The best way to know life to love many things - Vincent Van Gogh

My first experience learning a second language was in high school. My teacher was a survivor of the Spanish Civil War and used her rich knowlege of Spanish and Latin American history and culture as a context for learning Spanish. She also used poetry recitation, music, art, and literature to inspire discussion. I loved her class and learning Spanish, but there was not much risk involved because I was still in an English- speaking context. When I was 19, I went to a small, rural, Ecuadorian town for the summer to teach art in an elementary school. Spanish was suddenly necessary for survival. No one spoke English. I was on my own and my Spanish was rusty. I gradually adapted and became more comfortable with Spanish but it was a difficult, often scary process. I was dropped into cold water again when, after only a semseter of Italian, I headed off to the University of Bologna in Italy for my junior year. For the first semester, although I could understand pretty much everything and my writing was ok, I never spoke in class. Even with my Italian friends I was often unsure and tentative. My challenging experiences in Ecuador and Italy, the example of my influential high school Spanish teacher, and my growing knowlege of the students at my current teaching placement where 15 out of 19 are learning English, will all give me insight in how to better teach ELL students.