I before E except after C . . .

Remember that old elementary school chant? After continuing to see misspelled words like “receive” and “relieve”, I decided to teach this old rhyme to my students. I was afraid it would be a bit too juvenile. In class, I had them say it in unison over and over again. The students, who are in their 20s and up, were amazed that there was one simple spelling rule that solved this common spelling problem!

I was quite shocked though when one of my students immediately started ranting a little to the class and me in response; he is normally a quiet, respectful guy. With restrained anger, he expressed his feelings of frustration at the Nigerian school system. What I had just taught him was so helpful, so simple. He repeated what I had just told him, that every American child knows this rule by heart. Yet not one person in the classroom had heard this rule before!

These young men are working so hard to improve their English; it is the key to better jobs and the key to further education. Few materials are written in their native languages, and trained teachers who are native speakers are a rarity (I am the first Western teacher most of them have ever had.) I tried to encourage this student, reminding him that we Americans have had hundreds of years to observe the patterns of our language and pass them onto others. His country just needs more time! His country could also use a few more teachers from the West who would be willing to share their expertise.

The very next day, I was unexpectedly encouraged by a different student to continue doing my job. I passed George in the library and complimented him on the great job he had done in church last Sunday. He had sung an original song he had written in English. The student just smiled at me and said,” See Ma, what you give to us will come back to you!” I was quite pleased to think about what he was saying to me: by helping my students improve their English, I get to enjoy, along with the Nigerians, original worship music written by a local. Pretty cool thought!

Lisa