Today is the day before our first English program graduation, we had expected to participate in the class, as we had done on so many previous trips, helping the students with pronunciation, correcting paragraphs, helping them understand grammar rules, and of course laughing with them when our Kreyol clearly needed correction.
Lorry, the English Professor, said the students needed encouragement. Anyone who has learned a language will agree there are periods where it seems you reach a plateau and can’t seem to move forward. It hard. The students are at that place right now as they transition from level 1 to level 2.
I spent about 30 minutes encouraging them. I had each of them, one by one, tell me and their classmates, out loud, that they could do it. I had the whole class say out loud, together, “I can do it, I will do it”.
I spoke to the class in my broken and mispronounced Kreyol – ON PURPOSE. I don’t mean I spoke incorrectly on purpose, but rather, knowing my limitations, I still spoke in their language on purpose.
I wanted them to know that making mistakes is part of the learning process. I wanted them to know we also struggle to learn. I wanted them to know it is not easy for anyone to learn another language. I wanted them to know – we are the same.
I also told them there is a way to move past the discouragement. I told them, “when it’s hard, work harder”. I wrote it on the chalkboard and had them repeat it, in English and in Kreyol.
Today, the students saw me struggle speaking Kreyol, they saw me ask Professor Lorry for help when I could remember a word, they saw me use the wrong word and mispronounce many more. Truthfully, it’s the best encouragement I could have given them.
We are the same.