Teach English in HoushAyu Diqu - Beijing

Foreign Language ExperienceWhen I was younger I never imagined I?d ever be living in a foreign country, needing to learn a foreign language for everyday tasks like grocery shopping, or using public transportation. The extent of my experience with a foreign language had been three years of French in high school, in which I had learned more about French impressionist painters than I did about how to ask for directions. My life took an exciting turn, however, at the age of 27, when I found myself in italy visiting my pen pal, and feeling so lost and confused in a place where I could understand practically no one and had to rely almost completely on others to translate, talk, or make decisions for me. I couldn?t wait to get home again, yet I also loved being there ? the people, the culture, the lifestyle ? and yearned to be part of it. Little did I know at the time, a mere two years later I would be living, fully immersed, in a place that both scared and intrigued me. So began my first real experience with learning a foreign language. Knowing it would help to have some general knowledge of Italian before moving to italy, and having made the decision to do just that, I located a beginner-level Italian course to take while still in the USA. During that class I didn?t feel as though I was learning much. It seemed so basic and simple and I felt I wasn?t learning how to ?say? anything. However, I eventually came to realize just how important those first few lessons on simple pronunciation and basic vocabulary were. While I was doing what I could to learn some Italian I was also, unknowingly at the time, helping my future husband increase his English vocabulary and usage ? simply by talking to him. I was completely unaware in those days just how much our conversations did to perfect his fluency in English. He has always told me, from the very beginning, that what it really takes, to be fluent in any language, is to simply use it on a regular basis. Correctly or not, just use it! Well, it turns out there seems to be some truth to his theory. From my experience, a person can learn the grammar rules, the conjugation rules, the details and the finer points of a language from a book and on paper, but without real-life practice with speaking they are very unlikely to become fluent. Once I moved to italy I continued to take Italian lessons. This time however, differently from before, I had private, one-on-one lessons. In theory it should have been ideal ? personal attention with my specific problems, which was mostly my lack of confidence to actually speak and use the language without being afraid of making mistakes. However, it turned out that the tutor wasn?t really interested in what I needed. He continually gave me grammar worksheets and exercises to complete together during our sessions with little to no conversation involved. Even when I tried to ask for explanations, he usually just pulled out another worksheet for clarification. At the end of the lessons, while I found I could complete most any conjugation or grammar exercises I was given, I still lacked the ability to speak Italian. I later took another course with the same teacher on Italian history and culture, which was a small group in which he did nothing but lecture. This helped me a great deal with understanding spoken Italian, but, once again, it did little to help with my own confidence and ability to speak the language. Throughout the past fourteen years, since I first found myself outside my English-speaking comfort zone, I have gained valuable information and knowledge about what is involved in learning a new language. I believe this can, and will, directly influence my ability to teach English as a second language. It gives me understanding and empathy for those who are struggling or lacking in confidence and the tools to help them succeed. These experiences, in addition to the knowledge and tools I have gained from this tefl course, will be very beneficial to my future as an English teacher.