Yesterday, a classmate and I went over to TCC to do observation hours for one of our classes. The class is an ESL class for adults, ages varied from 16-70, very interesting group. I have to say that I actually enjoyed working with the group; they are super friendly people and eager to learn everything about our language. Although, we were both there to observe and somewhat help them with their tasks, I learned a lot from them. I noticed that they pay attention to every detail in a reading and actually take the time to understand every word and phrase of the text. Unlike us, that we skim through everything or if we do read the entire text, we read it so fast or in a way that we have no idea what we just read.
On the other hand, I was very shocked to hear what some of the students had to say. They were asked to share some of their experiences when they first arrived in the country and most had bad stories to tell. I know that anyone would be out of place coming to a new country, not knowing the language and not knowing anyone, but it was very shocking to find that many people in this country are still very egocentric. This student shared with us that in one occasion she was at the gym and was on a phone call talking to a friend in Portuguese, her native language. Well this lady came up to her and tap her in her shoulder and told her that this was America and she needed to speak English. I thought that was so rude of that stranger to come and tell someone she does not know what she needs to do in this country. I cannot imagine what she must have felt at that time, considering that she barely spoke any English, as she has only now been here 14 months.
Nonetheless, this incident made her think that all Americans are the same way and that is not correct. Not everyone is so self centered and rude to do that. We should all think twice before doing something similar, it is very inappropriate, it creates a stereotype for the whole country , and most important it makes that person feel so small and lost. We do not know if they are on vacation, to attend school or just recently arrived in this country. And aren’t we a country of multiculturalism why should everyone lose their roots and language when they arrive here or any other country, it is already a huge step to be willing to learn the language of an unfamiliar place; and actually that makes them a much more competitive individual for speaking more than one language and not just English because she is in the U.S.
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