Jim Cooper: On Teaching a Language

           

University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez Campus seal
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          Jim Cooper in his memoir, Down on the Island, remembers when, during his time as an English professor at the University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez Campus,  a co-worker of his said expressed how “(…) the only way to learn a language was to learn to love its literature”. Although it may not seem that way, that is a complex statement to make. When I first read it, I could not understand the tone of disbelief with which Jim Cooper portrayed his memory. After pausing for a few seconds and re-reading the statement a few times, I finally understood the statements complexity.

Down on the Island by Jim Cooper
(Book cover)

            The memoir published in 1994 recounts the 1951-1954 period of the author’s life where he taught English in a place where said language was not the official one and, most of the time, barely understood by its people. Puerto Rico, as I discussed in one of my previous posts, is, presently, a Commonwealth of the United States of America (USA) and, because of it, most people here know English as a second language. However, this wasn’t always this way. Since the acquisition of Puerto Rico by the United States back in 1898, English had tried to be enforced as a primary language on the island, but the idea never really clicked with islanders. Therefore, in 1952, when the political relationship between the USA and Puerto Rico became what it is now, English was still not a language most people were fluent in, but rather one that only the most privileged people knew how to speak. With this in mind, the complexity of the mentioned statement becomes a bit clearer.

            I’ve lived in Puerto Rico and known these facts my whole life, but I’ve also grown up in a different time and, therefore, a different Puerto Rico than the one described in the book. Presently, English in Puerto Rico is practically a second first language. Although many people are still not fluent in the language, much more citizens are. Additionally, I’ve also grown up surrounded in equal proportions with both languages making both English and Spanish first languages for me. This is why, at first, the author’s disbelief puzzled me. When we are so immersed by a language, our perspective of things is influenced by that, and, to see the bigger picture, you have to step out of your land, and see a birds-eye-view of the world.

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Books are teachers.
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            “(…) the only way to learn a language was to learn to love its literature”. This is certainly true. We learn something because we love and/ or appreciate it. Therefore, how can you appreciate a language’s beauty to then want to learn it if you do not know the fruits of that language? Literature is the expression of language, and language is the tool by which we express our humanity. The beauty of language is in its utility: expression and communication. Therefore, without comprehending language’s utility, loving it would be impossible because we would find it useless, and humans need usefulness to love.

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            “(…) the only way to learn a language was to learn to love its literature”. How can you appreciate the literature if you do not know the language? Touché. Someone may argue that it’s possible to find a translation of a work of literature and still be able to appreciate the language through literature. Nevertheless, it wouldn’t represent the original language in any way since it isn't being read in said language. If anything, a translated work only represents the author that wrote it. The tool was changed from a hammer to a screw-driver—from English to Spanish. You can’t appreciate a hammer through the use of a screw-driver. You can’t learn to love a language’s literature to then learn the language itself because reading the literature would result impossible.

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            There is no categorical explanation to what is actually the thing that will motivate students to learn English. Consequently, there will not be a categorical way of teaching language. Some may want to learn a language because they’ve fallen in love with stories read in a different language that have peaked their interest. Others may learn a language without falling in love with its literature first.  In the end, teaching will be subject to each individual’s reason towards learning the language as well as their personality.

            What came first: the chicken or the egg? It depends.