Great link – 10 Steps to Becoming Fluent in a Language in 6 Months or Less

Ever felt like you are not learning enough of the host country language?  I do, everyday.  I know it is possible, because today at lunch, I saw many expats talking fluently in the host country language, effortlessly.  Do I secretly dislike them because of my jealousy towards their amazing language skills?  I think so, if I’m being honest.

I actually studied language in University.  I have a degree in a romance language!  But still, I struggle every day with my ability to learn a new language.

Also, how many of you expats have experienced this scenario?  You speak in the host language, then the other person (a native speaker of the target language) persists to respond back to you English.  Then there is the opposite.  You speak in English and the other person precedes to tell you how you should practice talking more in Chinese.  Sometimes it feels like a lose-lose situation as you try and interact with the locals.

Here is the list of 10 steps to becoming fluent on this blog by Felicia Wong.  For sure there is some great insight into the arduous attempt to become fluent.  I’ve listed the 10 steps here, but check out the rest of the blog entry for all the details under each step.

1. Immerse yourself

2. Forget translating: think like a baby!

3. How do you say?

4. Write it

5. Use cognates and draw links

6. Local TV, movies, music

7. Non-verbal cues

8. Get emotional!

9. A world of friends / then going solo

10. Practice at every opportunity before and after you travel.

A video that made me think about when I used to teach in the United States

I don’t know about you, but I used to work in the United States, teaching at public schools in high-poverty neighborhoods. The past 5 years I have been teaching at international schools around the world, working with quite well-to-do students.

One question that I sometimes ponder since my move to teach in international schools: are international school students just as needy as those in the high-poverty schools that I used to teach at in the United States?

The obvious answer is no, right? Most international school students come from quite privileged families. Most likely, they have enough food on the table and are not refugees of war. International school students are well-rounded with all their needs being met, right? The answer might be once again….no, certainly not for all of them. It seems though that they are needy in different ways. Many students at international schools might be from wealthy families, but I know a lot of them that have many issues to deal with. One big issue is that there are many times when one of the parents is gone on business trips around the world for days, sometimes weeks at a time. Another issue is that there are many instances when international school students are actually being raised mostly by a house caretaker/nanny (I know a number of families when that person is from the host country, not speaking very much English). And the list of issues that affect international school students continues…

When I was teaching in the United States, I remember talking about my teaching job as being an advocate for the civil rights and well-being of the students, as well as teaching them how to read and write. I think I must always fight for the rights of students no matter where I am teaching or who I am teaching, helping those who don’t have the voice or power yet. For example, I have found it to be very vital to know about why ‘Johnny’ might look to be really depressed and disengaged in class all the time. It might be that his dad is constantly on business trips and the mother doesn’t believe it is having an effect on ‘Johnny.’ This exact situation happened to me earlier this year at my current school. Making sure that teachers are aware of students’ home life situations and the issues that can plague international school students can become quite valuable when working with them at school.

Does anyone else have a similar teaching experience from the students they were working with in their home country to the ones they are working with now at international schools? What do you think about the ‘needs’ of international school students and how can international school teachers help to address them?

Survey results are in – What’s the top reason for why you want to teach at international schools?

The survey results are in, and it seems as if travel and location are the main reasons why us teachers want to work at internationals schools.

Contrary to what you might say in an interview setting, most people are focusing on getting jobs in desirable locations.  Obviously, those locations might be different for different people…thank goodness!  It is not just teachers that are interested in location, it is the administrators as well.

I went to a recruiting fair once and went to about 4-6 school information sessions.  The vast majority of their presentations had to do with the location that the school was in.  Now of course, prospective teachers need to know about where they might be moving to, but to have the majority of their presentation be about location and the places you can travel to from there?  It is pretty obvious what is motivating people.

One area that I think is very important, now knowing how important travel and location is, is to know more about the airport in the city that you choose to live in.  Is it a good hub?  How much to round trip tickets cost to locations with the country and outside of the country, and more importantly to your home country?  Which places are cheaper to go to?  Answers to these important questions on our minds, can be found on the school profiles page here on International School Community.  Of the 4 sections, travel is one of them.  Here are the 4 questions that you will find there and can leave your comments on:

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