Looking for a new ethnic restaurant?

Thanks to Seattle Pacific alum Timothy Healy, you can now get expert opinions on international cuisine in local neighborhoods. Healy, who teaches English to students from other countries, has encouraged his students to review restaurants that serve the foods they're familiar with, as an exercise in writing and language skills. This gives the students a chance to express themselves, their stories, and their cultural distinctions in English.

The reviews are a good example of Healy's creativity and passion for teaching English. Since earning an MA-TESOL degree from SPU in March 2003, Healy has worked with the American Cultural Exchange at SPU and at Bellevue Community College as an ESL teacher of immigrant and refugee students.

As he teaches, Healy equips his students with tools they can use to investigate American culture. He explains, "I try to guide my students in discovering culture for themselves outside the classroom. I'm asking them to engage American culture by joining it, by making their voices heard." In some aspects of culture, however, they need no coaxing. "Most students seem to know all the famous Hollywood actors."

Healy ends up learning right alongside his students. "Having to answer their questions about culture and how and why we use specific language is a challenge, because most of the time I haven't thought about the specifics of why we live, think, and speak as we do." He's also frequently surprised and moved by what he learns about the lives of his students through their writing. "When I read how somebody lost everything in a civil war or worked as factory manager or raised a family, it is humbling."

Healy's international student classes are populated primarily by young twenty-something students from East Asia. They usually live alone and are focused on studies instead of work. In contrast to this, the immigrant and refugee students come from all over the world. Many of them are elderly, and they frequently have families and full-time work. Both sets of students often return to their countries of origin to visit, but then return to look for jobs here, and their new language skills prove to be an asset in getting good jobs. English is becoming a necessity for employment in many places.

And what do the students think of America as a nation? "I often read references to 'The American Dream,' which leads me to think that many of my students believe in it. I could guess that many students had preconceptions of everyone in the U.S. being wealthy. Such an idea doesn't last long once one comes here to live, of course."

Healy also finds teaching to be "an act of service that has real spiritual benefits. Working with others reinforces my humanity because it demands connecting with others. It builds my self-respect because it is doing good. Of course, many professions provide the opportunity to help others reach their goals and improve their lives, but teaching offers a direct connection that makes results more visible and tangible than others."

Now, you can benefit from Healy's efforts. The restaurant reviews composed by his students are conveniently published online at: myhome.spu.edu/healyt/rw438/reviews.html.