r/MadeMeSmile 22h ago

Good Vibes ESL classes be like

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u/dogsledonice 21h ago edited 9h ago

I've taught ESL. You don't truly grasp how stupid a language English is until you try to explain parts of it to someone in words they can understand

or why these all sound different: bough, bought, through, thorough, slough, tough, hiccough

(edit: I think two of them do rhyme; not sure which)

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u/elyankee23 18h ago edited 10h ago

The most pathetic I've ever felt was when I taught English in Korea and my Korean partner (we worked in pairs, the classes saw us both back to back) asked me to pronounce a word and I said "I dunno" and she looked at me like I was a tiny dumb child. "But it's written, right there. What do you mean, you don't know"