Tag Archives: English-language learners

Asha and her 6-year-old daughter, Zara, take deep breaths and blow onto the sails of their sail cars. The cars roll away…quickly at first before slowing to a stop. Zara cheers and exclaims, “I won! Mine went farthest!” Asha agrees and asks, “What was your prediction?” Zara reflects and grabs a yardstick, “Well, I thought it would go 16 inches. But it went a lot more.” She measures the distance and proudly announces, “25 inches!” Asha is impressed at the…

When I was nine years old, an American boy named Kyle moved to our neighborhood in suburban Stockholm. When we met him, my best friend Gustaf immediately switched to English. I had never heard him speak much English before, but Gustaf had spent a couple of years in an American school in Germany and spoke it fluently. I only knew a few English words, but I don’t remember it ever being a problem. We played well, and I always had…