Final Posts

Blog Post
I study French alongside my other subjects. And so I feel that I have a first hand understanding of what ESL students go through. I certainly do not understand them perfectly, but I think this gives me at least some idea of what their life is like, working in another language. Granted I am far worse at French than they are at English and I have not been studying it for as long as they have. I think this sort of knowledge is useful for consultants. There are many of us who are required to take foreign languages, and indeed are. I think doing this is good because it teaches us a thing or two about how language works, and even if it doesn't, we at least understand what it is like for ESL students. There are some things that may be taught, principles, rules, and that sort of thing. Unfortunately there are many things, like articles, for which there are more exceptions than rules. Sometimes the only thing that will help in these areas is memorization. Studying other languages helps us understand exactly what to explain and how to explain it to ESL students, and what to simply demonstrate so that they commit it to memory.

Final Post

This is my final blog post, and my reflection on the class as a whole. I've worked in a number of different fields. From retail to hard labor. I signed up for this class because it gives me actual credit towards my degree as ENG 395, and because I wanted money, which require me getting a job. This job is ultimately the reason we're all here. I hated retail, working as a laborer for the government wasn't bad, but this job is probably the best I've had.

Working here is important to me because I look at it as a step towards my future career. I plan on being a professor in English literature when all is said and done. Papers are going to be a fact of life for me. Whenever I get papers back, they are given grades like 3.5, 4.0 for some professor, and for others more middle range grades like 3.4 or 3.8. This is one of the things that I think I will have the most difficulty dealing with as a college professor. Knowing just how to grade. I personally take good english usage seriously, but this class has taught me that that isn't necessarily so important as getting your ideas across. Although a paper with mediocre punctuation and grammar doesn't deserve a full 4.0, it certainly shouldn't be condemned to the depths of the 1s and 2s should it? Regardless, I think this job has obvious benefits, helping me to understand the ins and outs of writings so that my first year of teaching or TAing won't be hell for the students and the papers I check.