October 2017

It’s not a piece of mindless, page-turning fiction and it probably won’t make the New York Times bestseller list, but I’ve been published.

My first academic piece, an essay on how the successful language teacher should view him/herself, published by a traditional publishing house.

Opening the brown paper parcel and holding the volume in my hands after many months of waiting, I sighed with satisfaction.

And then I sighed for another reason. This was not the first thing I’ve ever written. Nor the first thing I’ve ever attempted to have published.

And my heart went out to all the writers who dream of seeing their work in print (or digitally printed for wide e-reader distribution), who long to gain a respected reputation in the eyes of readers beyond their family and friends, who feel like giving up time and time again in the middle of drafting and editing processes.

Writing a short, well-researched piece is hard work. Finishing a whole book is even harder. I never realized until I started working on three- and four-hundred page manuscripts how difficult it really is. Because the rough draft is only round one in a glorious knock-down, drag-out fight. If you’re still standing after that, there’s reading and revising, seeking feedback, content editing, copy-editing, pitching and proposing…the list goes on and on. Even in today’s age of greater access to quality self-publishing, one still has to be savvy enough (or pay someone who is savvy enough) to upload a completed (pant, pant) correctly-formatted manuscript (ugh, sigh) for printing, e-reading, or both.

And, of course, which ever way one publishes, one must then work like crazy to promote ones work so everyone in the world will rush to read it.

That’s why, today, I simply want to tell every writer out there:

Thanks for what you do.

Even if you’re only getting started, don’t give up when the road gets rough.

Even if you’ve longed to see your writing published and never been able to do so, keep on writing and trying – and continue to share your writing with those who will read it, honing your style and voice.

Even if you’ve been published once or twice and would like to set down your pen, write on. Whether or not you are ever published again, when the words live in your soul, it is fundamental to your health to get them out. And if you were good enough to be published once, why can’t you eventually be published again?

Let us press on to share the good things that burn in our hearts and minds, no matter how big or small our readership.

I’m indebted to men and women who have helped me and continue to help me in my writing and publishing journey, eternally grateful for their time and the way they not only have seen potential in me but also have invested in that potential by advising and encouraging me.

If you are interested in purchasing a copy of Thinking Theologically about Language Teaching, you can do so via Amazon.com. If you need assistance in ordering a copy, please email me at kaylenesvoice@gmail.com and I will be happy to help you.

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I have long been a fan of classical music. My tastes veer toward the standards of Baroque and Romantic eras as well as heart-achingly optimistic composers like Aaron Copeland. Pieces by other composers, however, don’t always bring me great enjoyment – especially those that are more abstract or impressionistic in nature. (My taste in classical music, it seems, matches my taste in classical art.)

Therefore, I don’t listen to a lot of Rachmaninoff. This Russian genius lived and composed at a time when styles of music both in Russia and around the world were evolving to something different than what had become standard in past centuries. While including piano solos of severe length and breathtaking magnitude, he brought in moments of orchestrated angst and a stunning range from nearly silent bits to heart-pounding climaxes and ear-pounding cacophonies.

Last night, I had the surprisingly pleasurable experience of listening to Rachmaninoff’s Third Piano Concerto. I took my dad out for a birthday celebration, and we attended the Omaha Symphony’s Rachmaninoff/Tchaikovsky concert. I listened to the pieces – as I sometimes do – beforehand. And I was so sure I would enjoy the Tchaikovsky piece (Symphony No. 2) much more than the other.

But that was before soloist Natasha Paremski took the stage and took our breath away with her jaw-dropping performance. The author of the program notes was spot on when he quoted the New York Herald’s original critique of the piece: “…although it’s great length and extreme difficulties bar it from performances by any but pianists of exceptional technical powers.”

Ms. Paremski was such a pianist. And I decided that Rachmaninoff in person is a whole lot different than Rachmaninoff on a recording. Part of the awe and delight of hearing his work comes from watching the pianist nearly pound the piano into the stage while displaying so much passion. When she finished, we expected her to be exhausted. Instead, she was invigorated to return to the stage and play an equally challenging (but shorter) piece for us in an encore as if she hadn’t just played, nearly non-stop, impossibly challenging music for almost 40 minutes!

Rachmaninoff still isn’t my favorite composer, but I have a much greater appreciation for him today than I ever have before. Yet, what struck me as I listened to the whole concert last night was: the audacity of how you and I have been created.

God, in His infinite power and majesty, could have created us as robots or minions. He could have left us without a brain or a heart. He could have pre-programmed us like fully-loaded computers we take home from electronics stores, capable of only outputting what He or others put into us.

But God, in all of His love and beauty, didn’t stick to the could-haves. He created us to possess many blessed traits. And among those is something I will call createableness. We don’t have unlimited power and resources to create things on His scale. (That’s good – there only needs to be one of Him in the universe. 🙂 ) We do, however, have gifts and abilities endowed by Him to compose and write and sculpt and demonstrate and inspire. The Creator has given us – on a scale that our human minds and hearts can try to embrace – the gift of both creating goodness and appreciating the goodness that others have created.

And the habit of pausing to notice and be grateful for this gift of His is one supremely worthwhile of cultivation.

In the comments section, I encourage you to share about some goodness you’ve created or some good creation in which you’ve delighted.

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Many languages in the world, such as Mandarin Chinese, Cantonese, Vietnamese, and Thai, are known as tonal languages because their speakers must rely heavily on tones to convey meaning. A particular word may have that same sound(s) as a different word and the only thing that sets them apart for the listener is which tone accompanies each syllable of the word.

English, in contrast, is famously labeled as a non-tonal language because so much of an English speaker’s successful communication hinges on placing stress on the right part of a word or the right words in a sentence.

While the above labels are not false, I was reminded in my classroom last week about the importance of teaching many different things when focusing on pronunciation. Individual phonemes (sounds within words) are crucial building blocks and correct word/sentence stress helps listeners to understand anyone who is trying to speak English.

But tone…that is an equally important thing for us to properly model for our students and target in the classroom when we are giving students time to practice.

Consider two aspects of this.

First, think of a common word such as interesting. Then, think of at least four ways that word can be said – that is, say the word at least four different ways using different tones. I can say it to show that something is mildly attractive. But I can also show by my tone if I think it is tantalizing, surprising, previously unknown, thought-provoking, or utterly boring.

Second, think of a whole sentence and how saying it with different types of intonation will change the meaning or feeling for the listener. For instance, look at this sentence/question and say it at least three different ways:

(Sarcastic) Well, that was the most interesting book I’ve ever read!

(Honest, friendly question) Was that the most interesting book you’ve ever read?

(Excited) That was the most interesting book I’ve ever read!

(Doubtful, disbelieving) Was that the most interesting book you’ve ever read?

(Nostalgic) Now that was the most interesting book I’ve ever read.

Teaching language well requires balanced exposure to many aspects of that language. But every now and then, it’s important for both the language teacher/tutor and the language student to evaluate if they are working on each of the major components of the target language with equal emphasis.

For me, right now that means reminding my students that they all need to pay careful attention to English intonation in both their interpretive listening and their speaking.

If you teach language, what does it mean for you?

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(photo credit: http://www.businessinsider.com/this-automatic-shotgun-fires-360-rounds-bad-intentions-per-minute-2017-5)

My Chinese students are obsessed with guns.

More specifically, they are both terrified and fascinated with what they perceive as an America-wide love of gun ownership. One student wrote about his family fearing for his safety when he came to the States to complete his degree. They were sure there would be lots of average citizens carrying firearms around on the streets, pulling those weapons out to aggressively use them whenever an opportunity arose.

I’ve spent the first half of this semester in our culture course trying to help these students see the history of, various opinions on, and motivations for gun ownership in the U.S. Thankfully, they’ve observed that (most days) our community is quite safe.

But then they read the news.

When I watch news coming out of Las Vegas night after night, I hear how investigators seeking a clear motive for last weekend’s massacre are baffled at nearly every turn. One by one, they have ruled out the clear cut and the usual. Extreme religious ideologies, chemical imbalances in the brain, mental illness, crimes of passion. Those closest to the shooter were surprised by his behavior and didn’t see such an attack coming.

I have not desire to oversimplify the matter and thereby belittle those who are grieving or mock the professionals who are trying hard to do a great job.

But when I ponder this, my mind returns repeatedly to some of Jesus’ words from one of his most famous sermons:

“The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness.”

Sometimes, the basic or only motivation for committing an harmful act is: pure evil.

I rarely hear anyone speak in those terms these days. This is a day and age where biological progression should have made us rise above such base instincts and act in enlightened ways, where we have a pill to take to cure – or mask – nearly every illness and syndrome. We like to say that it doesn’t matter what I choose to dwell on or do with my time as long as I’m not “hurting other people.”

But what happens when what we’ve been feeding our bodies, minds, and hearts simmers until it boils over? What happens when we act upon the darker nature that resides in us all?

If one will admit that there is indeed evil in the world, what does one do about?

The only thing that will overcome darkness is light, and the only thing that will overcome evil is good.

More or different laws will only treat the wound on the surface. And threats do little to touch corruption so deep. To cure the cancer that runs through our society – and the world – eyes, minds, and souls must be filled with the Light of the World. And people must take daily responsibility for their personal choices and actions.

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(image source: http://www.integralhospitality.com/?p=238)

I attended the MIDTESOL annual conference in Kansas City – the yearly meeting for the Midwest regional branch of the International TESOL organization. Upon returning, my head was spinning with all the information I’d been exposed to. In those moments, one of the presenter’s words of wisdom came back to me like a whisper in the swirling wind.

Neil J. Anderson, a well-known researcher and educator in the field of TESOL, spoke to us about the essentials of professional development in ESL, especially as they apply to instructors and administrators coming back from large conferences. 🙂 Among his useful grounding points, he reminded us of the importance of having a plan for retaining and actually applying one or more of the concepts we’d been introduced to (or reminded of). He likewise stressed the need for a professional development community around us and how we must give/receive support and accountability in order to make sure that the positive changes we seek to apply are truly making teaching/learning better when we return to our home environments. Otherwise, we will go home and nothing will ever change – for we didn’t have a plan to intentionally change it.

In reflecting, I had to admit that I feel only a very loose sense of professional development community in my current work setting. I’d like this to change, but I’m not sure how to see that change happen. It’s as if I need to have a plan for setting up an intentional community with regular checks and balances (and encouragement) before I can move forward with the other part(s) of Anderson’s advice.

I also realized that most of my life has recently been about simply surviving, both professionally and personally. In teaching, that means last minute lesson plans and rushing to overlooked meetings; in professional development, it means a couple of relevant books marked a few pages in and collecting dust on an end table.

I need to have a plan or goal, even just one thing that I will aim for and focus on. And I need to ask a friend or colleague to help me stay on track while I reach for it.

Of course, the principles of community and purpose/priorities  apply to more than teaching and professional growth. They are also essential for emotional, mental, and spiritual growth and individual effectiveness in the broader community. So in daily reflection we can ask: “What/Who am I aiming for today? How am I going to do that or reach my goal? And how will I adjust myself or my plan today or tomorrow based on what happens today?”

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