February 2006.
U Sudu pub, Prague 1.
Have you been there?
It’s such a cool place!
It’s ike a secret cave in the middle of the city. There’s nothing like it in the States.
Anyway, this night I was there because my friends Dan and Katy were leaving Prague.
Sadly, this was their farewell party.
You see, teachers usually only stay in Prague for about a year. They have a few adventures, then return home or set off to explore another country.
Most of my teacher friends had already left months ago.
But I was different.
I stayed.
For years.
And I”m glad.
Because I saw things the other teachers didn’t.
I got to see what worked and what didn’t.
And that’s when I made… THE BIG DISCOVERY.
You see, all my students had the same teacher – me.
And all my students got the same lessons, more or less.
But while some made OK progress…
Others made fast progress.
David and Jan, for example.
They both started about the same time.
Both were smart and motivated.
And both had weekly lessons with me.
But one year later….
David was now travelling to foreign countries and giving presentations in English.
His voice was stronger and he seemed to stand taller.
And I never asked him, but with his higher position at work, I’m sure his salary also increased. Maybe that’s why his son was now in a private school and his family went skiing in Colorado instead of Šumava.
Rosta had also made progress. But it wasn’t the same as David.
I could tell Rosta still felt his English wasn’t good enough. He was embarrased by his mistakes and he was afraid he wouldn’t understand native speakers and they wouldn’t understand him.
So he didn’t follow his dreams. He never applied for a job at an international company. And his boss never let him do business outside of the Czech Republic.
So what made the difference?
Like I said, most teachers were back home and didn’t see changes like this.
Not only did I see them, I also asked “Why?”
Well, it’s not obvious.
At least it wasn’t to me.
It took me years to figure out.
And of course they never taught this to me during my teacher training.
I’m sure none of your teachers from school told you, either.
So I’ll tell you what it is…