Comments on: Things I’m happy to know (by Tamas Lorincz)

By: Tamas Lorincz

Tamas Lorincz — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 19:19:58 +0000

Thanks Shelly,
Exactly. I have great admiration for anyone going abroad and doing their best to learn as much about the culture of that place as possible. There isn’t a better way to do this than by speaking their language. By becoming familiar with the language, you immediately relate to your students and colleagues differently, gain a special access to them, which is invaluable. However, I didn’t mean to suggest that is your are in Vietnam you definitely have to learn Vietnamese, all I meant was to have had the experience of learning ANY foreign language and reflecting on its pleasures and pains makes us a better teacher.
My Arabic, having lived in the UAE for 3 years is pathetic, while my “checkpoint-Kurdish” (i.e. the Kurdish I needed to have a friendly chat with the guards at the checkpoints) was pretty good. It largely depends on the environment and the country, of course.
Thanks for the comment and starting a great chat about the topic on Twitter by re-tweeting the link to this post.

By: Shelly Terrell

Shelly Terrell — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 11:33:52 +0000

Tamas,

I think many EFL teachers take on the challenge to learn a language and when we do coupled with living in another country we really understand the difficulty. I love that about my job, though, because I help students do something truly amazing. I know many will use their language skills to forge relationships with others around the world. I commend them for stepping out of their comfort zones!

By: Most Tweeted Articles by English Language Teaching Experts

Most Tweeted Articles by English Language Teaching Experts — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 10:23:43 +0000

[...] are organizing meals, selling wristbands and donating their time and… 2 Likes Things I’m happy to know (by Tamas Lorincz) – Teaching Village 2 Likes 50 Brain Facts Every Educator Should Know | Associate Degree – Facts and [...]

By: Tamas Lorincz

Tamas Lorincz — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 17:35:54 +0000

Dear Barbara,
This was a fantastic experience for me.
Thank you for the opportunity.

Dear Steven,

Thanks for this very kind comment. I like your ranking.

Yours was one of the first guest posts I read on this blog and I was very impressed with your attitude and thoughts. This is one thing that never ceases to amaze me – how people who seemingly share only one thing: the passion for teaching English, can so effortlessly communicate with each other.

Thanks again and I am looking forward to future encounters with you.

By: Steven Herder

Steven Herder — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 14:30:40 +0000

Cool post, Tamas, very, very cool.

Everything you wrote connected with my own experiences. I had planned to check out your post just a little, but you dragged me right to the end with your wise words and creative visuals.

I noticed that your 5 points touched me in the following ranking:

3
1
5
4
2

I look forward to checking out your blog, now, too.

Thanks so much for sharing,

Steven

By: Barbara

Barbara — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 12:42:19 +0000

Thank you so much for sharing this, Tamas.

I love the way your Wordles show the progress from many different ideas to clarity. Everything you say rings true for me. It’s amazing to realize just how much support there is now for EFL teachers–the internet certainly has made a huge difference for those of us who live in far flung locations, and who don’t necessarily have the support of a school.

We do live in interesting times, don’t we? It may be a hard time to be a teacher, but it’s also a very exciting time.