During my first year of teaching, Samantha sat in the back of my
first-period American government class. Having moved from Mexico, she
had only been in the United States for two years. Her oral English
comprehension was moderate, but she spoke rarely and was embarrassed to
speak in front of native English speakers.
Overwhelmed with the task of teaching anyone anything as a
first-year teacher, I felt that reaching Samantha was a Herculean task.
Describing the challenge in one of my graduate courses, I mentioned that
Samantha hardly ever spoke. When she did, it was always in "broken
English." I lamented that she seemed to understand next to none of the
material, and I received commiserative nods from other new teachers in
the room.
But the professor burst into tears.
Face flushed, our professor related her journey to the U.S. from
Hong Kong as a child. She told us about the trauma of entering a new
school and a new culture with no support from parents or teachers in
learning English, and she recalled a time a stranger had ridiculed her
for her "broken English."
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