English Original
It was the first day of class. Two of Tara's new ESL classmates, both from Iraq, asked where she was from. Because Tara looked Iraqi, they asked if she was from Iraq. Tara said no. They then asked if she was from Iran, Syria, or Jordan. Tara answered no to each question. One woman laughed and said, "She's not from anywhere!" They then went to their desks, speaking Arabic.
The next day, during a group activity, another student asked Tara where she was from. Tara answered, "Iraq." The two women from the previous day were sitting nearby and heard her.
"Aha!" they exclaimed. "You ARE from Iraq!"
Tara smiled, apologized for lying, and explained her reason: she did not want to get into an Arabic conversation. In her experience, many ESL students kept speaking their native language in class, but she had come to practice English, not Arabic. She believed ESL students should try to speak only English.
"I agree," said Rose.
"You're 100 percent right," agreed Jennifer. "Rose and I must stop speaking Arabic to each other. Right, Rose?" Rose nodded, then said something in Arabic. All three laughed.
Over the next four months, Tara became friendly with both women, but she never spoke a word of Arabic to them during class or breaks.
中文翻译
开学第一天，塔拉的两位新ESL同学（都来自伊拉克）问她来自哪里。因为塔拉看起来像伊拉克人，她们便问她是否来自伊拉克。塔拉说不是。她们接着问是否来自伊朗、叙利亚或约旦。塔拉对每个问题都回答“不是”。一位女士笑着说：“她不是任何地方的人！”然后她们回到座位，用阿拉伯语交谈起来。
第二天，在小组活动中，另一位同学问塔拉来自哪里。塔拉回答：“伊拉克。”前一天那两位女士就坐在附近，听到了她的回答。
“啊哈！”她们惊呼道，“你果然是伊拉克人！”
塔拉笑了，为之前的谎言道歉，并解释了原因：她不想陷入阿拉伯语的对话。根据她的经验，许多ESL学生在课堂上继续说母语，但她来ESL课是为了练习英语，而不是阿拉伯语。她认为ESL学生应该尽量只说英语。
“我同意，”罗斯说。
“你说得百分之百正确，”詹妮弗表示赞同。“罗斯和我必须停止互相说阿拉伯语了。对吧，罗斯？”罗斯点点头，然后用阿拉伯语说了些什么。三人都笑了。
在接下来的四个月里，塔拉和这两位女士成了朋友，但她在课堂上或课间休息时从未对她们说过一个阿拉伯语单词。