I liked the double contrast here, first between typical kids and international ones, and then the more extreme third culture kids (which I hadn't even considered before, but I can see why there would be enough distinct behavior to classify that as a group).
International kids are not able to process points of view that don't consider others. And I so wish that were true for everyone! Most of us tend to be stuck in our own viewpoint, and may even resist others' attempts to enlighten us. To think "others first" is much nicer to the world at large.
The issue of grammar... that is a tough one. Despite scattered school teaching here and there, it was taking German that really made sense of English grammar for me. And for my husband. And for our daughter, it was French. Working solely inside of a language may not be the most effective way to get grammar across.
The "points of view of others" thing does vary a lot, especially with those who don't interact with an environment outside of the school. For those in very different cultures (for example, Europeans living in Dubai), sometimes you get ghettoisation and isolation within ex-pat groups.
Apparently I could talk about this all day! :P
You're absolutely right about grammar. People who study other languages study grammar more. In the UK at least, English as a first language is taught more by absorption than through rules/grammar.
This was a good rant (if I may call it that) I surely learned a thing or two (like the term third culture kid) Liked the points that you highlighted about there being more to a person than from where he/she came from. A nice take!
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International kids are not able to process points of view that don't consider others.
And I so wish that were true for everyone! Most of us tend to be stuck in our own viewpoint, and may even resist others' attempts to enlighten us. To think "others first" is much nicer to the world at large.
The issue of grammar... that is a tough one. Despite scattered school teaching here and there, it was taking German that really made sense of English grammar for me. And for my husband. And for our daughter, it was French. Working solely inside of a language may not be the most effective way to get grammar across.
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Apparently I could talk about this all day! :P
You're absolutely right about grammar. People who study other languages study grammar more. In the UK at least, English as a first language is taught more by absorption than through rules/grammar.
Thanks for the lovely long comment! :D
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Thanks. :)
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Sorry you've had such negative experiences.
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