Swimming with Sharks

I've always loved the water, which arguably makes sense for someone born under the sign of Pisces. I also love languages and would recommend anyone to dive in and enjoy - whether the ocean, English, or both.

As a kid, I'd watch Jacques Cousteau explore the deep on TV, and then I'd fill the bathtub and pretend to be a diver. Of course, I'd also scare my mother by staying underwater much longer than she thought safe. I must have been about five or six, and my mom was not amused.

Some fifteen years later, swimming in the Red Sea during a gap year, I had my first open water encounter with sharks. I was snorkelling along merrily when I noticed a shark swimming parallel to me, shadowing me - or so it seemed. It was exciting though unnerving.

duuuunnnn duun… duuunnnnnnnn dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dunnnnnnnnnnn dunnnn

After a few minutes, it proved impossible not to worry about that dark shape shadowing me. Someone had told me not to worry about sharks, but I had seen Jaws and could hear its menacing movie theme in my mind. No matter how I tried to ignore the eerie sensation and enjoy my swim, I just couldn't and soon got out of the water. Thanks, Hollywood, for those dreadful tuba notes.

I had planned on taking a scuba diving course while at the Red Sea. It was the logical next step after my fantasising in bathtubs and pools. But this is what happened: I was running low on funds and got distracted by a pretty girl. So my plans changed, and I put my childhood dream on hold - a decision that I later regretted.

Taking the dive

Years passed until I finally took those diving lessons. It was a dream come true, so one course followed the other, and I even made divemaster. As a diver, I discovered much that I hadn't known when first snorkelling with what I then suspected was a potential man-eater. 

Sharks have a terrible yet undeserved reputation as bloodthirsty monsters. Attacks are rare, and humans are not on the menu unless wounded or mistaken for a seal. You might not be convinced or run to a dive centre right away, but my point is that these magnificent animals aren't at all what Spielberg's Jaws suggested.

A bigger boat?

Three men go after the Great White shark terrorising the New England summer resort of Amity Island: police chief Brody (Roy Schneider), shark hunter Quint (Robert Shaw), and shark expert Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss). Brody has been terrified of water ever since he nearly drowned as a kid. When he first comes eye to eye with the shark, he speaks one of the best-remembered lines of the movie: "You're gonna need a bigger boat."

When faced with misunderstood grammar, teachers and students often show similar reactions. There's a paralysing focus on imagined dangers, irrational fear of the water, and an unfounded demand for bigger and bigger boats. 

I'd argue that English grammar isn't all that dangerous, while nothing boosts understanding like immersion in the language you wish to discover. You'll want to know a thing or two before diving in, but grammar books won't help much, let alone bigger ones.

What you pay attention to

"What you pay attention to grows. If your attention is attracted to negative situations and emotions, then they will grow in your awareness." (Deepak Chopra)

So what happens if you give more and more attention to imagined dangers and insist on getting bigger boats? And conversely, what might happen if irrational fear of the water and big fish no longer drives you? I think you'll get my point here. 

At the end of Jaws, the boat is a wreck, the shark is no more, and Brody and Hooper are in the water. "I used to hate the water," Brody says. To which Hooper replies: "I can't imagine why." 

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grammarCORE: I help English language teachers discover how a radically new approach to grammar will empower them and their students