Fabiola....

So… It’s a really good question.
At the first sight there is no connection between my profession and English language besides it is required in the University which I’m gonna take PhD next year (they require 80 in TOEFL or other recognized English test). However this point I could solve easily taking English classes and studying hard in Brazil.
The decision for come to US was hard for two reasons. One of them was my professional life since I should have a break in a seven years old career, and I was really afraid of this. Other reason was the language. I could speak just few basic words in English.
My fears were the most important challenges at that time. I had to come. I wanted to come because my husband was here (he came 8 months before me), and our life would be here until December 2009. The best way was found more connections were possible between Speech Language Therapy and English, and it was so determinant the decision of to learn speaking English as well I can.
Besides all personal growth that come from experience of living in another country, I see this time like a laboratory. This time I can not communicate very well. I’m in the other side.
Of course I can not compare the reasons of these communication difficulty, but I’ve lived many communication stages. Different situations.
When I arrived almost one year ago nothing that I heard made sense (as the patients that lose the comprehension capacity).
I can see almost all stages of the language acquisition process in my English learning process (It’s amazing!).
Many times people don’t understand me, and I need to try to speak again… sometimes in a different way.
Always I need to stop and think what I want to talk. English is not automatic for me.
All the time I have to think how make a sentence.
I have to be aware of my current mistakes, and I have to try make better and better.
There is an disorder treated (I’m not sure if I can use this verb in this context!) by Speech Therapy called Auditory Processing Disorders. In this situation, according to http://kidshealth.org/parent/medical/ears/central_auditory.html., “kids can’t process the information they hear in the same way as others because their ears and brain don’t fully coordinate. Something adversely affects the way the brain recognizes and interprets sounds, most notably the sounds composing speech. Kids with APD often do not recognize subtle differences between sounds in words, even when the sounds are loud and clear enough to be heard. These kinds of problems typically occur in background noise, which is a natural listening environment. So kids with APD have the basic difficulty of understanding any speech signal presented under less than optimal conditions”.
In this area was my thesis (In my Master’s degree). You can imagine how hard is to these kids learn a second language, or even how hard is any general learning, but, with help, they can do it. From now, I will look them in a new way, and probably I will change many old strategies.
So, I could write hours about this. My profession is one of my loves.
I’m sure that I will come back pretty different. I will see my patients with other eyes. I could know a little bit the world of who can not communicate very well. I have lived the way to get an efficient communication. It’s a hard way, but the reward worth it.
Maybe, I still can find out a new work niche. Maybe new ideas…
Audrey, thank’s for your question. It made me write what still was just in my mind!
See you tomorrow!