Chanthaphone's family moved to the present country when she was young. Her primary language at home was Lao. At 5, she learned to speak English. But she didn't know how to read and write, she didn't know how to fit in at school or communicate with classmates. Mrs Lewis, Chanthaphone's second-grade teacher, changed everything. She taught her students that it was OK if they did not know English, and it was all right for them to use words in their home language to explain how they were feeling or thinking. Chanthaphone became more and more confident(自信), and she wanted to do what her teacher did in the future.
Now, at 26, Chanthaphone is an English teacher at Fort Worth ISDs William Monnig Middle School. Like Mrs Lewis, Chanthaphone tries to help her non-English-speaking students to have the confidence.
At the beginning of each school year, Chanthaphone tells her story to her new classes. She tells them she knows what it feels like not to want to speak in class or raise her hand. Her students, though, are usually uncertain. She has to take out photos of her graduating college and tell them about her parents and what her school was like. Then it finally works. In the classroom, Chanthaphone allows students to communicate in whichever way they feel most comfortable. For some, it may be raising their hands and voicing their thoughts. For others, it may be writing their thoughts on a piece of paper and handing it to Chanthaphone.
However, Chanthaphone does encourage her students to go out of their comfort zone(舒适区). She wants them to work with students they don't know because teamwork is really important.
"I've always wanted to be the teacher who supported students in and outside of the classroom," Chanthaphone said."When I get notes or see Facebook posts from parents talking about their teachers, including me, I feel like my goal has been completed."