This is a bit from a paper I wrote - an introduction that didn't work for the paper. I have a lot of little bits like this - things that I have written for papers that never worked. I have a hard time scrapping something that I wrote that I like, but can't use for any particular piece.
Imagine yourself on a day like this: the sky hovers lowly about the earth. It brings a heaviness that dulls the senses. A languid breeze endeavors to reach the edges of the lace woven into your mother’s curtains. In the distance, you hear the rumbling of a storm that is to come. It is a fate that you know is approaching and cannot stop. With one quick movement, you are off your toes, headed for the inn table. You search for it, grasping for its pages. Once in the deep jungles of the adventure, it’s like you glance up and see the sun about its business once again, not feeling the raindrops on your skin or seeing the lightning shred the ebony wallpaper of the sky. You then glance at the antique clock on the mantel, and realize that you have not sat there for minutes, but hours. Deep within the pages of a novel, you can have any adventure that suits your fancy, and remain protected by an invisible cloak of reality. Your mind can take you places you want to go, but are too afraid to go; it can take you on journeys that would weaken your legs, but strengthen the character of your heart. In the pages of a novel, you can finally stand up to the bully, find your voice, or take the first step. In the pages of a novel, you can find yourself - who you really are – the good, the bad, and the ugly – and you can change. Reading a novel can motivate your reality – your feet – to walk on the path less traveled. It sounds great, right? But in reality – these types of adventures are grasped only by those that are able to see, to understand, to know. For them, reading is behind the eyes – it is alive – it is of worth. Shouldn’t these adventures be for everyone?
Teaching ESL without reading is like trying to ride a bicycle without wheels. You cannot even sit on the bicycle. In fact, trying to learn any language without the four foundational disciplines, reading, writing, speaking, and listening, you will be of little success.
Imagine yourself on a day like this: the sky hovers lowly about the earth. It brings a heaviness that dulls the senses. A languid breeze endeavors to reach the edges of the lace woven into your mother’s curtains. In the distance, you hear the rumbling of a storm that is to come. It is a fate that you know is approaching and cannot stop. With one quick movement, you are off your toes, headed for the inn table. You search for it, grasping for its pages. Once in the deep jungles of the adventure, it’s like you glance up and see the sun about its business once again, not feeling the raindrops on your skin or seeing the lightning shred the ebony wallpaper of the sky. You then glance at the antique clock on the mantel, and realize that you have not sat there for minutes, but hours. Deep within the pages of a novel, you can have any adventure that suits your fancy, and remain protected by an invisible cloak of reality. Your mind can take you places you want to go, but are too afraid to go; it can take you on journeys that would weaken your legs, but strengthen the character of your heart. In the pages of a novel, you can finally stand up to the bully, find your voice, or take the first step. In the pages of a novel, you can find yourself - who you really are – the good, the bad, and the ugly – and you can change. Reading a novel can motivate your reality – your feet – to walk on the path less traveled. It sounds great, right? But in reality – these types of adventures are grasped only by those that are able to see, to understand, to know. For them, reading is behind the eyes – it is alive – it is of worth. Shouldn’t these adventures be for everyone?
Teaching ESL without reading is like trying to ride a bicycle without wheels. You cannot even sit on the bicycle. In fact, trying to learn any language without the four foundational disciplines, reading, writing, speaking, and listening, you will be of little success.
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