Karen Decker has been a language teacher for 25 years, and for the last decade she’s owned and run The International Center for Language Studies in D.C. The school teaches English as a second language and more than 85 tongues to businesses and government agencies like the Department of Defense, FBI and the State Department.
How did you first get involved with teaching languages?
I got a degree in teaching English and went into the Peace Corps and taught English as a second language, and it went from there. I’ve studied French and Arabic for many years and eventually became involved in foreign language programs.
What is it about language that interests you?
There’s so much to it. Culture and language are so intertwined in learning about the way people think. You’re always discovering other parts of yourself you didn’t know about through learning about another culture. There’s also the diplomacy aspect of it that comes with learning and living in another country.
How has teaching language changed over the years?
We don’t do it through memorization or repeating after the teacher anymore. We teach students skills so they can leave the classroom and become self-learners. We put them in situations in the classroom that native speakers would be exposed to. In the old days you used to have to learn the alphabet and a lot of grammar before you read anything. Now we get them right into it from day one. Now, with the Internet, we can expose students to news broadcasts from other countries, too.
When you wake up in the morning what do you look forward to most in the coming day?
I look forward to making at least one success story a day. Even if it’s just one student who comes in and says he’s happy with teachers or a class’s direction.
