English is not a school subject.
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| Learning English is more similar to a bridge than a school subject. |
I have never understood why we insist on teaching English as something it is not. It is not a school subject but a language, and as such, it is the same as a living being: it changes constantly because it was not meant to be motionless. School subjects have to respond to a series of parameters that restrict teachers and students to a classroom and to the opinions of people who spend their time inside offices, small universes that exist apart from the reality of a language that grows and gets richer every day. As a result, many important elements are forgotten along the way and one of them is that a language is a gateway to another culture(s). This detail is widely and usually neglected, but it's essential to understand a language in its real dimension. Since the very people who are in charge to do that are oblivious to that reality, English (or any other language for that matter) becomes a dull-looking tool. We know this tool is extremely important, but that's all and our students pretty much end up perceiving it that way as well. Just like any other school subject, just because we prefer the easy way around or, as in many cases, because there are teachers who lack the benefit of knowing the culture (happens quite often in Ecuador). Here is an example. we teach that Buenos días is Good morning, but that is not right. Good morning is the equivalent of Buenos días but not its faithful translation which is really Good days. Now no one explains that this happens because English represents the culture of people that say things differently, with a viewpoint that differs more often than not from ours, with traditions that might be similar but not the same as the ones we have. Good morning is really Buena mañana not Buenos días, and it makes sense. It's also a great starting point to explain that as much as our cultures are similar they also differ. Does that make it any less interesting? On the contrary, it makes our labor and that joyride that is learning a language even more fascinating.
Comments
EAP 6-1
In my opinion, now is when we should be more interested in learning more about this language, learning in an interactive way and not simply reproducing what teachers teach us within the classroom.
It would be time for teachers to change their language teaching approach or methodologies to keep students interested and for them to see English as more than just a subject to pass.
PIN-S-MA-6-1
I agree with this, I have some many friends who said me that English is so boring, but for me it isn't. Any of my friends in the neighborhood thinks English is a door who drives them to another world.
I think English is a gateway to know differet countries, people and so on.
We can't traslate everything exactly as in Spanish because some of the words that we translate the meaning in English are different that we think they are. So learn English is really an important tool for us because it help us when we want to get a job or travel.