Amy’s Story

Amy Gramlich – English as a Second Language Educator

I’m so happy you stopped by On the Job English today! I am Amy Gramlich – a wife, mom, public school second languages educator, and content creator.

A bit about me…I grew up in a bilingual home, with a mom from Central America (Panama) and a dad from Arkansas in the United States. I grew up “speaking” two English and Spanish. However, English is definitely my stronger language. To this day, I am still working to improve my Spanish.

During the day, I am a junior high school ESL instructional facilitator and ESL teacher. I am fortunate to work with students and families from all over the world! Nearly every day, I learn something new about language and culture from my students. It is a fascinating job for me! In fact, I was recently honored to be named the Bryant School District Teacher of the Year – specifically for the work I have done with English learners.

I have owned and managed my own websites for over a decade now. My original website, Planted in Arkansas, is a lifestyle site. And my second website is called Arkansas Girls, a joint mommy-and-me website with my two young daughters. It is also a lifestyle site. On the Job English is my third website, and it is focused on language and bilingual job skills.

I LOVE all things travel, culture, style, food, and language. Years ago, I was fortunate enough to be selected for a Fulbright-Hayes Grant to travel with a group of teachers to Russia to study and observe the culture of Russia and learn about the educational system of Russia. The following year, I did the same with China – on a University of Arkansas at Little Rock BCAP Program grant. Both of these trips were life changing – not only for realizing the true desire and motivation people around the world have for learning English but also for the cultural understanding.

I Was the Kid Who Lived Between Two Worlds

I grew up in a bilingual, bicultural home — half Panamanian, half American — moving between Spanish and English the way most people move between rooms. But there was always an obvious gap between what I can do it English and what I can do in Spanish. I was not exactly a “no sabo kid”, but I was close. Growing up, my mom would speak to me in Spanish, and much of the time I would respond in English.

My Spanish world was real. It was home. It was family, food, and music. But my Spanish was very basic and full of errors. It was casual “around the house” type of language.

Feeling Inadequate in My Second Language

Therefore, when I entered professional spaces — academic environments, formal settings — I felt the gap. The words I grew up with were not the words those situations required. I needed an entirely different vocabulary when I began my job as a multilingual educator. A different kind of Spanish. A different kind of fluency. It was all very niche academic terminology (school teacher talk) which is not what I grew up with.

So was I qualified to teach an introductory Spanish class without a full fluency of the language? Yes, I think so. The introductory Spanish class was easy for me to teach because it was emerging Spanish thematic vocabulary – color words, numbers, days of the week, etc. I comfortably knew all the Spanish language I needed to successfully teach that lower-level Spanish class. I had the language I needed to do the job I had. And my students loved my class!

But in the ESL part of my job, I was frequently thrown into real-life native Spanish conversations that required a higher level of Spanish. Slowly, I began to learn the niche vocabulary I needed to do my job with ESL students and parents. Today, I’m still learning new Spanish words and phrases that help me with my work. My ESL students still correct my Spanish sometimes during side conversations. Yes, it’s embarrassing but it’s also a natural part of language growth.

To be clear, an ESL teacher does not have to speak a second language to perform the job. However, Spanish is part of my heritage, and I enjoy the connection of sharing both languages to bond with my students – outside of the English lessons.

I Know How It Feels to Need to Improve Second Language for a Job

I know what it feels like to know exactly what you want to say — and not be able to find the words to say it.

This lifelong “struggling with the language” experience has become the lens through which I taught for 20+ years as a public school ESL teacher — and it is the reason I built OnTheJobEnglish.com. I want to help other adults who are struggling with the specialized English vocabulary they need for their jobs.

Years ago, I earned a Master of Arts in Second Language Acquisition and Pedagogy because I wanted to understand not just what to teach — but how people actually learn a new language. The science behind it. The sequence that works. The difference between studying a language and acquiring one. That knowledge supports everything I create here for you on this website.

At On the Job English, I hope to inspire you to learn the English that matters for you and your specific work. I want to help you build the confidence you need to perform your job well – focusing on the exact English you need to succeed.