Sometimes I Regret Teaching English...

I taught "regret" for the 5th time today. Last month, I taught it three times in one day. The first time, I thought it would be a piece of cake. How hard can it be? When you did something you wish you hadn't. Easy, right? Apparently not to Peruvians. While I've had better luck each time, I'm still met with blank stares, although nothing compares to that first time.

The key to teaching a second language is examples, examples, and more examples. You can look a word up in the dictionary, but that doesn't give you context. While teaching regret, I thought I whipped out some solid examples that I thought they'd really relate to. I regret drinking so much last night. I regret dating him. I regret wearing these shoes. I regret buying that dress. I may as well have been talking to the wall. I was tempted to give the example "I regret teaching this lesson right about now." I can't figure out why it's so hard to understand. "Regret" directly translates to "lamentar" in Spanish, which also means "bemoan" or "wail." But do they use it the same way? Do Peruvians live with no regrets? Do they have such a hard time with the concept of regret because they just don't understand that feeling? Wow, what a concept! Can you imagine living life without any regrets, only ever thinking about what's happening, and not what happened? It makes me feel kind of guilty for introducing the concept.