Learning from experience

3 October 2007

Christchurch ESOL home tutor John Kirby has had a long time interest in Buddhism and the ancient Chinese philosophy of Taoism, which believes in the Yin and the Yang; two complementary opposites that come together to make a whole.

The relationship with home tutoring
He applies this philosophy directly to home tutoring and sums it up in the meaning of the ESOL acronym: English for Speakers of Other Languages.

‘Being an ESOL home tutor brings you into direct contact with another culture - "the Other"', he says. ‘Tutoring combines English with "the Other", and makes the whole'.

Travelling the globe
Originally from the north of England, John lived and worked in the Middle East and Africa, before heading to Hong Kong, where he met his wife, Daisy.

They came to Christchurch 42 years ago, but that was by no means the end of John's travels. In his sixties he discovered Zen Buddhism and went to live and train in a Japanese monastery for several months.

He followed that with a trip to India, where he says he was ready to search for his inner self. Sitting on the ground beside the Ganges River one day, he was reading a work by the great Indian leader Gandhi.

‘I was sure wisdom lay within its pages and the pressure was on to know it all by the time I finished', he recalls, ‘Suddenly I saw a pair of legs dressed in shorts and a pair of feet in flip-flops, in front of my face. A hand pressed down onto the page I was reading and a voice said, "Put the book away and learn from experience", and then he walked off. I never saw his face, but I followed that piece of wisdom and began to see India.'

Helping out where needed
With Buddhist friends from Japan and Tibet he traveled to many important pilgrimage sites and visited Nepal and the remote Himalayan kingdom of Mustang. As he traveled, he found himself approached on the street by students eager to practice their English, and often ended up helping out in local schools.

Travelling through Rajasthan by camel he visited local villages. John recalls that pens were in high demand from local children. ‘We ignored advice that we should not give gifts to children in India. We bought pens, and books for the local school and we donated enough to purchase a desk and chair for the principal. We were invited to a local wedding, so instead of buying wedding gifts, ensured that the children had text and reading books to take home with them. We left a smiling group and with broad smiles on our faces. We knew that we had received more than we had given.'

Continuing an interest in education
John's interest in local education continued on his trips to China, at first to meet Daisy's family in Guangdong, and later, when he decided to ‘follow in the footsteps of Buddha', and visited Tibet and many remote parts of the country where foreign faces are rarely seen.

‘Many Chinese cities have "English Corners" in a park or square, where any foreigners who are in town can go and meet locals who want to practice their English. Often I would be the only one there, surrounded by a crowd of 150 Chinese.'

Despite no formal teaching training, John says he found teaching English was a wonderful way to open doors in a country and meet the locals. ‘People were so hospitable and friendly and I was constantly being invited to share meals and offered accommodation, in exchange for lessons.'

For four months he taught at a vocational school in the city of Wuhan, and was made an honorary principal. There he learnt first hand about the intricacies of Chinese bureaucracy and the challenges of a different style of education, which saw unmotivated students learning by rote only that which was needed to pass an exam, and nothing more.

Last year, John completed the ESOL home tutor training course and is currently matched with a Korean learner, Jeom Seok Park, who likes to be known by his English name, Daniel. John says getting to know his learner and seeing his integration into New Zealand society has been most rewarding.

In addition, home tutoring has given John further English teaching skills that he says he will put to good use on a trip to Korea later this year and on future trips to China.

By Sarah Johnston