Learning a language is also an opportunity to change your life.

One of my students was bullied when he was young, and this kept him from having confidence in himself. Though he was initially negative about everything, he was eventually able to overcome this by speaking Japanese.

That student’s first encounter with Japanese was a toy from his Grandma. The toy  spoke Japanese, and he thought the sound was so funny so he copied it. People around him were amused by that, and it made him feel like a star. He started learning Japanese seriously, and he looked so happy during the lessons. I couldn’t believe that he used to be an introverted and quiet person. That confidence didn’t remain limited to Japanese, either—he started doing other new things too, like working out and taking music lessons. He finally became the person he wanted be.

Some might say that studying something is meaningless if you never use it. Languages, however, are gateways to worlds brimming with unknown possibilities for you. I met my husband thanks to our mutual love of languages, after all!

I hope many people can enjoy many such wonderful experiences!

Most are familiar with Mark Twain’s quote: “all that glitters is not gold.”

“Mr. Ballou said I could go further than that, and lay it up among my treasures of knowledge, that nothing that glitters is gold. So, I learned then, once for all, that gold in its native state is but dull, unornamental stuff, and that only low-born metals excite the admiration of the ignorant with an ostentatious glitter.

 

However, like the rest of the world, I still go on underrating men of gold and glorifying men of mica. Commonplace human nature cannot rise above that.”

From Mark Twain’s “roughing It” (1872)

 The Deep Dig

The above quote and response by the character Ballou captured my attention in the Notable Quotable section of the Wall Street Journal (2013). Now, as then, it still resonates within me. I can relate my foreign language teaching experience to its moral and philosophical lesson.

For example, though honorable and representative of best-in-class effort, it is hardly enough for me to shine bright in the ranks of graduates from the Michigan State University, Master of Arts in Foreign Language Teaching, (MAFLT) program. I covet the accomplishments of fellow Japanese language teachers, whose Advanced or Superior proficiency levels will outshine and exert influence for which I am still working to attain.

Most importantly, language teachers not only attain and instill the quest for high performance and language proficiency, but we also teach target language culture, which temper our student and build character. They find brilliance within themselves. I experience a richness in language teaching and learning that can only be mined, which means digging to great depths in pedagogical skills through personal development and life-long learning.

Finding the Hidden Nugget

My goal to become a great teacher can be compared to digging well beneath the surface of language teaching glitter. I seek to serve the underserved communities that have disproportionately low numbers of students with exposure to Japanese language and culture. Language teaching is a painstaking labor, even with the ideal student and environment. In my “gold mining” analogy: climbing mountains, carrying tools and resources, like picks, shovels, and blasting twine and fuse, I “[strive] with might and main” to reach the disadvantaged, bring the best out of each student, and motivate them through their learning experience. There is a hidden nugget in every language learner, waiting to shine.

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Toni

Seedtime Multilingual participated in the annual P2P. This amazing event hosts professional organizations to encourage 8th graders to select a career pathway! We were invited and provided interactive cultural activities to students who visited our booth section.