Commentary by Jason Chan*
There are many acronyms in my area of work, which is TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language). For example, ELT (English Language Teaching), EAP (English for Academic Purposes), ESL (English as a Second Language), EFL (English as a Foreign Language), to name a few.
Personally, I am not a big fan of jargons and/or acronyms as they unnecessarily mystify the profession, creating a knowledge disparity between the so-called professionals and the laymen. However, I would like to use this platform to officially coin the term ELN (English Learning as a Nuisance).
Being an English teaching professional is, in a lot of ways, something of a pariah in the education sector. Many years ago, in Germany, I encountered an individual who, when told that I was teaching at the local university, snidely remarked that “well hopefully you are not teaching English”. The problem is, aside from the questionable use of the present continuous, English learning is rarely taken seriously. I believe the reason for this is two-fold. First, the ubiquity of English worldwide has increased the usage of English, while at the same time it has reduced the level of English by dumbing down the language through social media and pop culture. Second, most people have had years of English instruction in schools and therefore have an often-false assessment of their English abilities. This is not only a Western phenomenon, from what I have noticed since my recent arrival in Macau, local students seem to share the same sentiment as their Western counterparts.
Given the chance to be exempted from taking English classes in their courses of studies, many students at my current place of work eagerly take up the chance to take the exemption exam, only to face the rude awakening of their mediocre (at best) levels of English. What happens then is a vicious cycle of resentment, lack of motivation, unwillingness to participate, and a general sense of injustice (cuz I gotta be good enough, I watch lotsa stuff in English). In short, they see English Learning as a Nuisance (ELN), which is rather short-sighted. As mentioned earlier, English’s omni-presence is, for the better or worse, unavoidable. Rather than ELN, I believe students should grasp the opportunities, while they have them at university, to improve their English for their future endeavors. English learning should not be seen as merely a means to an end, i.e., for passing a test at school or for an international language exam such as IELTS (yet another acronym). I am aware that this is easier said than done, especially in the local context, because years of rote learning behavior simply cannot be unlearnt overnight. I am hopeful though, that I can get through to some of the students, to make them aware that English, or any other language for that matter, is a tool for communication, as language is a medium through which people can exchange ideas and cultural values.
– *Principal Lecturer at University of Saint Joseph
