English as a Second Language

English as a Second Language

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Director: Gail Mancuso — Writer: Tim Hobert — Aired: May 13, 2010 —Season: One — Number: Twenty-Four Summary: Señor Chang is fired right before the Spanish finals; Troy discovers a hidden talent.

Plot

If the dean finds out that I'm not a real teacher, your grades are invalid, and you'll all have to repeat this class.

— Ben Chang to Jeff Winger

The group arrives in the study room just as the Dean makes the usual morning announcements. Annie lays out the study plan in detail for the upcoming Spanish finals. When she mentions the group taking Spanish 3 next year, Jeff corrects her. He doesn't really have to take any more language courses once he passes Spanish 2. Annie makes an impassioned plea to the rest of the study group to continue taking the course. She admits that she likes the group and would hate for it to break up. The rest of the group agrees until they find out that the Spanish 3 class starts early in the morning at 6:00 AM. Later in Spanish class, Annie tries to find another class for the group to take together. She proposes Anthropology to the rest of the group.

You be the cool guy, Jeff. And next fall, when that gets lonely, I'll be in the front row of Spanish 103. ...Monday through Friday, 6:00 AM!" ... ... ... P.A. system: "And now, crickets!"

Jeff mentions his strict four year plan to replace his bachelor's degree which doesn't leave a lot of time for additional classes in his schedule. Señor Chang arrives and asks to speak to Jeff alone. He makes the class leave in a hurry and asks Jeff about his fake law degree. Jeff correctly assumes that he needs a fake degree himself, and Chang admits he conned his way into his teaching position. He threatens Jeff to keep quiet by telling him that if the Dean were to find out, the class' grades would be invalid, and everyone would flunk. Unknown to both of them, Annie's digital recorder was on; she left it behind when Chang asked the class to leave.

The world wasn't ready for an Asian keytarist.

Elsewhere, Troy is walking down the hallways and stops to get a drink from the water fountain. He sees that it's broken and uses a nearby wrench to try to fix it. Two custodians appear which causes Troy to run off. They are both shocked to see that he managed to fix the water fountain. Meanwhile in the library, Annie is listening to playbacks on her recording device, and she hears the conversation Jeff and Chang had. The next day, Dean Pelton shows up in Spanish class and announces that Chang has been fired. He says that an anonymous person alerted him to Chang's lack of qualifications before introducing the replacement Spanish teacher Doctor Escodera. As she speaks to the class in Spanish it is immediately apparent that Chang's instruction, like his qualifications, was wholly insufficient.

Troy discovers his plumbing skills.

The class learns from Escodera that their final will cover everything in the Spanish text book. Troy, Abed, and Jeff are walking back from Spanish class, discussing the new teacher as well as how hopeless it seems that they will pass the Spanish final now. They hear a car alarm go off, and Abed tells Jeff that it's probably his Lexus. Jeff runs to the parking lot and sees Chang trashing his car with a keytar. He blames Jeff for ratting him out and getting him fired which Jeff strongly denies. They struggle on top of his Lexus over the keytar until two campus security guards show up and taze them both. Elsewhere, Troy goes to the restroom and sees that a sink is broken. Needing to wash his hands he uses a nearby wrench and he easily fixes it.

Chang changs up Jeff's Lexus.

Jerry, hiding in one of the bathroom stalls, reveals himself and compliments Troy on his plumbing abilities. He admits to having setting up the situation as a test to see if Troy really did have a talent for the job. He then offers Troy a business card to a plumbing company. Jerry tells him not to waste his time on the abstract like learning and instead focus on something real like fixing toilets and sinks. Troy insists that he wants to be a student and doesn't care about plumbing before running out. Later in the study room, the group tries hard to prepare for the Spanish finals. Frustrated, Jeff is ready to give up saying it's unlikely that they'll pass, which most of the study group seems to agree with. Jeff becomes suspicious when Annie's reaction isn't as downbeat and resigned as the others. He then realizes it was Annie who ratted out Chang.

Jerry admits to setting up a sting to test Troy's skills.

Jeff starts to cross examines her and gets her to confess as the rest of the study group looks on. When she attempts to manipulate the group by crying Jeff warns the others not to fall for it. Annie explains she was worried they would drift apart like her rehab group did. Jeff angrily berates her for her selfish actions causing her to tearfully run out of the study room. He and the rest of the study group continue to study without her late into the night and fall asleep in the study room. When they wake up in the morning, Jeff tells them all to keep their focus on the exam and forget about Annie. As they all go their separate ways, Abed talks to Troy about what happened with Jerry. He overheard their conversation in the restroom and suggests Troy accept the janitors offer. He confuses Troy by saying his greatest wish is to never see him in class again.

"Now she is going to make the Disney face."

A few hours later, the study group is about to take the finals. Troy is upset with Abed having misunderstood his advice to him earlier. Abed then explains he was just doing an homage to the film "Good Will Hunting". Jeff finds out from Shirley that Annie has gone to apologize to Chang. Fearing the worst, he and the study group leave before taking the test and go to Chang's office to "rescue" her. It turns out she's fine and has offered to help Chang enrol in Greendale, so he can earn a legitimate teaching degree. They all go back to take the Spanish finals and find that it wasn't as hard as they thought it would be. Believing they just might pass, Jeff thinks they should all decide on a course to take next semester as a group. He puts forth Annie's suggestion of Anthropology to which the rest of the study group eagerly agrees.

Jeff suggests that they take Anthropology next year.

End tag

Abed reads off the scores of the exam posted outside the Spanish classroom. He slowly reveals that each study group member passed the Spanish finals. They all celebrate but Annie is a bit skeptical of their good fortune believing that the test Was not that hard. After they leave, Pierce stops Doctor Escodera in the hallways and thanks her for making the test easy and it's revealed he slept with her the night before the exam.

The suspense is killing them.

Recurring themes

Continuity

Continuity lists

Narrative Recurring or debuting plot points in this episode: Middle Eastern Magic 8 Ball: When Annie says she records every class, Pierce says "Spoiler Alert!", foreshadowing the recorder becoming Chang's undoing. Mad skillz: This episode shows Troy's plumbing skills for the first time. In the Season 2 finale "For A Few Paintballs More", he uses his abilities to help in the paintball war versus City College. In Season 3, his abilities becomes a major plot point. History lesson: Annie explains to the group how she and her rehab group drifted apart and never saw each other again. We later briefly see her rehab group in the Season Four episode "Heroic Origins". A nice gesture: Abed does his fist pump when he thinks Troy has gone off to become a plumber; he does it again when he finds out he passed the finals in the episode's end tag. Express tuition aisle: Chang, the group's Spanish teacher, is revealed to be an unqualified fraud. Discontinuity: Jeff states in this episode that he is on a tight four year schedule to replace his Bachelors degree, as he had made it clear in "Pilot" that he needed a Bachelors to get his law license back. However, in "Advanced Introduction to Finality" he graduates from Greendale with an Associates Degree in Education, with the requirement now being that he needed any degree from any post-secondary institution in order to resume his work as a lawyer. Annie almost manages to charm Abed with her "Disney face". Later episodes would establish Abed as being face blind. Catchphrase: Shirley says "You go girl." to herself. People Recurring or debuting characters in this episode: Familiar faces: Troy and Abed look-a-likes security guard counterparts from "Football, Feminism and You" return in this episode to taze Chang and Jeff. First appearance: Jerry the Janitor makes his debut in this episode. Places Recurring or debuting places in this episode: This must be the place: Group Study Room F Spanish classroom The parking lot Señor Chang's office makes its last appearance. Things Recurring or debuting items in this episode: A sweet ride: Jeff's Lexus is damaged by Chang. It appears in the following episode "Pascal's Triangle Revisited" still chang'd up. School supplies: The Spanish textbook Dos Mundos is featured prominently in this episode. The necklace Annie got from a member of her rehab group is seen again in the Season Three episode "Contemporary Impressionists" worn by Ben Chang as part of his security guard uniform. School uniform: Annie mentions to Jeff that she dressed a particular way because she was going for more of a "professor thing". This is a reference to Professor Slater and is a hint that there is some lingering feelings from the kiss she shared with Jeff in "Debate 109".

Running gags

List of Running gags

Recurring or debuting running gags in this episode: Attention students!: Dean Pelton makes the announcements using the "soothing sounds of nature". Bueller? Bueller? Bueller?: Annie asks the rest of the group if they want to take Anthropology 101 next year by repeating the word "Anthropology" four times while pointing at them. Jeff, at the end of the episode, does the same five times, immediately followed by Abed and Britta exchanging it with each other thrice. Disney face: Jeff calls out Annie for using her "Disney Face" to manipulate the group. PCness: Dean Pelton mentions that he didn't ask Chang to prove his Spanish teaching credentials for fear of appearing racist.

Pop culture references

List of Pop culture references

References to popular culture in this episode: IMDb: Apparently, Britta is the only study group member who disliked the sci-fi blockbuster Avatar. Jeff convinces Abed to look away from Annie by calling her The Ark of the Covenant from Raiders of the Lost Ark. Shout out: Jeff tells the study group to imagine Annie as character actor Paul Giamatti. TV Guide: The gritty urban drama The Wire is mentioned by Troy; apparently, he finds it hard to understand. Actor Michael Kenneth Williams, who portrayed Omar Little on The Wire, joined Community's third season to portray Professor Marshall Kane.

Meta references

List of Meta references

Meta references in this episode: Everyone's a critic: When Jeff sees Chang destroying his car, he asks him about the safety goggles he is wearing to which Chang replies "safety first." This is an indirect reference to criticisms of the paintball episode which had the characters not wearing safety goggles; in paintball competitions, it's a requirement. Parody: The episode contains a Good Will Hunting parody with Troy's plumbing storyline that also directly references the movie itself. In the DVD commentaries, Dan Harmon makes his dislike for the movie known. Shirley's comments about the film in the episode can be seen as his own opinion about the movie. The equation shown on the blackboard before Troy fixes the water fountain, is taken from the movie. Résumé: Pierce says "Tierra Del Fuego" in response to Dr. Escodera's question to the Spanish class. This is a meta reference to Chevy Chase's 1985 film "Fletch". Chase played the lead role in the movie who had a habit of using a similar phrase in response to Spanish words. Up against the wall: Jeff's "unmovable appointment" on "May 23rd 2013" is a reference to a possible date when Community's fourth season finale could have aired. As each year of the show represents a school year, the fourth season was to be when he graduated from Greendale. This was referenced in this episode when Jeff stated he had a four-year plan to graduate. However, the predicted air date did not occur. This was due to an abbreviated Season Four which only had thirteen episodes and the premiere being moved from October 19, 2012 to February 7, 2013. The actual air date for the Season Four finale which had Jeff's graduation from Greendale was on May 9, 2013.

Trivia

• Jeff and Abed identify Jeff's Lexus as a 2002 model. The Lexus in question is a second generation IS which began production in 2005.

Quotes

“Someone make her a dude, so I can punch her.”— Troy

“Now she is going to make the Disney face. Her lip is gonna quiver, and her eyes will flutter, but they won't ever actually close, BUT DO NOT feel sorry for her. She stole a year of our lives, and we're right to be pissed.”— Jeff

“The only thing that makes sense is this (points at his head). Learning...thoughts...so I can think and get a student loan and grind my own coffee and understand HBO.”— Troy

“If anyone asks, I sent you outside to learn things.”— Chang

Season One Episodes
1. "Pilot" 2. "Spanish 101" 3. "Introduction to Film" 4. "Social Psychology" 5. "Advanced Criminal Law" 6. "Football, Feminism and You" 7. "Introduction to Statistics" 8. "Home Economics" 9. "Debate 109" 10. "Environmental Science" 11. "The Politics of Human Sexuality" 12. "Comparative Religion" 13. "Investigative Journalism"	14. "Interpretive Dance" 15. "Romantic Expressionism" 16. "Communication Studies" 17. "Physical Education" 18. "Basic Genealogy" 19. "Beginner Pottery" 20. "The Science of Illusion" 21. "Contemporary American Poultry" 22. "The Art of Discourse" 23. "Modern Warfare" 24. "English as a Second Language" 25. "Pascal's Triangle Revisited"
Season One • Season Two • Season Three • Season Four • Season Five • Season Six