Nine months ago, when I first contacted the Center for Academic Excellence at
Keiser University's Latin American Campus in nearby San Marcos, I hoped that I could spend a few volunteer hours weekly being helpful to students in some fashion. There have been some days when I amused myself online in the absence of students needing help, and there have been other days spent proofing pages for the campus website. But truly, the best days are spent one on one with students, preparing for American history tests and/or refining term papers for English composition courses.
Anyone who has tried to master speaking a second language knows the pitfalls of also learning to write in that language. Speaking and writing are so very different. A casual conversation or even a proper speech in front of an audience is very forgiving of grammatical errors. One's personality is integral in live conversation, with facial expressions, gestures, pauses, and breaths taken for emphasis or by necessity. Written word is less forgiving, and less personal. Punctuation truly matters, as does grammatical usage to yield clarity, with no facial expressions or dramatic pauses to underscore meaning. In a second language, it may be necessary to toss out the rules for writing in the first, and adapt one's mindset to a wholly alien verbal logic.
My students exhibit such struggles to differentiate English usage and word order from Spanish. In the latter, a month is always preceded by an article, as in "Lloviznas del Abril traen flores del Mayo." Literally, "Showers of the April bring flowers of the May." Using "April" and "May" as adjectives does not come naturally. There are innumerable examples of linguistic roadblocks much more complex than this simple case, in every language. German word order, for example, was a revelation to me as it explained some of the "Pennsylvania Dutch" jokes I'd heard all my life ("Throw grandpa out the windows the keys!").
My point is, I am frankly in awe of these students who bravely forge ahead in their efforts to comprehend and utilize the sometimes incomprehensible rules and foibles of written English. My own feeble attempts to write in Spanish are always accompanied by apologies for their paucity of correct usage. As a retired North American with little need for approval, I can get away with it. These young students who hope to further their studies in the U.S. or do business with U.S. and global concerns must pass muster at every level. They are bold and persistent, floundering sometimes, but keeping at it with tenacity and good humor. Bravo, I say. You are amazing.
