Laugh it Off!

On the first day of beginner ESOL class, I tell my students an embarrassing story: I learned Spanish as a young adult living in Argentina and I made mistakes when I spoke, a lot of mistakes. When I would make a mistake, I would often try to say that I was embarrassed by saying, “!Estoy tan embarazada!” But then I would realize I’d made another mistake when I saw their eyes widen and glance toward my belly. I had just told them that I was very pregnant! My cheeks would turn red and I’d stammer that I had meant to say “tengo verguenza” but that the word for pregnant sounds like embarrassed in English. I’m not sure that I convinced anyone that I hadn’t just randomly announced a pregnancy out of the blue.

The worst thing about struggling to learn is the shame. I felt it as an adult living in Argentina. It was horrible to only be able to comprehend and speak like a toddler, and to think that other people were assuming that my thoughts were limited to the level at which I could communicate. Luckily for me, I was already an adult with a healthy ego about my own intelligence which helped me weather the daily embarrassments of using the wrong word or misunderstanding cultural cues. If I were young and impressionable, like our students, I might have started to believe that I couldn’t think well or learn well, and I might have given up on even trying.

That happens with a lot of students who learn differently for whatever reason. Whether they started with a different language, or their brains work differently for a myriad of reasons, they may struggle to learn in a system that was not set up for them. The struggle can lead to a belief that they are not capable of learning. Obviously, someone who believes they are not capable of learning will not learn. It is our job as teachers to adjust the system so that students can show their best selves. We have got to encourage mistakes, and praise learning from them. Success is in doing better than we did yesterday, not in being just like the “average” student.

I speak in Spanish when I share my embarrassing stories with students. I tell them that if they would like to be able to speak English even better than I speak Spanish, they will need to make mistakes and get over their embarrassment. My ability to laugh off my own mistakes to the point that I’ll even tell that story to middle school students is the secret of my success in Spanish. It takes bravery to speak when you aren’t sure the words will be right. It takes bravery to face the laughter of your peers when you are trying your best. Multilingual students have to be brave every day to get up and go to a school where they are expected to not only learn new facts and concepts, but to learn them in a language they must painstakingly decode. As educators, we have the privilege and responsibility to recognize and foster bravery in our students. We will be rewarded with students who learn because they are brave and proud and know their own worth.