Language Study

» Irene Taylor - Empathy & ESL

Very interesting article!

Have you had some ESL experiences where empathy played an important role - for you or for your students. Empathy is an important "skill", but it seems that in an ESL setting this might be even more important!

Irene

» mrjcorbin - Empathy & ESL

Hello Mrs. Taylor,

Yes, actually I have had ESL experience with Empathy in the classroom. Having grown up with learning disabilities, I can recall to this day how frustrating and difficult it is to grasp certain topics, like languages for instance. In so saying, I have come across students in my time as an ESL teacher who for the life of them could/can not grasp English as quickly as their peers.

It is important to remember that your students will have their weaknesses and strengths, and English may not necessarily be one of the latter. In so saying, my own experiences allowed me not only to be empathetic towards such students but also, be as patient as necessary to ensure that at the very least they were encouraged to do their very best.

Thank you as always for your kind comments.

Sincerely,

Mario R.J. Corbin

-- posted by mrjcorbin