What does speaking English mean to me?
- "Reflect
on what it means to be the speaker of the language or languages you speak.
What does speaking that language mean to you?" How does it
shape you as an English teacher? (Razfar & Rumenapp, 2014, p. 286)
English is my only language. I grew up speaking
English and my family all speak English. As such, English is an important part
of my personal identity. I think about the world through the English language
and its vocabulary. Obviously, how I interact with others is shaped by the
English language and the vocabulary available to me. It is part of the culture
that I live and grew up in. As an English First Language Speaker, English ties
me to the larger English-speaking culture that includes England, Canada, and
the United States. Also, my family has been English speakers for generations,
so I am connected to the larger historic English-speaking culture, for better
and for worse. It is important to note though, that there are many different
English dialects and subcultures and just because I speak English does not
necessarily enrol me into everyone of these subcultures.
I hope that being a native English speaker helps me to
recognize and correct errors in learners speaking and writing, such as articles.
It also gives me a little bit of an advantage in teaching and explaining local
English colloquialisms. For example, a hoodie as a sweatshirt with a hood is
called a bunny hug in Saskatchewan. Unfortunately, this knowledge is rather
local and is also semi useless outside the local English culture and dialect.
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