Brutt-Griffler & Samimy (Nov.2)

While I read the "Revisiting the Colonial in the Postcolonial: Critical Praxis for Nonnative-English-speaking Teachers in a TESOL Program", one word comes across my mind: self-colonization. Actually, whenever I have a lot of readings or I can't find proper words to express my opinions, I wish I am an American (means NS). If I am, I don't need an English-Korean dictionary so that reading will be a piece of cake to me. Then, I may be a real English teacher to my students, who has perfect pronunciation, oral fluency, vocabulary, accurate cultural information and extra. But this article shows me how much I am a colonized person who has an imperative concepton of NS language proficiency. And it also makes me think about what I can teach my students, it means, I can teach my students which NS teacher can't access and understand. This is related to one of my previous teaching experiences in Korea.

I was so nervous that I got an opportunity to teach a graduate course for current English teacher under the title of 'English culture and Literature'. But, during the semester, I didn't know why some of them didn't have interests in the course in spite of my tremendous materials, visual aids, and references. As time passed by, I knew why. First, they wanted a NS teacher or at least a teacher who had studied abroad. Second, they wanted practical teaching methods which they could use in classroom; real and broad culture information; not specific, not ethinic, not literature. Thrid, most of them were so tired of school chores and teaching, and some of them just wanted a degree for their promotion.

Then, am I a better teacher now? : who can encourage those tired students and disappointed students. At least I can say to them, " I could be a good model to you. And you could be a good model to your students. Because both of us had same experiences of our students, and we, of all men, can understand them well."