Apologies can be uncomfortable, right? Different cultures apologize differently. Some are known for apologizing for everything (looking at you, Canada). Some barely apologize at all. And English has about seventeen different ways to say “sorry,” depending on whether you’re talking to your boss, your friend, or the barista whose coffee you just knocked over. For […]
You know how everyone assumes greetings and introductions are easy? Like students just stroll in on day one, shake hands, and magically know what to say? Yeah. No. For a lot of adult ESL newcomers, even saying “hello” feels like walking into the DMV for the first time. Lots of unknowns with too many expectations.
A trip to the dentist can be a nerve-wracking experience when you speak the same language. Now imagine sitting in that chair when you don’t speak the same language as the dentist! Not only do you have to worry about the potential pain or discomfort that may come with the appointment, but you also have
Let me tell you about my (first) year of disasters in South Korea. There was the time I insisted on buying a fish at the grocery store despite three increasingly frantic workers trying to stop me. I thought they were being weird about foreigners buying fish. Turned out the fish was deadly poisonous if you
All right, picture this…you’ve carefully arranged your discussion groups ahead of time. You’ve balanced your chatty adult ESL students with the quiet ones, mixed high and low levels thoughtfully, and you’re feeling so good that you gave yourself a literal pat on the back. Overconfident much? (I was.) Class starts. You look around and realize
Nothing kills a discussion faster than asking “What do you think about technology?” and watching a room full of adults suddenly find their phones fascinating. You know the feeling. You throw out what you think is a decent question, and you get… crickets, if you’re lucky. Stone cold silence otherwise punctuated by an exasperated sigh
Omar would not shut up. I mean that literally. The guy came from a family of twelve siblings, and apparently the only way to get a word in edgewise at his dinner table (or anywhere else in the house) was to talk over everyone else at maximum volume. So that’s what he did in my
