Learning in Australia - Essay Example

Me In Hobart I am an English teacher in my home country Saudi Arabia where I have been teaching English to secondary for four years. Honestly, there are many reasons why I do not like the methodology of teaching English in my country. First, the method of teaching is not good enough and is out of date. Secondly, the same textbook has been used for the past two years and lacks the adaptation to describe the change of the English language with the culture. The actual time that is spent in the classroom studying English is inadequate with the requirement of only three hours per week. Due to this, I set a goal to learn English in another way due to this inadequacy. So I started to do something about this by developing a different way of teaching in my country by following an instructional guideline as well as having greater accountability over my students. However, the greatest impact happened when my husband received a study abroad scholarship to go to Australia, an English speaking country, where I had a memorable experience that will have a profound effect on the rest of my life. When I first arrived to Australia, there was a great culture shock because I have found the country really different due to the high degree of diversity of the people. There were many international people in this country and it made me happier because I love to learn about other cultures, traditions and religions and this was possible in such a highly multicultural country. I encountered a funny situation that I will never forget. I am a Muslim girl and adhering to tradition, I wear the veil and long dress which is called an Abaya. It was quite strange in a non-Muslim country and I really was afraid of any type of adversity that I might encounter, but I was actually respected by everyone I interacted with. Children were the funniest because they would stare and had a focusing gaze as they wondered what I might be. One of them said to his mother at the airport "mammy Halloween" thinking that I was wearing a costume. Another girl asked here mother "why this lady wearing like this?" This girl is cleaver, as she knew that I was female. Another funny situation was when I have invited by my Australian friend to the apartment. When I opened the door for her, she did not recognize me and thought that I was knocking on the wrong door. Then, she saw me without wearing the Abaya and the veil and laughed a lot because she did not recognize that it was me. The same has happened with my Chinese friend who stared at me in order to make sure that it was definitely me. In Australia, I always remembered the verse from the Holy Quran: " And among His Signs is the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the variations in your languages and your colours: verily that are Signs for those who know" 30:22. In addition, I remembered " …and made you into nations and tribes, that ye may know one another. Lo ! the noblest of you, in sight of God, is the best in conduct." 49:13. Even though I was in a new country, I still had my religion that was very important to me. With an ever-changing environment, it was one of the things that made me remembers where I came from and that I had traditions that I had to keep to regardless of the things that I heard. However, that does not mean that I am open-minded about learning and sharing about other religions. These quotes have always stuck with me and serve as a reminder when I think that I am having a rough time. When I arrived to Hobart, I visited University of Tasmania, which I really liked. In particular, I visited the English Language Center where I was going to be studying English for the year. The English Language Center had a number of foreign students from different countries who were all there for reasons similar to mine. Before, I could start I had to take an exam that let them know how much fluency in English I had. The test consists of four parts; listing, reading, writing and spiking. Based on the score you receive, they choose which level is best for you. My level was four out of seven, which is the highest level. My experience in English Language center was unforgettable because the way of teaching was really interesting and the most important thing for me was learning to speak in class. I have the chance to ask my friends about their respective cultures and how the teaching in each country was different which provides different advantages and disadvantages. By attending all of the classes and discovered the true power of English and its growing importance in our globalizing world. In addition, at the center I spent extra time in extra classes so that I could continue to learn more and practice my English. After being able to study at the English language Center and improve my knowledge and proficiency in the English Language, I decided to earn a master degree in English literature due to my intense love of Shakespeare. I thought that everything would encompass Shakespeare because he is such a main focal point in English literature. In the first semester, there were a handful numbers of students with about only seven in two classes whereas some of my other classes had more. Unfortunately, there was only one unit about Shakespeare. To my surprise, there was a unit that thoroughly intrigued me regarding the classical literature of the ancient times. It was about the ancient literature and it was a whole new way of exploring and learning about English literature that I had previously been unaware of. I did not agree with all of them, but it was inspiring to see this literature because it was completely new and was drawn from pure inception. One of the plays that had the largest impact to me was "Agamemnon", which I really enjoyed. The way of teaching at the university was so much different from what I had observed at my school. We had nine classes per week and each class was three hours in which we discuss a particular novel or play. Each student was required to do a thirty minutes presentation on particular topic that he/she found important to be discussed during the class. After the student’s presentation, the class was given fifteen minutes for other students to ask their questions regarding the context of the presentation. Honestly, I found some classes boring especially if the book we were reading was not of particular interest to the class. That does not mean that there weren’t a number of classes where we had to discuss these novels as well as present on. Personally, I did a number of presentations on Frankenstein by Mary Shelly, Measure for Measure by William Shakespeare, Ransom by David Malouf and on a film called “SAFE” by Todd Haynes. Each text had characteristics that not only explained relevant trends of the time, but also traits that we can personally relate to as the reader. During the class discussion, the texts allowed us to go into deeper, broader contexts of the novel in which we were able to discuss the religious and philosophic connotations associated with the novels. All of us had to do an assignment comprising of about five thousand written words about a topic from the texts with the approval of the teacher. In my second semester, there was only one unit about Shakespeare. Compared to last semester, there was an even smaller number of students and they were all Australian. This semester was better than the first because of the group of the students whom I loved very much. The group was extremely hyper and active, but all of them has a different goal than what I had planed. They all want to be writers and they had the great ability of writing stories. At the end of this semester, my husband finished his master degree and I became determined to finish my degree. So I rethought about my situation and decided to turn to TESOL, which I could not enrolled in because of being in Launceston and my husband being in Hobart. This was a main reason I enrolled in TESOL. In that semester I have found a great friend whom I love so much. He is a Christian and we became such good friends that he is able to tell me about Christianity and I am able to talk to him about Islam. He is an excellent student and a talented writer with great potential. I even asked for him to write a story on his first memory of me, which he did without hesitation. It made me feel very happy. Teaching English to speakers of other languages is the most fantastic thing that has happened to me since I arrived in Australia. That was exactly what I wanted and that was what I wanted to do when I was in my country. In the class, there were a number of students from China, Malaysia, Vietnam and Australia that was very interesting. I met my teacher, Thao Lee, who was such a different teacher in his style that he reminded me of my father because he was so philosophical and full of wisdom. I felt that one class with him was equal to four years of studying due to the large amount of material he was able to give us in his clever method of teaching. Because of him, I can say that this was what I wanted to do when I came back to my country. I followed his way and will continue to do my best to emulate his teaching style. Even though there is a strenuous travel schedule that I have to abide by in order to take classes as well as make a living, I have been able to watch things that most people take for granted such as the sunrise. It is very beautiful and it is a constant source of support that reminds me of what I am doing. Each year at the university, I attend a multicultural night. This event is very interesting and I attended it last year where there was music, dance, drinks and food. It provides an interesting opportunity for us to experience the way of dancing in many countries such as Japan, India, Greek, etc. This makes me extremely excited to attend this years multicultural night. What I want to achieve is improving the way that English is taught in my country. When I come back to my country, I will teach English for children because I love children very much and enjoy my time with them even though at times teaching children can be even more difficult than teaching adults. Learning in Australia was a great experience for me. I learned a lot and see that I still have a lot that I can learn. I loved my days in Hobart especially these days I found my self more happy than before. I was able to forge connections with people that I know will carry through the rest of my life. In addition, I could be exposed to a country that was completely different from my own. From that, I was able to not only explore and enjoy the experience, but also engage in cooperative learning with people from other countries. It not only resulted in just academic growth, but also growth on a personal level that I might not have been able to achieve if I had continued to study in my home country. The experiences from these encounters have completely shaped my life and I will never forget the inspiration and learned lessons as I try to apply this to my own life and the ways in which I teach English. Read More