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18 Jun 2026 · 1 min

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Hadar Shemesh explains why learning English feels different for immigrants: it's treated as mandatory, not optional. Unlike other languages, English proficiency is a requirement society enforces, creating pressure non-native speakers don't face elsewhere. Her own experience as a non-native speaker shapes how she teaches ESL students.

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I think that learning English is different than learning other languages because there is this expectation that you need to know English, especially for immigrants. Like, "Oh, you need to speak English. It's a must." It could be very scary and crippling versus learning other languages where you're so appreciated and celebrated for even trying. I feel my students in my body. I know how they think. I know how they feel because I have been there being a non-native speaker of English. Helps me understand on the deepest level other people who speak English as a second language, and that affinity, that understanding is something that helps me connect to so many people without saying a word, and I love that. I love that about being a non-native speaker. It's a sense of community, it's a sense of connection that no one else gets if they're only speaking one language. Mm-hmm.