It has been said that many top professional athletes do not make good coaches after they retire; what they have done so effectively and efficiently for so long comes so natural to them that they find it difficult to explain/teach/coach. We all have activities and processes that we execute like a pro, but we can't give the proverbial 4-1-1 (1) on what to do.
I have taken on a volunteer position with one of the local associations helping adults with their English skills. The association members are "between jobs" and looking to improve their position in the job market. Our meetings consist of reading and discussing English newspaper articles and/or having a casual conversation. Most of my "work" is helping to provide pronunciation, vocabulary, definitions, grammar rules, etc. My colleague is from England so we often have differing thoughts considering the differences with respect to British, American and Canadian English. Inevitably every week we get stumped even if it is for a short while. We (I keep using "we" because I am considering my colleague as well) have used words, definitions, grammar etc. all our lives yet there are things we have trouble explaining. It is humbling to be the "experts" and have trouble expanding on something you do almost as naturally as breathing. A few examples of some words that acted as speed bumps were "outpace," "nudged" and "ruthless", words we all know and use but require some thought when defining (and there are no direct translated words in French).
Teaching English has caused me to think about and become more cognizant of the vocabulary, definitions and rules of English. Now do I not only use the language but I have refreshed my mind to some of the how, when, what, where and why's.
1. In North America you use to dial 4-1-1 on your phone for information. To give the 4-1-1 on something is to provide information on the topic in question.
No comments:
Post a Comment