Why Teach English? Example Two

In one English class, I went over what to do when you don’t feel well. I asked my ESL students what they do when they have a headache. “Go to the doctor!” Then I asked what they do when they have a stomachache. “Go to the hospital!” Or if they sprain an ankle. “Go to the hospital!” I thought it was cute because they were using phrases they had just learned. Until...

My parents speak limited English, so I usually speak to them in Vietnamese. That weekend, my dad got a bad stomachache. My mom asked me to call the ambulance for my dad. I asked her what’s wrong with him.
“He said his stomach hurts,” she told me.
“Did he take any medicine yet?”
“We don’t have medicine.”
“You can get some at CVS or something.”
“You can buy stomachache medicine there?”
“Yeah.”
“Can you go get some? I don’t know how to buy them.”
And a trip to the hospital was saved.

But then it hit me. My students didn’t keep saying “Go to the hospital” or “Go to the doctor” because they just learned those phrases. They did it because they don’t know enough English to go to a store and buy the medicine they need. Medicine’s confusing enough for native English speakers. I can’t imagine how intimidating it is for a non-English speaker.

So. Volunteer to teach English to adults so that one day they can help themselves at the drug store instead of calling an ambulance.

~Ann L.