Moving Beyond the Limitations of My Language.....

❝The limits of my language are the limits of my world.❞

- Ludwig Wittgenstein

I feel fortunate and honored to volunteer and work with my adult ESOL students through the Loudoun Literacy Council. I must say I have come full circle; I started my career as an adult ESOL instructor in Quito, Ecuador 27 years ago. Since then I have taught all ages, both ESOL, Spanish and Core subjects. But for the past 20 years I have been working with elementary age children. I finally found the time to reconnect with teaching English to adults and it has been invigorating. 

If there is one thing I have taken away from my experience this past year; it is that these students have lofty goals, determination, persistence and a will to succeed. They truly amaze me. It is my job to communicate my high expectations of them, and to support and encourage them to reach their goals. 

At the start of each class I ask them to answer two questions: What are your learning goals for this class, and what are your professional or personal goals?

These students have high expectations of themselves; they want to do grand things in our county and country, but they do indeed feel limited by their language abilities, and they are working hard to move beyond these limitations. Let me share with you a few of their goals.

To become a confident writer.

To pass the NOVA ESL entrance Exam

To go to College and get an MBA.

To communicate better in order to have better relationships with people.

To own my own charity in order to help people as there is nothing more important than helping people to have a better society.

My students talk a lot about confidence; they want to be confident communicators; employees, citizens. “You can do it! Go for it!” is what I consistently say to them.

Now let me share a story about my first Loudoun Literacy student.

I have had the pleasure of working with Hodan, for just over a year. Hodan will not settle for anything less than her best nor will she accept an easy assignment. I will give her an essay topic and her response will often be, no that is too familiar; I need to write about something to push me out of my comfort zone. Let me share with you an excerpt from Hodan’s very first essay.

                          Hodan Farah Story

My Name is Hodan Farah. I am married and have two beautiful children. I am originally from Somalia and I have lived in Europe for over 10 years. When I left Somalia I was 14 years old so it was due to the civil war. Lucky, we left Somalia save and arrived to Europe where I continue my studies. At that time, my parents were leaving in America and they had duplicate citizenship. They applied for me so that we can be reunited with the family. I came to the USA in 1994 and was very fortunate to have a supportive family. At that time, due to the different cultural life was not easy to for me so I had to adopt whether if it is a job or overall.  Now, I feel like I am Americanized, but, still I need to increase my English language I hope I learn and reach out my goal this year. Thank you for reading my story.

Following is an excerpt from an essay she wrote for our 8^th lesson. Please pay attention to the nuances, idioms, details and sense of humor.

My search for the perfect dress

      It is a week away from my best friend’s wedding and I still don’t have anything to wear. Now lying down in my bed, watching a movie I saw a dress that inspired me, a red dress. Concerned about the fact that the wedding is just a week away, I went to Dulles Town center in search of my perfect dress. Moreover, when I got to the mall I did not see a lot of choices to choose from and I was very particular about finding a red dress. I only had a $100 dollars to spend. Come to find out evening gowns are very costly L. I went to Lord and Taylor, a friend of mine said they have a big selection of evening gowns. I tried several dresses on but nothing was appealing. With my designated budget, I headed on to Nordstrom hoping I might find a bargain from the sale racks. The attendee at the dress salon was very helpful, and I liked the dresses they had; however, my budget would not allow me to purchase my dress there. Next, I had to catch my breath after trying to shop; I stopped by the smoothie stand to order my favorite drink, a mango and pineapple smoothie. I chugged it down so fast I got brain freeze. After cooling myself down with my drink, my search for the perfect dress continued on to J C Penney’s where I hoped to find the dress.

      After a long search, and back and forth trips to the fitting room, I finally found the perfect, red, wrap, dress that I was searching for. Now that I found the dress, I am looking forward to going to my friend’s wedding. I cannot wait to have fun and put on my red dress with my lovely silver shoes.

Hodan has wonderful stories, although sometimes they are heart wrenching. I have learned about her country, her religion, her family, her beliefs, values and traditions. I have worked with her to write a resume and a cover letter. She knows I am here to support and help her, but never to judge her. She has opened up my world to new perspectives and I believe I have done the same for her.

I would frequently tell her how wonderful her stories were. I first encouraged her to start her own blog. “No, I am not ready for that.” OK I said and then the next week, I showed up and said, “Can I write about you and publish it on my blog.” Ok, she said. “But maybe you should change my name.” I can do that, I said. So when I showed up the next week with my published blog entry. She said, “Why did you change my name? No I don’t want you to change my name anymore.” OK, I said and entered Hodan. When I spoke to Hodan two weeks ago She said, “ Oh, and I want you to know, I am ready to write a book about My Story.” My response was, Well, I hope I can be your editor!”  Now, that is a sign of confidence.

Thank you Loudoun Literacy Council for all that you do in providing English language learning opportunities that open up a world of possibilities for our county residents and thank you for allowing me to be part of it.   

Remember:

❝The limits of my language are the limits of my world.❞

- Ludwig Wittgenstein