Different Languages - Blog Posts
Fifth Classroom...
I was in a library at night.
It was just me and thirty-five adults and the occasional handful of kids.
China, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Brazil, Mexico, Columbia, Haiti, and more…
Different cultures, different educational backgrounds, different English language speaking abilities…
These were my students.
I taught them English, having to provide my students with different activities and materials in order to best work with their level of competence.
I taught them American culture not for the sake of seamless integration into America but so they would better understand the strange customs of their new home.
If they failed to secure a babysitter then I assigned a book report.
Advanced students helped lower students read and write a brief summary.
I supplied children with toys, drawing tools, and entertainment while we waited.
I did this for two years before going to grad school for TESOL…
So I Was Watching “Murder Drones” And Something Hit Me.
Doll Is Russian, Right? Because What, The Fuck?
Why Do They Never Explain That? It’s Just-
Was She “Born” Russian? Did Her Parents Speak Russian? Did The Solver Teach Her? (CAN It Teach Her?!)
I Guess What I Mean To Say Is; Are Language’s Diverse On Copper-9? Because If So, That’s So Cool, And We Need To See More Of That Diversity!
Speaking Of;
Can Worker Drones Also Have Heterochromia? That’d Be Nice To See! Probably Won’t Though..
Do They Have Special Needs?
What Kinda Jobs Do They Have? (Besides The Stated)
We Need To Know More About Worker Drones Damnit!
Modern Fantasy Headcanons #1
While its more common in wealthier private schools, children can choose to take a nonhuman language. In recent years some forms of elvish are slowly being introduced into public education as an elective and most students can choose to take nonhuman history if they wish to learn more about other creatures beyond The Fae Wars.
However, mixed schools have shown that a surprising number of children will pick up on each others languages and learn them that way. This has caused quite a few calls home when a student uses a bit of slang that a teacher is not familiar with and is assumed to be something insulting (this- rather interestingly- only seems to be the case in a half of the situations). In some cases children, especially younger ones, have no idea they are learning a different language at all.
Some schools with a student mentor program find putting two different races together leads to the older teaching the younger their language for easier communication. A desertion piece by Dr. Lightfoot called ‘Why Your Children Talk The Way They Do’ goes further in depth on the subject of shared languages amongst children and teens.
When asked why the children started learning a nonhuman language the answers ranged from ‘to communicate more fluidly’ to ‘enjoying the sound of it’.