I've learned a lot about the process of learning languages since I've been in Brazil.
First, I've realized that I really like teaching kids and teenagers one-on-one, since they learn really fast, pay attention and show more respect than in a classroom, and make me feel like I'm doing something right. I especially like teaching teenagers, who seem to look up to me, an older, but not too old gringa. Plus, I have learned endless respect and admiration for people who actually teach in schools.
Next, I've seen firsthand how important it is to start kids early. At the English school for kids where I had my little stint way back last year, I saw what a difference it made for the kids who started learning really young, at age 2 or 3, and those who came in at age 9 or 10. It's absolutely incredible, but the younger the child, the spongier the brain, and the longer you wait, the less of a chance a language is really going to stick.
The other day, Eli and I were on the bus and there was a little blonde-haired, blue-eyed girl chattering away with her babysitter. Eli nudged me and said, "She looks like a gringa." So then I eavesdropped on the conversation and found out that the girl was six and had moved with her family from Germany recently. The babysitter was talking to a random lady, telling her that the girl still had an accent but had learned very fast. I couldn't tell she had an accent, and assuming the girl had been here less than a year, she had soaked in the language without even trying.
Lastly, I have come to appreciate my job teaching adults English. It may be difficult, but is totally necessary. The other day, I helped my student on the phone, since she was having trouble understanding a woman in the Middle East. I could barely understand what the woman was saying, and saw what my students have to deal with on a daily basis. (Between the two of us, we managed to decode her email address, which was something like [email protected]). For better or worse, English has become the language of international business, and until that changes, people have got to learn to become understandable.
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