We would all like to avoid embarrassment. We try to show ourselves to the world in a
good light. We want people to
respect us. Then we do something silly
like walking into a lamp post because we aren’t paying attention. And the realisation that everyone is laughing
at us, whether openly or not, is a horrible feeling to endure. Our social position has suddenly fallen.
But sometimes people try so hard to avoid embarrassment that
they make life much more difficult for themselves.
I occasionally meet English students who hate to be
corrected. They will make a mistake,
and I will correct them. But they will
try to keep on talking, pretending not to notice my correction. If I ask them to repeat the correct sentence,
they will mumble, ashamed that they have been “caught” making a mistake.
This obviously makes it much more difficult to learn a
language. If your teacher is not there
to correct your mistakes, then what is his job?
A host in a host bar to keep you company? A psycho-analyst to listen to your
problems?
This week you may have heard about another poor young woman
who tried a little too hard to avoid embarrassment.
She was meeting a young man on a first date. They went to a nice restaurant. Then they went back to his apartment to watch
a movie. Things were going really
well. At some point, the young woman
needed to go to the toilet. Perhaps the
food at the restaurant was a little too spicy, who knows? But she left some solid waste in the
toilet. Then the toilet wouldn’t flush.
Oh dear.
“If I just pick up the poo and throw it out of the window,
he will never know,” she thought.
Sadly, her plan backfired. The object got stuck between an inner window
and an outer window. She had to tell her
sexy date what she had done.
“Well, she’s totally crazy,” he thought. “But she has an admirable blue sky
approach to problem solving. I think I
can continue dating her.”
The unlucky woman with weak bowels then volunteered
to climb into the space between the windows to go and get back the poo. She then got stuck between the windows and
had to be rescued by the fire brigade, which smashed one window to free her.
So the whole thing spiralled out of control because
the young woman tried too hard to avoid the initial embarrassment. For my English students who try to hide their
mistakes, please remember the moral of this story. Your English teacher is an expert plumber. He is there to help you flush your mistakes
down the toilet. But if you don’t accept
his help, then your mistakes will just sit there, floating forever in the bowl.
I have to go and wash my hands now. I taught three students today.
Vocabulary:
to show oneself in a good light – to make one’s actions, character
etc. appear positive
a lamp post – a tall, usually metal pole in the street for
holding up street lighting
to correct (someone) – to point out someone’s mistake; to
tell someone when they have said something wrong
to mumble – to speak in a low and unclear way
a psycho-analyst – someone paid to understand other people’s
minds and help them to get over their problems; a follower of Sigmund Freud’s
methods
to backfire – of a plan, action etc., to have the opposite
effect than intended, or to hurt rather than help
blue sky - usually “blue sky thinking” – thought which is
very free and not limited by the usual rules, taboos etc.
bowels – the part of the body where food and waste goes
after it has passed the stomach
to spiral out of control – of a problem, situation etc., to
become worse and worse until it is impossible to manage
a plumber – someone whose job is to fix water pipes, toilets
etc.
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