Journals: Ryan johnson

By josh ahrens

  Ryan Johnson was inspired so much by walking through the streets of the jungle country Costa Rica and the overpopulated country of China. Visiting these countries helped Johnson to discover his passion to teach Spanish.

  “When I came back [from China], I switched Spanish from my minor to my major,” Johnson said.

   Johnson spent a good amount of time in China. He went there on a mission trip with his friends and his close cousin. He has known his cousin for awhile and they have been great friends as long as they’ve known each other. Johnson found out a lot of things about his cousin while visiting China.

  “It’s fun to go to a foreign country and become better friends with the people you were already friends with,” Johnson said.

    On the trip he taught English with his cousin at two schools. Both were located in Beijing. One school was for the people that were born and raised in Beijing and one was for the people that were “immigrants” of Beijing.

   “Basically one was for the upper rich class and the other was for everyone else,” Johnson said.

   This experience helped Johnson discover what it’s like to work in a classroom. He found out how to react and respond to students. It showed him what being a teacher is like.

     “In teaching there are a lot of barriers to get around,” Johnson said. “[I ask myself] how am I going to get through to this student or this class? It’s something to think about.”

  The language barrier was tough for Johnson, but it only pushed him to want to learn and teach more. After he left China, foreign languages became a great interest to him. So he went with his class to Costa Rica. This adventure helped him to get a real grasp for the language. The experience and true nature of Spanish opened up to him in Costa Rica. It showed culture and got Johnson to practice use of the language in everyday life. He tries to use what he learned in the two countries in his classes today. The cultures also let him discover his passion to teach.
   
   “I like interacting with students, it’s fun to see them improve and have growing enthusiasm for it.”