students' english

to think of what american kids are capable of in terms of foreign languages is embarrassing. i think of my previous spanish abilities while attending high school and college and compare it to what my high school 14-18 year old students can do, and i'm shocked. in today's modern world filled with computers, televisions, email, fast postal services, and easy flights, it's never been easier to connect with distant lands and foreign peoples. foreign peoples who speak foreign languages. hence, it'd seem appropriate that we teach our youth in america some foreign language skills that go beyond some easy grammar and vocabulary. i'm amazed to hear the sentences that my students construct - it's downright shameful to think of american ability. and why exactly is it so bad in the states? i'd rather not think it's due to our swollen arrogance that leads to subconcious ideas that we don't need to learn other languages. we already know english - the key to unlock the world's communication. we're already at the top - everyone else only needs to learn our language. the whole world being so accessible, however, screams for attention for the knoweldge of other countries' languages.

and, with that small rant, here are some examples of some of my student's writings.

an ichi nen sei (first year student); 14/15 years old


and a few close-ups. now granted, i had given some written examples of these sentences on the back of this worksheet, but they were different and much more simpler. amazing.




and here's a song my third year (senior) student wrote; 18 years old. and while this one doesn't seem quite so advanced, the fact that he's constructing these sentences on his own is still incredible. english is extremely difficult; always before i just took the english language for granted because i never had to think about it. now being surrounded by it daily in a learning environment, it makes you realize all the little nuances involved in english. i'm so happy i'm a native english speaker!!

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