Two Carne Asadas

This is what my lucky students experienced on the first day of class:



A tasty food run for lunch! After the first hour of teaching on a warm and sunny day, my supervisor was getting hungry. He was very hungry, and asked if we can all go to the local Costco just down the street to get lunch. I expected to walk, but we drove instead, all together, anticipating a great meal. But there was a catch: I was to show the students how to order the food, and the students would order what they want to eat. Seems simple enough, right? Well, the reality of it all is that ordering food is downright scary for some people. Especially without knowing how to pronounce what you want to eat! My Asian students likely skips Mexican food for Chinese cuisine during a regular day. Today, however, they leaped out of the comfort zone to order something new. As my students and I neared the cashier to take our order, my previously calm students, quietly rehearsing their order with each other, suddenly vented an urgent sense of panic. One person to go to satisfy our hunger.

"Excuse me! What do I say again?" Of all the food items, they choose to try a Mexican specialty with a hard-to-pronounce name. Good practice, I think to myself, but maybe we need more time to get it right. Carne Asada. Car-nay A-sa-da. Two carne asadas. They're not finding this easy. I have doubts whether I am pronouncing them correctly myself.

I try my best to ease my student who will make the order. "You can say: Can I have two carne asadas? They'll understand, you'll do just fine." I imagine the worst that can happen is to put up two fingers and point to the picture to express a non-verbal order.

"Next please." The cashier call us up to the counter, and in the moment to shine with all that we rehearsed, my student collects his thoughts, puts up two shaky fingers and says clearly: "Two car-nay a-sa-das." He looks over at me with a sigh of relief as the cashier repeats his order correctly. I smile at him to congratulate him on the accomplishment and improvisation. Next time, it is someone else's turn.

Mission: Ordering food for the first time in the U.S. Result: Success and a satisfied appetite!

Learn from Many Things

Learning a second language can be a less daunting task if you use the appropriate resources, whether it is in the classroom or on the Internet. One website that I highly recommend for English learners and language educators is ManyThings.org. This site offers the ultimate English learning experience, not only considering the wide selection of topics to explore, but more importantly it can help students build confidence by applying what they learn and what they know to real-life situations.

The layout of this website can be described as elegantly simple. The links and written text on the homepage are neatly organized within boxed lines. You can easily find interesting topics to learn by clicking on the links found at the top, left, and right side of the homepage. Students of any age and educational background can greatly benefit from the focus on different aspects of English including speaking/pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary. Although it may take some time to familiarize yourself with the sea of links to find specific topics, there are plenty of "gems" within the site that make it a worthwhile learning experience.

Audio Podcasts: This site allows you to listen to audio podcasts while reading along with the written texts. This method of learning integrates awareness for your reading speed, accuracy, fluency, and listening skills. The lesson topics are plenty, ranging from animals and health to sports and history.

Themed Videos: Sometimes, you may just want to learn something from watching a YouTube video. ManyThings.org provides a rich collection of ESL videos with a wide range of topics. You can find the link under the drop-down category "Listening & Speaking" which is located on the top row.

Interactive Games: This is an excellent way to review your word knowledge, apply what you have learned, and creates an excuse to have fun while learning! Among the educational games are crossword puzzles, matching games, the all-time favorite Hangman, and scrambled words. These can be found under the category "Vocabulary".

American Culture: Learning a language entails learning a culture. This site provides insightful resources to help second language learners “blend in with the crowd” by increasing awareness of English idioms, proverbs, slang, and even how to read English signs. These links can be found under the "Other" category.

During any educational journey, it is important to set specific goals to accurately track your progress and maintain a trend of continual improvement. Maybe your goal is to increase your vocabulary knowledge by studying word lists, or improve your pronunciation by practicing with phonics... however you decide to achieve your goals, remember that being creative and staying determined can go a long way to help you reach your fullest potential.