Serene pointed us at this surprising article on why teaching English to native French speakers reminded the author of working with anorexia and other eating disorders.
“Dealing with the oh-so-pragmatic French in this fashion was an uphill battle. ‘Yes,’ they admitted, ‘we are bloqué, we are perfectionistic, but if we relax like you say, we will NEVER learn English!’ The eating disordered patients said ‘If we eat what we want, we will get HUGE and NEVER stop eating!’
“When trust replaced criticism, there was growth. After seven years of teaching English to French business people, and hearing the same complaints constantly, I finally had an ‘aha’ moment. These people were enthralled by the same angry self-critical voice as my eating disorder patients. I realized that I knew how to help them help themselves…the issues were the same.”
We say, take your great teachers–the ones who will respect you and let you choose your path–where you find them: in English class or in therapy.