Response to Rosanna´s Question

Hi, Rosanna.

You asked me to talk to you about my work in Arizona.

When I came here in 1990, I worked in a private high school teaching ESL to international students; most of them were from Korea and Japan, but they came from other countries, too—México, Thailand, Europe, and several different Arab countries. I enjoyed being with them and learning more about their cultures. Most of them were also fun outside of class and spending time with them made my life brighter and more enjoyabe.

Later, in 1994, I changed jobs and worked for the intensive ESL program at Arizona State University. My students there were older than the ones in the high school and many had already finished undergraduate studies in their home countries. They also came from many, many more countries. I don't even remember all the home countries of my A.S.U. students, but off the top of my head, I remember students from Japan, Korea, Thailand, China, Laos, Myamar, Indonesia, Russia, Bulgaria, Romania, Turkey, France, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea-Conocré, Algeria, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Oman, Kuwait, Qatar, Egypt, Ecuador, Colombia, Chile, Venezuela, Brazil, Paraguay, and El Salvador.

At the college where I now work, most of my students are from México, but I have also had Spanish-speaking students from Colombia, Guatemala, El Salvador, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic, and students from a number of other countries, among them Korea, Thailand, Russia, Ukraine, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kenya, Chad, Iraq, and Albania.

Working with all of these students has helped me broaden my knowledge of other languages and cultures and has also enriched my life greatly. It has also made it very clear to me that people are people, no matter what language they speak, what religion they practice (or don't practice!), and no matter what country or culture they come from!

Dennis