Why would a native speaker be correct??
I figure that I am going to write this while it is fresh in my mind, because this has happened a few times during the previous 4 months in Germany. It is time to give everyone some laughs. So my job here is to obviously help out in all facets in regards to teaching English (as well as being a “cultural representative”). I work with about 6 different classes, and most of what I am asked to do is conversational, so that students can talk with a native speaker as well as hear the accent, etc. I know that not all native speakers (if any) speak perfect English, but grammar is something that I pride myself on.
Over the past few months I have had some students tell me that I was incorrect. We will go in chronological order. The first one was a 7th grade student who told me that the plural of “car” was “car”. I think that every native speaker (and even beginners) know that the plural of car is “cars”. Hell even in German they have the same use of the “s”. Car in German is “Auto” and the plural of “Auto” is “Autos”. Simple. This girl went on to argue with me for a solid 3 minutes, and to this day think that there is no plural of car. Talk about a lost cause.
The second and third example happened on the same day, in the same class, with the same student. This time it was a 12th grade student in the most advanced English class offered. He said that the plural of “man” was “mans” and that the plural of “person” is “peoples”. Granted you can use peoples in some cases, but I think we all know the plural of “person” is “people”. To be honest I am not sure if I was more surprised that he did not know the plural of these words, because he has had English for 6+ years, or the fact that he disagreed with a NATIVE speaker.
On to the case from today. I was talking about Hurricane Katrina in the American South class. One student asked me what happened to students who were studying at Universities in places that were flooded or destroyed. I said, “The displaced students either did not go to school until it was safe again, or they were allowed to study at a partner University. For example people who went to University of Loyola New Orleans could go to another Jesuit institution.” As soon as I said the word “displaced” my colleague stopped me. She is the head of the English department and writes curriculum for English classes all across Lower Saxony. She said the only time that one could use the word “displace” is when you were talking about victims of the Holocaust. Maybe I am incorrect, but I am pretty positive that you can talk about victims from Hurricane Katrina as “displaced people”. Correct me if I am wrong.
Other than that not much going on here besides more freezing rain. I think I need to buy some ice skates.
3 years ago