bittersweet babel

A babel of Bahasa Melayu, Tamil and Mandarin is what I hear every time I enter 1L. And you know what? Frankly speaking, it's growing on me. I guess I understand why they would suddenly tune down or up because they are interrupted by this person who comes out of nowhere and speaks a foreign language, foreign to them unfortunately but not to us. I understand why they speak so slowly when asked to answer questions. I am completely attuned to why they find it hard to listen because they simply do not understand. The past tense of "go" becomes "goes", "can" becomes "can't". And my job is to make them understand and love, or like at they very least what and how I teach, in the remaining 9 weeks. But what I really want is for them to like me. Genuinely, ardently. 



Now who says teaching is easy can literally shove a foot in their mouths.

1 tissues:

Azie Nazri said...

Agree! Beginners, intermediates or be it advanced, they all have their own kind of challenges.

I believe to be a good teacher, one has to really learn to put him/herself in the student's shoes. Or else, students would just continually be misunderstood. And they'll hate us for that.

I'm sure you will grow on your students too, Teacher Nashrah. I can't see why not. :)