English as a Second Language Teacher

Here is an article which I didn't publish, which I wrote in 2006 when was teaching advanced ESL to "newcomers" to Canada.

Usually at my local supermarket, I read the price off the cashier and repeat it out loud to make sure I’ve got it right. Almost every time, when an "English as a Second Language (ESL)" employee is at the booth, the price is almost always pronounced (or even read) wrong.

Me: Two dollars twenty eight?
Cashier: Two dollars twenty two.
Me: Twenty three?
Cashier:Twenty two.

And I have to strain my neck to verify for myself what if what I heard and what I see correspond. Usually, I have to strain my ears too, since as well as the indecipherable accent, I get such a low pitched response, with face partially turned away, that even hearing the correct figure is difficult.

Now, I’ve been an ESL teacher for a number of years. I’ve also worked alongside immigrants, as what was termed an “education counselor” mostly trying to familiarize them with the Canadian education system, both high school and post-secondary. And I think I understand where this lackadaisical approach to the English language comes from.

While I was teaching advanced ESL to “professional” Chinese, who were supposed to have at least a high level of writing and reading abilities in the English language, I quickly realized that one of the obsessions, if it may be called such, by the Chinese students was to learn as much as possible about the “Canadian culture” from the English classes. Therefore, our classrooms became mini cultural centers, where we enacted Canadian holidays on a regular basis. We had movie and popcorn days. We visited nearby farms to pick apples in the fall and strawberries in the summer, and to cull maple syrup in the spring. There was one teacher who would bring her whole family as examples for some her classes. That, to me, was approaching libel.

What surprised me, and I don't doubt part of the problem was time and perhaps money, was that few of these students took the time out for themselves to frequent and experience this Canadian culture.

These many years later, I doubt this approach to teaching ESL has changed much, and that Chinese and other "new comers" have changed their approach to learning about Canada.