her hand.

   "I just paid to have my house cleaned and this caterpillar crawled across the floor and picked up all this dust the cleaning lady didn't get."

   I took the dusty caterpillar to school to show to my kids, then asked what other animals might help clean house.

   "The cat could lick things clean," said Karina.

   "The dog could dust with his tail," said Kathya.

   "The bird could peck off pieces of dirt like dried cereal," said Franklin.

   Then Yuritzy piped in. "The snake could wrap himself in Wet Wipes and slide over the floor."

   With that, the kids pretended to wrap themselves up, then giggled and wiggled all over the room.

   Now if I had to list 100 words I thought were universally understood, Wet Wipes would not be among them.

   But my Nesbit days are over. The principal found a real teacher to replace me. I was sad to leave my home away from home, but a sub is never homeless for long. Last week I subbed in Kindergarten at Meadowcreek Elementary. 

   I love the way ESOL students of all ages develop a sense of empathy-and a sense of humor-as they try to properly pronounce each other's names. Though I've dealt with ethnic names all my life, I still come across some that cause my tongue to trip. When I messed up for about the tenth time, Osama raised his hand.

   "Don't feel bad, teacher," he said, "You do a real good job of saying my name."

   Hey, don't we all love a compliment, no matter what our cultural background?

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