THE JOURNALTravel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts.
-Mark Twain
Blogs About Teaching, Language and Culture
The journal is a place where we feature blogs about teaching business English, business Spanish, language, culture, their intersection, the craft of teaching, and an exploration into the nature of learning itself. Business English and business Spanish is more than merely a specific distinction of ESL (English as a Second Language). A business English or Spanish course is only as good as the teachers who are leading it. You cannot expect to activate the imaginations and curiosity of students if it is not present within the teacher. This blog site is a place where we can explore those stories that evoke and stir our own sense of wonder for it is this sense of wonder that we feel is so precious to steward in both ourselves as teachers and within the students we teach. In that sense, the teacher part of us stays connected to that aspect within us that is childlike and curious about the world. By following our fascination, we continuously stoke the flame of wonder inside of us which feeds our teaching practice. We have a particular fascination with the deeper layers of culture that lie beneath the veneer of what constitutes the popular culture that is associated with English language speaking countries like the USA, Ireland, Great Britain, and others. We will also explore the “otherness” of other cultures and cultural traditions from around the world. We feel there are many stories that demonstrate the complexity of how culture and language are interrelated and showcase the remarkable ability of the human spirit to help us to adapt to foreign and challenging circumstances–something that is a hallmark quality in good students. We seek to tell these stories.