Elizabeth Shih
When disastrous (mind-shattering ) news daily fills our screens and overpowers our senses, I’m not sorry to repeat (frequently here) the message that our world needs more empathy.
Last weekend, marketing luminary, Seth Godin, agreed.
Asserting that we need to focus on “what it’s like to be you,” his words encourage solidarity: “simply announcing how hard [empathy] is, is a fine place to begin.”
But let’s not stop there. Our humanity’s at stake (in more sense than one).
March 2026 Vol 8 Issue 3
Tell Your Story Newsletter:
Teaching English as a Second Language
Let us help you tell your story!
Welcome Mid-March 2026. Spring is coming!
As I prepare this issue of “Tell Your Story Newsletter,” we mark one year from Prime Minister Mark Carney’s election as Canada’s 24th Prime Minister. Even for those who dread international politics (and there’s never a shortage of criticism), Carney has been organized and decisive in strengthening foreign and domestic policy through these tumultuous times. He has started to shift Canadian foreign policy and our economy amidst threats from Donald Trump, the wars in Ukraine and Iran and more.
And less than a week ago, progressive thinkers in the Western world observed “International Women’s Day,” at a time when women in particular have lost much ground under ruling men whose psychopathic behaviours have undermined much of democratic values.
At a time when many of us are facing losses, Canadian-born theologian Kate Bowler has blogged about the importance of “swearing.” Swearing, you might ask? How could that possibly help? It’s personal, Bowler would say; and Friedan was right to connect the personal with the political. (It was feminist Carol Hanisch in 1970 who famously wrote, “The personal is the political.”) . . . The more things change, the more they stay the same . . .
In “Storytellers’ Corner,” I revisit five “common Latin terms everyone should know,” from contributors to the online resource, “Grammar Check.”
Rather than insisting that everyone “should” know such Latin terms, I offer them instead as a source for experimentation and laughter, to be applied (if you wish) at your next meeting with family or friends (haha)!
And, although the wind was bitterly cold in Saskatoon this week, I hope you have found, good readers, the relief that has come with the lengthening of daylight hours and the return of at least some prairie sunshine.
Despite the wars and international governments that instill hatred for, segregate, torture and even murder the vulnerable, may each of us find compassion for ourselves and our neighbours, and to appreciate the blessings we still receive, even as we try to oppose the lawlessness in our world.
As a friend recently wrote: “Three nutritious meals each day, the chance to earn a living that supports my family, and (at night), a warm bed and a good book may be blessings enough to keep going.”
And may we find rest in such blessings each day, before we turn to the work of supporting others in our community, near and far.
Sincerely,
Elizabeth Shih
Principal
Storytelling Communications
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IN THIS ISSUE:
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Article One: Can swearing (in Lent) help us cope with loss? Some thoughts from Kate Bowler
American theologian Kate Bowler writes with great authenticity about anger, pain and the many forms of loss human beings can endure.
She herself endured stage four breast cancer at age 59 (in 2020) and her book titles themselves reflect her questioning of a Divine Being, faith, and life itself:
Have a beautiful, terrible day! Daily meditations for the ups, downs and in-betweens;
The lives we actually have: 100 blessings for imperfect days;
Everything happens for a reason: and other lies I’ve loved;
and
Joyful, Anyway.
Bowler embraces a hands-on, down-to-earth theology on finding hope and grace amidst the most gruelling of life’s challenges (e.g. life-threatening cancer when she was raising a young child).
In a recent blog posting, she testifies that swearing has a therapeutic effect, as she’s found in the “ten years since [she] took up cursing for Lent.”
It may not be “theologically ideal” to curse, she says. But “the greater honesty I have been afforded, the more theological discomfort I have been able to tolerate.”
Lent, for those who do not know, is a season in the Christian calendar when believers try to understand Christ’s own sacrifice on the cross by taking on one of their own: we may give up bad habits, start new spiritual practices, donate funds or time to our local church communities, or simply give up alcohol or chocolate for the 40 days leading up to Good Friday (the day of Christ’s crucifixion).
Bowler writes: “Lent asks us to identify with being on the losing team with Jesus as He walks toward His death, either as a witness or as a fellow sufferer. How difficult or easy is it for you, lately, to figure out where you are in the [Easter] story?”
Bowler says that for Lent 10 years ago, “I started swearing.” And cursing, one might argue, can help to find just where in the Easter story one is.
Bowler swore about “cancer. . . . about dry croissants and coffee that cools too quickly.” She continues: “I swear about people trying to narrate me as part of a heroic battle with cancer. I swear about Curious George seeming a little whiney to the Man in the Yellow Hat . . . .” (she is a mom, after all).
Bowler allowed herself to swear after reading “an article about how people in grief swear because they feel the English language has reached its limit in a time of inarticulate sorrow. Or at least that is what I tell people when I am casually dropping f-bombs over lunch, as I explain the mysteries of Lent.”
Today is indeed a “time of inarticulate sorrow,” whether we consider Russia’s war on Ukraine; Israel’s and America’s war on Iran; the atrocities in Afghanistan (to name only three of the world’s “hotspots”). Immense sorrow coincides painfully with Christ sacrificing his life for believers, over 2000 years ago.
Closer to home, a woman I know has discovered her husband of 20 years has been unfaithful for at least the last three. Another friend who is a young mother has been diagnosed with stage-three gastrointestinal cancer but finds her family unwilling to provide her with much support.
A colleague who endured horrific abuse as a small child from both parents, reports that she’ll lose her sight before she turns 55. Sometimes the world holds more sorrow than a person can bear.
A much-loved family friend told me nearly 30 years ago, anticipating Bowler, that the only way through the trials of life was to swear—that my language of coping was too subtle to combat the emotional pain I was enduring as a student.
As a language teacher, I find the possible coping function of swearing to be fascinating. Perhaps we should include some salty language when we’re teaching ESL/EFL to refugees! (Swearing has been part of more than one BBC comedy on the topic!)
Bowler refers to a 2020 article from Keele University psychologists (Staffordshire, UK) that argues “only ‘traditional’ swearing improves our ability to tolerate pain.”
Dr. Richard Stephens (senior lecturer in psychology at Keele) and PhD student Olly Robertson have published a study that “uttering traditional swear words [worked] in helping to tolerate pain.”
By contrast, while saying “fake swear words” like “twizpipe” and “fouch” elicited emotion and laughter, “fake” curses had little impact when it came to coping with pain. This contrasted the salutary effect of “traditional swear words.” Stephens and Robertson found that only well-established curses induced “stress-induced analgesia and increased pain tolerance by 33%.”
The suffering of immigrants and newcomers to Canada (whom I meet in my ESL teaching) could, according to these findings, be reduced by the emotional efficacy of swearing.
Stephens concludes that “it’s not the surface properties of swear words, such as how they sound, that underlie the beneficial effects of swearing, but something much deeper, probably linked back to childhood as we learn swear words growing up.”
So when our parents or teachers outlawed swearing to us children, when we faced the calamities of life, that discipline may have done us more harm than good. Those easily offended might rethink this study’s findings.
So, yes, we can give up chocolate or caffeine for 40 days, but Bowler recommends that we also practice swearing, especially about today’s authoritarian world politics and their assault on humankind.
Cursing what we cannot change may allow us to process pain and loss that we’d otherwise suppress or repress, and that would then lead to depression and serious mental illness.
In her blog, Bowler reminds believers and agnostics alike, that swearing may help us to remember three basics that can guide us through any season (including Lent and long SK winters)! She asks us to remember: “(a) You are loved. (b) Life is absurd. (c) It’s hard to be a human.”
And now it’s your turn. What do you think of using swearing as a linguistic practice to endure our pain and suffering?
Which swear words do you appreciate? Please write in; I’d be delighted to share your insights in future issues of TYSN.
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STORYTELLERS’ CORNER . . . .
STORYTELLERS’ CORNER: Words, Stories,
Riddles and Jokes on Writing and Editing . . .
Five Common Latin terms to know and use (from grammarcheck.net)
(1) A priori (From what is before). E.g.: ” ‘All bachelors are unmarried’ is an a priori statement.”
(2) Ad hoc (For this situation). E.g. ” ‘The library was turned into an ad hoc shelter, during the storm.”
(3) Ad infinitum (To infinity). E.g. “Sandra complained about her work ad infinitum.”
(4) Ad libitum or Ad lib (As you desire). E.g. “Some actors used to ad lib their parts in certain scenes of the play.”
(5) Ad nauseam (To the point of sickness). E.g. “We heard another ad nauseam rant about his narcissistic political ambitions.”
If you have never studied Latin (or not for long), how might you make use of these terms in common parlance–for entertainment if not edification?
Please share your stories with me; I’d be delighted to cite you in a future issue.
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SHOP NEWS:
Special thanks this month to Steve Cavan, whose many hats include those of ESL teacher, mentor and editor.
Steve’s willingness to lend his specialist knowledge of linguistics to support a student with high-level sensitivity has been welcome.
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Thank you to former editing client and long-time friend, Greg Gilroy, for hosting and sharing details of a beautiful birthday party he held for his elderly mother, who recently turned 97!
Few adult children are as attentive to their mothers’ last years as Greg is; it was heartwarming to view family photos from the event.
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These days, I’m thinking of my dear friend Arian in Ontario, whose family and lifelong friends still live in Iran and who are fugitives, due to Netanyahu and Trump’s attacks on that nation and the subsequent reciprocal bombings unleashed, between it and other, Middle Eastern nations.
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In much happier and healthier news, CONGRATULATIONS go out to new parents, Rev. Roberto and Heather De Sandoli, on the birth of their daughter, Rosanna Marie De Sandoli on March 13th!
Rosanna weighed in at nine pounds and brings her parents, grandparents and friends much joy.
Congratulations, Rev. Roberto and Heather!
And welcome to the world, Rosanna!
There are always more people to thank and new work to promote. But this is a wrap for mid-March!
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ABOUT US:
Between 2011 and December 2018, Elizabeth Shih Communications chronicled the stories of B2B marketing and communications on the Prairies and across the country.
Effective January 1, 2019, I rebranded as “Storytelling Communications.” I help new and economic immigrants to secure better jobs or contracts by improving their English skills; and I help internationally educated, second language academics to publish more effectivel, so as to increase their success in the tenure system.
Interested in learning more? Please contact me through my CASL-compliant website (www.elizabethshih.com).
After I receive your message, I’ll be pleased to discuss projects with you!
Please visit my website for more information (www.storytellingcommunications.ca).
One of the contemporary problems of ESL/EFL teaching is that teachers or tutors find that language instruction is a messy and inexact “science.”
As Brazilian EFL/ESL teacher (and CELTA trainer), Dr. Cecilia Nobre, argued recently on Linkedin.com, if language teachers think “covering the [lesson] plan” will have made the lesson work, we “might be measuring the wrong thing.”
She writes that recently “a trainee told me she felt great about her lesson because she had covered everything in her plan. She had followed every stage, used all her slides, managed the timing well and given clear instructions. Yeah, sounds perfect!”
But the trainee’s students spoke for only about 7 minutes out of the 45-minute class.
Uh-oh.
Nobre tells us “I have spent years sitting at the back of training rooms watching lesson after lesson and I say this with care: we often confuse control with learning.
I too used to fill silence, rescue too quickly and explain before learners had tried. The lesson looked impressive (but the progress was slower than it could have been).”
She lists what should be “the practices of teachers whose learners actually improve–15 habits,” although she observes she may have “missed a few”:
ESL/EFL teachers succeed when . . .
1- They wait (for learners to respond)
2- They listen more than they speak
3- They recycle language relentlessly (re-teaching and re-applying words or phrases within and between classes)
4- They notice patterns instead of isolated errors (that learners make)
5- They trust learners to try first (knowing that learning comes about through effort and errors)
6- They delay explanations (allowing learners to do their crucial cognitive work)
7- They respond to what emerges (from students’ thoughts and expression, not expecting coherent “wholes” in responses)
8- They use fewer materials more deeply (they don’t distract from learning by changing materials artificially)
9- They value learner effort over correctness
10- They let tasks run longer (when they are succeeding in eliciting student interest and learning)
11- They give feedback selectively (correcting only errors that are relevant and timely, or waiting for later to preserve a learning moment)
12- They build routines for noticing (observation may allow insights)
13- They resist rescuing (intervening only when a learner has reached the end of their capacity)
14- They accept mess (learning does not happen tidily or in a linear movement)
15- They intervene with precision (interventions should be brief, direct and unambiguous)
Nobre writes: “Unpredictability is not failure, it’s evidence of thinking in progress.” That is true of lesson plans for teachers and for the learning process of learners.
She observes that while it’s important to consider “pacing” in a class, simply “covering material (strict adherence to a lesson plan) without uptake from learners is just tidy administration.”
Adhering too much to “rigid planning kills responsiveness and responsiveness is where real teaching lives.”
“What matters is what [learners] carry out of the room, not how polished we felt at the front.”
Teachers use “selective feedback” because declining to correct too often “protects fluency and focuses on meaning before form” (because “meaning” is where fluency lies).
“Control feels safe; thinking feels risky. Guess which works?”
Are you an ESL/EFL learner or a teacher? Does Nobre’s list of 15 habits for English language learning make sense to you? Please write in; I’d be delighted to hear from you.
📣CALLING ALL ESL/EFL Teachers and Learners!📣
✴️State of the Field Address: TEFL.org on teaching ESL in 2026✴️
Are you a newbie ESL/EFL teacher, an experienced one, or someone in-between, looking to refine your skillset and/or acquire more engaged students?
Tune in to TEFL.org’s State of the Field Address: What to know about and How to Build Confidence teaching ESL/EFL in 2026:
TEFL.org’s expert ESL/EFL teacher, Carl Cameron-Day, facilitated by seasoned operations manager, Alan Moir, will discuss these topics:
✅How to apply new technologies effectively
✅How to handle changes in students’ expectations
✅How to illumine emerging career pathways
✅How to explore key trends shaping our industry
✅Practical strategies for keeping up with AI, the uncertain world economy and politics
✅Actionable insights to help teachers thrive and feel confident in the year ahead.
💥 Join me on _Thursday (December 11th)_ at _11:00 am (CST)_ (5:00 pm GMT) to hear the State of “TEFL in 2026,” to hone your teaching game.
YT link is below:💥
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And . . .
☑️If you’re an ESL/EFL learner–an economic immigrant or internationally educated, second-language academic–looking to improve your English, to promote your business or to use English professionally, please tune in to this webinar, too!
You’ll learn some of the strategies that I’ll use to help you succeed!
👍 See you there!
ESL,#EFL, teachingenglish,languagelearning, TEFL2026, #ESL2026
TEFLorg