Musings on Teaching English

I have recently (beginning about a month ago) started teaching English to Japanese citizens.  With some amazing luck, a little of my own PR work (i.e. posters and business cards), and a few wonderful friends to introduce me to potential clients, I have already garnered 6 students (with a few more possibly pending).  I even have one English-speaking student who is trying to practice Japanese.  It feels like business is about as booming as I could have hoped. :-)

ANYWAY....

Having several of Japanese students with which to converse, I am learning a great deal about the English language.

Growing up speaking it, I took the natural speech patterns and quirks of the linguistics behind English for granted.  I didn't have to question them.  They simply...were.  Studying English in school and cultivating my love of writing between various walls, I was able shape what I already knew into something that, at least on most occasions, made me sound more intelligent.  But I was always building upon a foundation I already had.  It was "went" not "goed" and there was little reason to ask, "why?" because the goal was simply to communicate more effectively.  It never really mattered to me "why" the rules existed.  Simply, that they did...and that I knew them...so I could follow them...and present myself awesomely thereafter.

Growing up bilingually, I don't really recall asking the "why" question very often of Japanese either.  And when I took Spanish, I was willing once again to simply do, without questioning, because "why" didn't matter nearly as much as "how."

Now I find myself having to justify the language which comes most naturally to me.  The one I always questioned the least.  The one I use most readily without thought or hesitation.  I am being asked "why" about a language in which even the "how" has become so second-nature, I never think about it.  The more I try to explain certain things, the more deeply I realize the difficulty of English.  So many things that seemed so formulaic and simplistic are now convoluted and complex.

"How come you say, 'Why did you wake' instead of 'why you woke?' "

"What is a 'matter' versus an `issue' versus a 'problem?''" 

"Why do Americans say 'you know?' at the end of phrases?  What does that even mean?"

Sentence construction alone feels like it may take me a lifetime to explain thoroughly.  The basic rules are easy.  But the seemingly infinite and impossible to anticipate number of variations on those rules, is daunting.  

I'll tell you one thing.  I have a whole new, and rather enormous, respect for my mother.  I have been so proud of how far she has come in my lifetime, when it comes to her comprehension and use of the English language.  I remember days when even the most basic ideas and spellings would trip her up.  She is, by all accounts now, a totally fluent pro.  

But now I am starting to get a much clearer idea of where she started.  Just HOW FAR "how far she has come" really is.

I have also developed a newly deepened, ever refreshed, extremely humbled appreciation for the fact my parents allowed me to grow up bilingually.  I have coupled it with an even stronger conviction to make sure my daughter has this same gift and opportunity.

The challenge of being an English teacher, especially to students of rather varied skill levels, is thrilling and aggravating.  It most certainly is forcing me to grow.  Which is wonderful.  I push through the questions, ever afraid I will let my students down, realizing how much I know, and how much I don't know.  As I have been teaching these students, I have been teaching myself.