3 Keys to Help Cross the Language Barrier When Teaching: a Nod to My Korean Exchange Students

Language Barriers are real but like with any barrier with an open mind, open heart and some creativity you can overcome any barrier. In the beginning of this year I had the opportunity to teach Korean students English. They came to Bloomfield College during their winter break to learn English and about American culture. I was used to teaching Spanish speaking students how to speak English and knowing the Spanish language has come in handy. Teaching English to Korean students whom I don't know there primary language could prove to be a real challenge. Neither I nor they could fall back on pure translation of the other language. We had to figure out a way to communicate in English so that I could understand them and they could understand me. With patience, my understanding of what they were going through as language learners, and myself having teachers who did not speak my native language when I studied abroad gave me a strong foundation to teach new students. As we went through class I encouraged them to use what English they did know no matter how little and we built upon that. Below are three things that helped me to navigate and conquer the language barrier to most effectively teach my amazing students.

1. Show genuine interest in your students.
Showing interest in your students often helps them to open up to you. Although my students were here to learn English and about the American culture, it was important for me to show interest and learn about their country and culture as well. A little bit can go along way in this area. It helped me to understand my students better and it allowed me to develop a good relationship with my students. For example, I took keen interest in how to pronounce my students names in Korean, no easy feet but very worthwhile to help them feel comfortable and respected.

2. Building relationships is key.
 Before I tried to teach my students anything I first did my best to get to know each of them. In addition to learning their names in Korean I learned their majors and something unique about them. For example Haram loves photography and she has an amazing camera so I made sure to include readings about photography and the arts in my lessons. Not only did it show that I cared about each of my students, it helped them to be more open and receptive to the lessons I was teaching them.

3. Have fun with the new language.
I taught a science reading comprehension class to my Korean students. I made sure my students were having a good time by using what I learned about them to make the science articles interesting. I incorporated their interests and the science theme as they learned the vocabulary and practiced their English pronunciation and reading comprehension. We often had more time to explore other subjects in American culture after completing the science coursework so I made sure to do fun cultural things with them. My students enjoy listening to music so I brought in some of my favorite music and shared it with them. I started playing Tamia's "So Into a You" and to my surprise they found the Korean music artists that remade the song in Korean. Talk about sharing our cultures! :-).  It was a lot of fun going back and forth listening to each version and talking about what we liked about that song and other songs and artists of both cultures and languages.

I love Tamia's song so much I thought I would share it!

A huge thank you to my Korean students. I had such a great time teaching them and learning from them.

Hasta el Proximo Vez,


KoMiSa

The Story of My Traveling Pants

I enjoyed watching the movie the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants Parts I and II. I enjoyed the story of four friends and how they shared one pair of pants although they were different sizes with different body types, different styles of dress and different personalities. The pants not only traveled amongst the girls during various events of their teen years, these pants traveled around the globe to the various locations that the girls traveled to. Whether it was the U.S., Greece or Mexico the pants ended up with each girl just when they needed them.

The movie made me think of two of my favorite pair of pants. I consider them my traveling pants. My cousin brought back two pairs of pants for me from Nigeria. He gave them to me when I was a pre-teen or teenager. I always loved the fabric but back then I wasn’t sure of how to pull them off. Fast forward a decade or so later and they are two of my favorite items to wear. I love the African print, the vibrant colors and that I can dress them up or down. They are also very easy to travel with, oh and did I mention comfortable and I always feel great wearing them. Thank goodness that my fashion sense and style has evolved and thank goodness that I was always in my right mind and kept them in great condition through the years. Ha!

The pants are not only cute and comfortable but they are special to me because they are a great reminder of the travels of my family and I. They remind me of the various cultures that are represented in my family and friends. They remind me of my ancestors, they remind me of my love for learning about different places, cultures, people, and languages. They remind me of my travels and time spent abroad. While in Spain, a similar style of pant was in style and I thought about purchasing a similar pair of pants. For some reason I never went through with buying the pants in Spain. When I got home I suddenly remembered the pants given to me from my cousin and realized why I never bought the pants in Spain. I already had not one pair but two pairs of pants in a similar style yet better. Better  why, because my pants had a lot more meaning than the ones than those that I would have bought it Spain ( I got an awesome pair of shoes instead J) Now my favorite pants travel with my quite often. Now I can’t wait to go to Nigeria to visit my cousin’s side of the family and snag some more cool fashions to incorporate into my wardrobe.

Do you have a favorite article of clothing that remind you of your travels or inspires you to travel to new/ different places? If so leave a comment and let me know.

Hasta el proximo vez,

KoMiSa

BELIEVE that You Can Go On the Trip of Your Dreams!

Have you ever dreamed of traveling to a far away place such as Tahiti, London, Bora Bora, China etc. and totally discounted it because of the various reason that you told yourself that you can’t go, do have the money to go, no one you know has ever travelled that far therefore why do you think you can go. These are but a few of the thoughts that many of us allow to play in our head that often stop us from believing that we can take that trip of our dreams. So what can be done to change our way of thinking to help you to move forward to go on that trip of your dreams? This post isn’t about saving the money for the trip or trying to figure out the logistics of the trip. That will all come into play in time. Rather this post is about believing that you can go anywhere you want to go literately (and figuratively for that matter) if you believe. 

Believe that you can go on the trip of your dreams!!!

1     Imagine Yourself on Your Dream Trip 
      This is the time to really allow yourself to imagine yourself in the place that you would like to go. Imagine yourself on the beach in Hawaii or visiting the rainforests in Costa Rica. See yourself having a great time and soaking up the culture, the sights and sounds.  Let your imagination reign free. Don’t limit yourself. Have fun on the mental journey that will one day come into fruition.

2    Create a vision board

I don’t know about you but sometimes it is challenging for me to fully see something that I have not experienced. I have created a few vision boards that have helped me to fully see and embody the vision of the places that I plan to travel. Creating a vision board helps you to focus on what you really want. After you imagine yourself on your dream trip, use those imaginations to find pictures, phrases, encouraging words, and other images to put on your board. Working on your vision will help you to get into the realm of believing that you can and will travel to your dream place. Looking at the vision board often helps to keep your travel dreams alive and on top of mind so make sure you look at it on a consistent basis, Before you know it your doubts about the trip will start to be replaced with a belief and knowing that you will definitely travel to that place of your dreams.

KoMiSa's Vision Board

Write the Vision

Habakkuk 2:2 states write the vision and make it plan. This is a popular Bible verse one that I have used and practiced many times. I would use write the vision that I wanted in the future tense saying what I would like to happen but I want to suggest a different way of writing your travel vision. Instead of writing your travel vision in the future, write in t the present tense using the words I am. I am traveling to Hawaii. I am having a great time at the luau in Maui. I am really enjoying the music and the food at the luau. This is the best trip that I have taken thus far. This is only the beginning. By writing your vision in the present tense it makes your vision more concrete in your mind. It heightens your belief that you will actually experience your dream trip. Before you know things will start to fall into place and your dream trip will become a reality.

Hasta el proximo vez,

KoMiSa