Assessing Students Writing through Cambodian language pop music.

Often I find myself faced with a room full of students and the need to assess their ability to write. 

When that happens I have found this video a useful tool. I merely cue it up, ask the students to tell me, through writing, what they think the song and the video are about.

For those who are interested, the band is called Dengue Fever, and while heavily influenced by Cambodia pop music, a surprisingly interesting subject, they are, in fact, from southern California. The language of the song is Cambodian (Khmer) so unless you have someone fluent in Cambodian in your classroom, they will be forced to use their imagination. 

I have found this useful with both native and non-native English speaking students.

For more on the band Dengue Fever visit https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcCel2BCLHg16GACc9IUWEA or http://denguefevermusic.com/

Saudis and explaining same sex marriage

One of the challenges of teaching English as a Second Language is interacting with people from a wide variety of cultures. And of these cultures and students, some of the most challenging to deal with are often the Saudi Arabians.

Saudi Arabia is an oil rich nation dominated by conservative Islamic thought. (I mentioned Wahhabi-ism in a previous post.) It is a nation ruled by a king where the legal system is dominated by sharia law. It is the only nation in the world where women are prohibited from driving. ("Because we must protect them," explained a male Saudi to me casually one day.)

There are many Saudi Arabians coming to the USA to study these days. This is largely because the government of this nation is aware that some day their oil reserves and oil money will run out and that it is a good idea to diversify the country's economy by sending large numbers of students to the USA to study subjects that might prove useful in diversifying the economy. This is done through a Saudi government organization called SACM or the Saudi Arabian Cultural Mission. They approve schools, fund scholarships, and even, according to some reports, keep an eye on the students who come here to make sure they don't engage in activities that might be harmful to the Saudi government or royal family.

And when they come here, often they have questions about things they see or our culture. Sometimes these involve same sex marriage and homosexuality.

First, just to make it clear, many Saudi are under the impression that there is no homosexuality in their nation. Of course, this is absurd, and easily disproven. There are several articles (for instance
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2007/05/the-kingdom-in-the-closet/305774/ ) and documentaries ( see: https://www.google.com/search?sourceid=chrome-psyapi2&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8&q=documentary%20on%20homosexuality%20in%20saudi%20arabia&oq=documenta&aqs=chrome.0.69i59j0j69i57j0l3.8462j0j8 ) and other reports of homosexuality in Saudi Arabia, https://www.google.com/search?newwindow=1&espv=2&q=+homosexuality+in+saudi+arabia&oq=+homosexuality+in+saudi+arabia&gs_l=serp.12..35i39k1j0i7i30k1l3j0j0i30k1l2j0i8i30k1l2.72388.72388.0.75433.1.1.0.0.0.0.161.161.0j1.1.0....0...1c.1.64.serp..0.1.155.v4V99BFGdTQ )

Of course, homosexuality occurs in all cultures and societies in some form so why do many Saudis believe this? First, don't expect to see too many openly gay Saudis because (as the above sources explain) the penalty for engaging in gay sex in Saudi Arabia is to be stoned to death. Clearly, this kind of put a damper on any talk they had over there of organizing a gay pride parade, to say the least.

Secondly, the society often practices arranged marriages. Therefore even if a man or woman is gay they are quite likely to find themselves married to someone of the opposite sex no matter what their wishes might be.

For instance, one day I was teaching an intermediate ESL class in Boston. The lesson focused on the difference between "I hope to" and "I plan to" when speaking of events in the future. One Saudi student turned in the sentence "I plan to get married in two years."

I looked at it and asked "Do you have a girlfriend who wants to marry you?"

He said that he did not, and I asked "Well then, how do you know you will get married in two years?"

"My mother will find me a wife," he answered.

"Well, then," I said. "This is a good English sentence."

Obviously arranged marriages conceal people's natural sexual orientations.

So, this brings us to the million dollar question, what do you do when you are teaching your English as a Second Language class and a Saudi  raises his hand and asks "Is it true that two men here can get married?"

Your response may vary but here's mine.

First, try to sense out if he is really asking because he is confused and wishes to understand or if he is just looking for an excuse to argue, Some students, believe it or not, like to argue in class. If the student seems inclined to just make homophobic statements and argue that his culture is superior to American culture, I'd suggest that he and I save the conversation for after class and then cut it short if my suspicions proved correct.

If not you might wind up with an exchange similar to the following one I actually had:

Student: "But it is only disugsting and immoral men who do these things! If you can do this, what is to keep someone from marrying a dog?"

Me: "Hey, I've got a lot of gay friends and you don't even know them. Who are you to say they are disgusting?"

Even if you think there is some benefit to such shouting matches, and I doubt if there is, I hope you will agree that having them in front of an audience of ESL students benefits no one. If you must shout and call names, do it outside of the classroom.

Second, you could try the cultural relativism approach. I've tried it but in my experience, i
t doesn't work very well for reasons, I will illustrate below.

Student: Is it true that here two men can marry? In my country this would never be permitted.

Teacher: Well, yes, but different things are seen as ethical in different cultures. For instance, in your country it is considered okay to have more than one wife, but in our country it is not considered okay to do that. And in our country it is legal for two men or two women to get married, but in your country it is not. So you can see different cultures have different ways of doing things.

Student: Well, yes, but you must remember that what the Koran says is that a man can have three wives but he must treat them all equally, so that is why it is okay to have three wives.

Please understand that the student has now explained the teachings of the Koran and through that process now feels that he has explained right and wrong to the teacher. The teacher could go on to explain that most Americans do not follow the teachings of the koran or base their morality on it, but, personally, I would not do that in a classroom with several Saudis in it although I would be inclined to do so gently one on one outside of the classroom,

Regardless, few of the Saudi I've met seemed to be satisfied by an explanation of same sex marriage based cultural relativism.

Therefore, I now offer the solution to explaining this cultural difference to Saudi students.

First, a marriage, particularly an arranged marriage, is based on much more than sex and love.

It also an economic arrangement and a union designed to ensure that a household can be run in a smooth and workable fashion. Begin there.

Now picture a Saudi household. Who do you think does the dishes and mends the clothes? Why the woman, of course.

And who does the driving of the car? Why the man of course (unless, of course, they hire a foreign person as a driver which they often do but that's another issue)

So, if you have two men together as a couple what's one thing a Saudi needs to know?

Why who is going to do the dishes and mend the clothes, of course.

And in a lesbian couple who will drive the car?

Therefore what I have found works for me is that when Saudis ask about same sex marriage the place to start is with the division of household chores and duties. Explain that in an American marriage these are generally negotiated and not assigned by sex. Once a Saudi student can understand how the dishes get washed, how the floors get cleaned, and how the other mundane logistical duties involved in running  a family or a household get taken care of, then they are much closer to understanding how a same sex marriage might work.

This is the approach that I have found works for me. Try it for yourself and let me know how it works.  





 

Muslim Fundamentalists, Terrorism, and the ESL Classroom -don't over react but some good things to know

In my last post, I wrote about the few but documented links between terrorism and refugees. As I stated there are approximately 1.6 billion Muslims in the world. Of these approximately 3.3 million live in the USA. Since 2002, until 2016, the USA has resettled an estimated over 250,000 Muslim refugees. (See: http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/10/05/u-s-admits-record-number-of-muslim-refugees-in-2016/ and http://www.pewresearch.org/ft_16-10-03_muslimrefugees/ Although the US Government agency the U.S. Refugee Processing Center ( https://www.wrapsnet.org/HomeContacts/tabid/52/Default.aspx ) does keep much more detailed information, this information is indeed difficult to sort through and make sense of.  (According to their website, “The Refugee Processing Center (RPC) is operated by the U.S Department of State (DOS) Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM).”)

Clearly, not all these people are dangerous. In fact, few are. And although Islamic Jihadi terrorism is frightening, hence the word “terror” in “terrorism,” and thus catches the attention of the public and the media quickly, it is actually quite rare, at least in the USA. But it does happen. But it’s important to remember that it does not involve most mainstream, ordinary Muslims who have no more desire to place a bomb in a public place or shoot up the office Christmas party than you or I do.  In fact, reliable sources show a low approval rating for terrorism among Muslims in general. (http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/07/22/muslims-and-islam-key-findings-in-the-u-s-and-around-the-world/ )

Yet these things happen. So, here’s the million dollar question, if most Muslims are not likely to be involved with terrorist activity, then what sort of Muslim is likely to be involved with terrorist activity? We hear the term “radicalized” a lot, but what does that mean? “Radicalized” into what?  

And why in the world should an ESL (English as a Second Language) teacher care?  

Because fundamentalist Muslims reach out to newly arrived refugees seeking converts to their doctrines and school of thought.

Although I can find little documentation of this in the USA, it is documented to happen in Europe and Germany in particular. And in today’s globalized internationalized society, what one faction of a group does on one side of the world is likely to be copied on this side of the world as well.

For instance, we have this Reuters article:

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-europe-migrants-germany-mosques-insig-idUSKCN12S0HE

The key paragraph is:

“Germany's domestic intelligence agency has recorded more than 320 attempts by Salafist Muslims to contact refugees last year, often by offering food, clothes, free copies of the Koran and help with German to asylum seekers living in shelters.”

We also have this article from the National Review, admittedly a conservative, right wing publication but generally quite respected even by many of the critics of its ideology. http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/427738/europe-muslim-refugees-recruited-radical-islam-andrew-c-mccarthy

Additionally, there is this article from the Wall Street Journal which discusses how in Germany, on one hand, occasionally Jihadists and wannabe Jihadists reach out to the local Muslim refugee community. On the other hand, the Muslim refugee community, often quite weary of violence, often turn these people into the authorities. http://www.wsj.com/articles/germany-grapples-with-refugee-tips-in-terror-probes-1478079001

Recently I had a pair of student enter the classroom whose behavior struck me as quite strange. Basically, they were cold, stand-offish, did not appear to be trying to learn English, often did not participate in class activities with the other students, and wished to bring unregistered relatives to the class to sit in. This was not allowed in my program so I could not let them in and did not.

The whole thing was quite strange and disconcerting and a little difficult to explain.  

I could not shake the feeling that they were pretending not to know English.

Of course, I reported the problem to my boss who responded in a manner I consider unprofessional and will not detail here. I began to feel a bit like William Shatner in the classic Twilight Zone episode with the monster on the airplane wing (  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nightmare_at_20,000_Feet   )    

It was admittedly bizarre-sounding claim. Why would anyone pretend to not know English and enter a basic ESL class?

The motive is seeking contacts who are at an unstable point in their life in order to seek converts. The link below explains this. Please note it says that most such people are harmless, although they are religious fanatics who might look down and be hostile to people who do not share their views. (People such as ESL teachers.) As stated in the above Reuters article, many such fundamentalist fanatics believe that the entire world of mundane worldly affairs is beneath their notice and not worthy of much attention and instead prefer to focus their lives and attention on spiritual affairs. Some however are indeed potential Jihadists. 

Many of these people are devotees of a school or doctrine within Islam known as Wahhabism or Salafism. Although I am not qualified to write of this doctrine and its controversies in detail, many sources, including PBS’ Frontline documentary (PBS not exactly being the world’s most right wing media outlet by the way) credit as the ideological source of much of Jihadi terrorist thought.  ( See: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/saudi/analyses/wahhabism.html ) although others question this view. ( see: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/20/opinion/dont-blame-wahhabism-for-terrorism.html?_r=0 )

How can an ESL teacher recognize such Fundamentalists?

First, don’t expect them to identify themselves. It’s a bit like asking a Fundamentalist Christian if he or she is a Fundamentalist Christian. In such a case, you’re likely to get some answer like “Oh no, I just believe in the Bible and Jesus” or “I’m just a Christian who follows Jesus” or “I just believe in the Bible and follow Christ and its teachings.” It’s the same thing here.

According to Maher Hathout, a senior adviser to the Muslim Public Affairs Council and the spokesperson for the Islamic Center of Southern California, as quoted at: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/saudi/analyses/wahhabism.html

“Well, the word "creed" is important because the creed of Islam is the same: the belief in one God, the belief in the oneness of his message, the oneness of the human family. And the devotion to God should be expressed in human rights, good manners, and mercy, peace, justice, and freedom. No two Muslims will argue about this creed. It is documented in the Koran as the highest authority, modeled by the authentic teaching of the prophet, and the authenticity has always been subject of study and debate.

So the creed is crystal clear. But the interpretation or the way you approach life, which should be a dynamic thing, should change from time to time. When you freeze it at a certain period or at a certain interpretation, problems happen. I know that people called it Wahhabism; I don't subscribe to the term. [Muhammed bin Abd al-Wahhab] at his time was considered a progressive person.

If you freeze things at his time -- which was the eighteenth century, or the late part of the seventeenth century, I don't remember the dates exactly -- it becomes very stagnant and very literalist. And a very straitjacketed puritan approach that does not cater to the changeables and the dynamics of life. People call this Wahhabism.

Saudis, by the way, never say, "We are Wahhabis." They say, "We are just Muslims." But they follow the teachings, and the major booklets taught in all schools are the books of Muhammed bin Abd al-Wahhab. Anyone who's subscribing to someone else is not very much welcomed.”

Although Maher Hathout refers to Saudis here, I think the same would apply to most Muslims regardless of nationality.

So, if you can’t ask and get a useful answer, what are some tips on how to recognize Fundamentalist Muslims who might be worth keeping an eye on. (More on this later.)

I don’t have any cut and dried answers, but a couple tips.

First, while most Muslims pray five times a day and do so while bowing towards Mecca, they tend to do this on a loosely defined, flexible schedule. If you have a classroom break, and a Muslim prays, don’t be alarmed. That’s something Muslims do, it makes them happy, and it hurts no one anywhere. It might even help a few people.

However, Salafist Muslims, like the students in my classroom, pray on an exact schedule. (http://www.salafitalk.net/st/viewmessages.cfm?Forum=10&Topic=7538  or  https://www.salaficentre.com/2016/06/prayer-schedules-important-rulings-guideline-cautions/  ) By contrast these students will ask for a break at a specific time and then ask you to accommodate them. They may, like these students, set their smart phones so that a call to prayer goes off during your class, disrupting it.

Obviously, this is not desirable in the classroom, but because a religious issue is involved, handle it with discretion.

Two other tips. Although not always, a large number of such people will have a connection to the Saudi Arabian Peninsula and the nations there. These nations include  Yemen, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates as well as parts of southern Iraq and Jordan. Note that few of these countries, with the possible exception of Iraq, are likely to produce refugees so such folks will probably not be refugees.  

Secondly, it should go without saying that these folks will probably be dressed in  conservative Muslim dress. This might include burkas but does not always.

So, what do you do if you see Fundamentalist Muslims in your classroom?  Well, first thing is relax. Take a deep breath. Fundamentalist Muslims, and for that matter Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormons, and even Scientologists, all have a right to learn English. And most members of these groups, yes, all four groups, are not bad people. And, perhaps, getting them out among the general public (and I consider ESL students to be the general public) and away from their little insular communities could help them broaden their horizons and expand their outlook a little. Stranger things have happened.

On the other hand, if there’s something really suspicious, what should you do? Well, based on my experiences one option is to go to your supervisor. On the other hand, it’s worth mentioning that your supervisor probably does not know much about these issues and you may find yourself accused of “Islamophobia,” “racism,” “paranoid thinking,” and worse.  Therefore I would recommend that you consider going to the authorities if you have a strong suspicion concerning the behaviors of some Fundamentalist Muslim students. Most large police forces have someone with an interest in homeland security issues, several federal agencies take an interest in such matters, and here in New York State we have our own Homeland Security agency that keeps tabs on these things. Once you tap into that network, they’ll help guide you to the right people if you have a reasonable basis for suspicion and explain yourself well. Before you do, collect your facts, think about why, exactly, what you saw bothered you, and you’ll make the process smoother for all concerned including yourself. 

Use of Films in the ESL Classroom

Films in the ESL classroom, or any classroom for that matter, can be a good or bad thing.

Sometimes they can be a sign of laziness. Lazy? Yes and that’s bad.  If one gets the chance to see the amusing (but ultimately forgettable) film, “Bad Teacher,” Cameron Diaz plays the eponymous “Bad Teacher.” She hates her job and instead is focused on her life’s goal of raising funds for breast implants in order to better enable herself to catch a rich husband and never have to work again. (Yes, in this film Cameron Diaz wants breast implants. It’s not exactly the most thought-out, intelligent, or deepest film ever made. I only saw it once and while I did enjoy it, I have not seen it since.)

         Therefore, instead of actually teaching her English literature class,  she simply sits in the back of the room, snoozes, and plays movies each day. Each and every day. With no exceptions or any other activities of any kid.

          She is, as the title says, a bad teacher. (By the way, I have never used this film in the classroom. I doubt very much if I ever will. )

           Don’t be a bad teacher. Don’t show films each and every day in your ESL classroom.

But does this mean you can’t use any films at all in the classroom? No, of course not.  There are many ways to show films in the classroom and do so in a way where you remain an active, engaged teacher and your students benefit from the activity.

           Over the years, I have used several films in my classrooms. The tip to using them successfully, I feel is to choose a film that is useful and relevant to the student’s interests, concerns, and goals. It should go without saying that it is best to choose a film that will not offend and will make students comfortable in the classroom. Then stop and teach from it.  In other words, 15 to 20 minutes of film per class with the film spread over several classes is not a bad way to do it.

            It is a good idea to prepare ahead of time

Consider handouts or at least make a list of the following that students will gain from the film:

• ·         Vocabulary
• ·         Idioms
• ·         Cultural references and customs

Discuss these. You might wish to have supplemental materials prepared ahead of time.

          Of course, it helps to know your students. In my last class, we started watching the film, “Pieces of April.” This small independent film involves a dysfunctional family that tries to get together for one last Thanksgiving together because mom is dying from cancer. April, the problem daughter, has invited everyone to her place for Thanksgiving dinner. There are only two problems, the first is April really does not know how to cook. The second is that when she does sit down and get ready to roast her turkey, she discovers that her stove is broken and the finds herself running up and down the stairs of her run-down apartment building desperately asking people if she can borrow an oven on Thanksgiving morning.  

            In the film people speak relatively standard American English but the idiom “nip it in the bud” as in “I am nipping this in the bud right now” needed to be taught.

             As the film is from 2004 the reference to “collect calls” and “calling collect” needed to be explained.

            Curiously the phrase, “Eddy the drug dealer is history” which is used when the father is trying to give reasons as to why they should be optimistic about April’s life and their upcoming visit, was quite confusing to the students.

             When it was all over, they had many questions, but a surprising number of them were about how to properly cook a thanksgiving turkey with stuffing. Next week I hope to bring some youtube videos on how best to prepare a Thanksgiving turkey.     

A few other films, I have used in the ESL classroom include:

Bright Lights, Big City

Hair Spray

My Name is Earl –Sold a Lemon Car (Season 4, Episode 9) 

https://vimeo.com/123247681

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMkq9oSqebg&list=ELFaOGP6o-zKg

Halloween and Pre-Christian Influence on English and English speaking cultures. ESL lesson

Pagan or Pre-Christian influence on English and the English-speaking or "Western" society are subjects little covered in ESL curriculum. As Halloween, a holiday with pre-Christian origins, is  coming and the students as me to talk about it I decided that this would make a good subject for my advanced ESL class at William K. Sanford Town Library.

I focused on several different topics and loosely linked them together.

The first was a rough map of Europe circa 800AD (ish) on which I had marked the lands of the Celts  or Celtic peoples as well as the Vikings / Norse and a big circle labelled German tribes.

I pointed at the circular area labelled "Celtics" and asked if anyone knew the name of the Boston professional basketball team. (the "Celtics") and waited for answers. Some guessed "Red Sox" and there were other guesses but soon I just went to google and typed "boston professional basketball" on the board.

Then I decided to talk and teach a bit about the history of the English language. I used three youtube videos for this.

Old English poem of the Battle of Brunanburgh

This is interesting, but, of course, there's no need to play the whole thing.

How Far Back in Time Could You Go and Understand English?

Quite good, but I take exception to the portion where they refer to the King James Version of the Bible as "the Bible" (It is one of many versions of the Bible, not "THE" version of the Bible.)

Old English Greetings

This one is a bit amateurish, I thought (not how he often seems to be reading from cue cards) but it is kind of fun. Also there is the portion where he teaches the phrase "Gode Niht" or "Good night" and pronounces "niht" sort of as "ni ccckk t" with a sound like the German or Scottish "ch" in "ach!" --this is a good place to address those pesky, oddball "gh" letters that keep cropping up in English spelling.

i.e. night, knight, through, rough, though, etc.

In all of these words, the "gh" was originally a "ch"as in the Scottish or German pronunciation of the "ch" and, by the way, it is my undertanding that all of the "ough" s at one time ha d a uniform pronunication a bit like "ooooooccckkk" but with the German / Scottish "ch" on the end.

Also worth noting, and again these were very advanced students, I would not do this with lower level students, is the way in which some English words show plurality with a vowel shift instead of an attached "s."  i.e. man/ men, woman/ women, tooth / teeth, foot / feet, mouse/ mice, etc. I just found it interesting that the roots of this practice lie back in the British languages.

I also, just in passing, mentioned Gaelic and Welsh.

I showed clips from Ashley MacIsaac and Mary Jane Lamond's 1990s version of "Sleepy Maggie." I noted that it is in Gaelic and not English and said, truthfully, that it was once one of my favorite songs.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoApELfgWcg

The students were a little confused by the role of Gaelic but a segment or two from this delightful short film, Yu Ming is Ainm Dom, put it in perspective for them.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqYtG9BNhfM

There's a wonderful part where a Chinese man who has learned Irish Gaelic actually tries to use it in a bar in Ireland. It's about 8:00 minutes into the film.


Next we got to the part on some pre-Christian / Pagan influences on our society.

These were, first, the "strange" practice of "knocking on wood" for luck.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc4khyR6yBk

I explained that although this custom had origins in a belief in tree spirits and tree gods. I also mentioned that most Americans do not know this and I had only learned it when I was about 27 years old from a friend.

I then went to the names of the days of the weeks.

While Sunday and Monday are named after the Sun and the Moon respectively, the other five days of the week are named after pagan / pre-Christian god.

Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday are named after the Norse / Viking gods Tyr, Wodin, Thor, and Freya respectively. I used Google images to explain and show pictures of who they all were and, of course, mentioned the Marvel Comics film. I also mentioned that now they knew why there was a "d" in the middle of the word for "Wednesday."

Of course, i had to share this too.

 

I also mentioned that the names of the planets came from Roman Gods.

And then, and only then, did I actually get into Halloween which I explained with this video. I did stop the video from time to time to clarify or explain a point. 

http://www.history.com/topics/halloween/history-of-halloween/videos/haunted-history-of-halloween

I then mentioned the Easter bunny and Easter eggs (pre-Christian influences) and Santa's elves, another sort of pre-Christian borrowing. 

To finish the class and give the students a chance to talk to each other and not just listen to me, I asked them to offer their solutions to the following advice column questions, each of which had a Halloween theme. 

http://www.slate.com/articles/life/dear_prudence/2014/10/dear_prudence_on_halloween_poor_kids_come_to_trick_or_treat_in_my_neighborhood.html

http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/life_and_entertainment/2015/10/11/1-cowgirl-right-to-speak-up-about-halloween-costume.html

http://www.uexpress.com/dearabby/2014/10/19/cheap-candy-might-work-magic-on


http://www.uexpress.com/dearabby/2014/10/20/halloween-cowgirl-can-leave-her-pistol

This one I did not actually use in class as it contained sexual content but I did find it funny. 

http://www.uexpress.com/dearabby/2014/12/10/wifes-birthday-gag-gift-turns-out

What is Fossilization? A common problem in English teaching and Teaching of English as a Second Language

We've all seen or heard it.

Someone who speaks English with, shall we say, a certain noticeable style.

 "I no liking America food. I cooking you good Korea food."

 or

 "I learn Burmese very good as a child but I Karen, not Burmese."

           In other words, people who have learned English in order to communicate and have often done so without much formal education or training in the language. Or perhaps they did have English classes but the classes were inconsistent and perhaps poorly conducted.

           Such people often serve as translators in their places of work and when interacting with American society Despite the English grammar such people are often clearly of high intelligence, serve as leaders of their community, and, despite, the grammar problems, have learned to communicate when many other members of their community have not. So what's going on here? 

           Basically, bad habits. Bad, very ingrained habits. And sometimes a lack of understanding as to what correct grammar should be. In teaching of English as a second language there is a term for this. It is called "fossilization."

           As most know, a "fossil" is when natures takes something, perhaps a piece of bone, shell, or plant, and converts it to stone. In geology and other sciences "to fossilize" means "to change something into stone and make it a fossil."

           In language teaching "fossililzation" refers to the process where a grammatical structure, a way of speaking, is not only routinely formed incorrectly but is done so regularly and routinely and automatically by the speaker. This is something English teachers see regularly. It's a difficult process to fix, but there are ways to work on it.

            Of course, this happens not just in English learning but in the learning of other languages too. Perhaps one reason the subject interests me is because I have a problem with fossilized structures in my Mandarin Chinese.

ESL / Teaching English as a Second Language teaching credentials

Someone asked me about what credentials are needed to teach English as a Second (or other) Language.

To answer the question, I'd have to know what your goals were in order to see how the certification fits the goals, 

Last person who asked me this question told me described her goal as "I want to live in Thailand and support myself teaching ESL while I volunteer to work with elephants," but I have heard people study ESL teaching for other reason, too. 

Education can help you by enabling you to do something or by giving you fancy papers that enable you to get jobs or ideally both, but they are not always the same, so . . . 

1) teach folks you know ESL. Literacy Volunteers had a good training program in 2008 when I took it and probably still does. Short, simple, good, --four evenings of training for 35$ plus a commitment on your part to be a volunteer tutor. I'd recommend it highly if it's still the same. 

2) Teach ESL while living abroad (okay, you need to remember you don't actually "travel" all the time while doing this. Often you just live abroad, hang out, commute back and forth through crazy foreign traffic, and deal with culture shock. There are pros and cons.) 

The requirements vary by country. To learn them hang out online in forums in the target country and read things like the Lonely Planet Guidebooks and its competitors (Rough Trade? I think that's the name. --BTW, here's a start on the Lonely Planet youtube channel, have fun:    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=li6w8oqmyzo ) 

Some places the qualifications are "foreign" and at times offensive. i.e. no ESL training required, advanced degrees preferred, the higher degree the better, but field unimportant --i.e. PhD in Chemistry or Theology often trumps an MS in TESOL, white faces often preferred but not always --    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqtS3hSwq3o the  part on ESL recruiting is often dead on true and Asian faces don't do much better. ) Some places no certifications are necessary. 

Do your research. 

Sometimes they want a certificate such as the Oxford. Some times and places you want to shake them and say "But you should value this! It is useful and your requirements are absurd!" and you will be 100% dead on correct but it just won't matter because it's not your country or culture and they make the decisions. (a friend of mine was quite upset when her ESL employer in Kunming China hired a French speaking Caucasian with a thick accent over her native speaking Chinese American friend. OTOH, she learned to accept such things and now has a PhD in anthropology from Cornell with most of the research done in the field in China.) Alas!

3) Teach at for profit places in the USA (Boston has several, I've worked at these. In New York State licensing requirements discourage them from starting here.) These general require a relevant MA or MS or a certificate like you have. However, they will usually keep a good teacher with a certificate over a mediocre one with an MS in TESOL. 

My experience is most of the not-for-profits want the same credentials in Boston. 

4) teach at a college ESL in the USA --MA or MS in TESOL pretty much required. Sometimes a relevant PhD. 

5) teach in public schools. Check each state's requirements. They vary widely. 

Generally a certificate like yours is officially not useful (I think) but if it comes with knowledge then it can be useful. 

i.e. for example, let's say you become a certified Massachusetts history teacher licensed to teach in that field. Suddenly the states decrees that they want all teachers to have a knowledge of  ESL and pass a test on it or take additional training. If you pass the test, bingo! you don't need to take the training. You get to move to the top of the qualified teacher list while the others need to be trained and sit at the bottom. Double bonus if you can speak Spanish! 

This really happened two years ago BTW. My understanding is a few years ago the push was for Special Ed qualifications for all Massachusetts public school teachers. Last year it was ESL. 

Again do research.