I have heard “Wow, you’re really good at English” and “You’re really different from other Asians” throughout my life and to me these comments were always flattering. I never thought of it as an insult or micro aggression because it meant that the person thought my second language to be on par with people who have English as their first language.
Also, I found it strange that the Asian student felt micro-aggressed (is this a term?) when the teacher marked the student’s essay more lenient. This too would be something I am thankful for because it means the teacher knows my situation and is empathetic towards what I am going through. Furthermore, we learn many different strategies to cater toward ELLs in our classes such as LLED. Shouldn’t those count as micro-aggressions too then?
