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I have had the opportunity to travel to over 25 different countries and have been living in a foreign country as an expat for the last eight years. Through my journies, I have been exposed to many different languages. I moved to the Netherlands eight years ago after marrying my Dutch husband. My experience with a foreign language is that of a personal one as to I live in a bi-lingual home, however, I still do not speak Dutch fluently myself. This fall I am finally taking my quest of learning Dutch to the next level by hiring a private tutor pledging time and dedication to my learning. Because I am an adultery learner of a second language I have the benefits of understanding the true dedication it takes for adult learners to learn a new language. I have not only been exposed to foreign languages on a personal level but also on a professional level and in my training. In school, it was a requirement to study a foreign language. I studied Spanish for two years. This study ended at a basic level but assisted me in some of my travels to Spanish speaking countries. For the last seven years, I have worked in a very international corporate setting where many different languages have been spoken. It is interesting to see how language affects culture and relationships in the office. Speaking at least two languages is truly becoming the new standard for all international business. Finally, for the past two years, I have worked part-time teaching English to Chinese students online and have been exposed to a new culture (as to I have never traveled to China) and a new language. This is an interesting experience because as the teacher I only have brief encounters with the language and am not exposed to it, but I can see the benefits of not using the Student first language to help prompt their learning of English. As an adult learner, my biggest obstacle to learning a second language fluently (Dutch) has been my confidence to speak the language. I am in the silent stage where I can passively understand much of what is spoken around me, but am not producing the language myself. In the future, I would like to teach / tutor adults wanting to learn business English and I think my personal experience will allow me to be more cautious of cultivating a class experience that tried to make each student feel comfortable and to build their confidence. In the last learning setting, I was able to hide my lack of confidence behind class sizes where I was not out in situations to have to produce Dutch. My goal as a teacher is to help each student not hide or be ashamed of their lack of confidence but to try to find a way to help them feel safe enough to produce the new language they are trying to learn. Even today I had an experience with a young student that was crying in the class (he was only 4 years old), instead of pressuring him to continue to with the classwork I took a moment to try to calm him by singing the alphabet song. Halfway through the student joined in singing and was able to finish the rest of the lesson. I believe that my experience both past, present, and future will help me to be a stronger teacher and produce a more creative and safe learning environment for my students. I want to be a teacher that is defined by compassion and connection in learning. I will try to bring this into each of my lesson plans and in each of my classes.
