When I read this quote, I think of how both the teacher's attitude, knowledge, and experiences affect his/her students. For example, if I am able to teach someone English, that could affect his/her children for generations. If my attitude toward life, or some aspects of life, has an influence, that influence might carry over to others. And finally, when I relate my experiences to my students, those experiences have the potential to have multiple influences, which will also carry over.

I remember one teacher from my high school days, who was a proponent of the multiple intelligences theory. he gave us a test at the beginning of the year, and structured the learning activities according to the make-up of the class. It was one of the best classes of the entire six years I spent in secondary school. I pass that story on to some of my students, and it affects the learning advice I give to all of them. I believe it has an influence on how they think about learning, and on their motivation. If so, when they talk to others about language learning, their higher motivation could potentially motivate their listeners.

You need to practice all of the skills: reading, listening, speaking, and writing. You need to practice formal and informal speaking and writing. Of course, finding a teacher would be very helpful, because he/she would save you time and work finding good practice resources and advice. If you Google "english conversation questions" you will find some sites to give you good speaking practice topics. When you read, read with your voice. This helps to use different parts of your brain. When you listen, listen actively. Think about how you would solve the problem they are talking about, think of questions you would ask the speaker, etc. There are a lot of things you could do, but the most important thing is to use all the skills, and to use them together, not separately.

I'm proud of helping one student understand a frustrating bit of grammar and giving her hope that she can indeed do this English thing.

I've thought about it a little, because I've thought about writing a novel about something like that. Interesting idea.

elete

For years, I have been playing around with the idea of a novel about a blind woman who has to find a way to disappear in order to protect her family. A tricky thing to do even if you can see, but if you can't...