English can be Greek to Chinese students
Fiona Chang stared at her food on the table in the Junction, trying to describe her most difficult and reoccurring challenge as a foreign student at Utah State University.
“Although English is your second language, it will always be a monstrosity of a language, always out of reach,” said Chang, a graduate student in accounting who came to Logan last August.
She is not alone.
For most Chinese international students, language was the biggest frustration when they came to America for the first time, not only affecting their interpersonal relationships but also their academic performance. The majority of them are graduate students majoring in business, computer science and engineering.
“For most of them, vernacular language is still a big problem,” said Liu Enzhong, president of USU’s Chinese Scholar and Student Association.
Chang, who is from Taiwan, said she struggles when she must juggle the same accounting terms and phrases in both Chinese and English.
“I know the Chinese terms in my profession,” she said, “but when I am required to express the same thing in English, it is incredibly difficult for me to find suitable words.”
Consequently, Chang chose to listen in class rather than speak or ask questions.
Out of class, she also has difficulty expressing her feelings to friends because of cultural gaps and language barriers.
“I really cannot find the exact words to express my meaning,” said Chang, who chose the American name of Fiona for her first name while studying here – a practice not uncommon among Chinese living or working in the United States.
In China, for instance, people turn to poetry and idioms to express how they feel about something. Everyone studies, knows and understands ancient poems from many different historic dynasties. When Chang attempts to use poetic idioms to express herself, she cannot find anything comparable in English
“For Chinese, it is common sense,” she said of the poetry. “But for Americans, they cannot understand the situation and the depth.”
Chang has also discovered that when she tries to translate words that are universally understood among the Chinese community, there are no such words or concepts in America. For example, one word, which means something akin to a looming battle between a virtuous and evil gang formed to help or harm people.
“When I bring up a common Chinese term, I think it makes sense,” she said. “But here, no matter how I explain, my American friends are absolutely clueless. I am still searching for the solutions to these problems, yet I don’t know what to do.”
Even though there are international conversation programs offered by Office of International Students and Scholars in the Taggart Student Center, Chang is so busy with her studies that she does not have time to attend.
Guo Yan, a doctorate student in sociology from Nanchang in Jiang Xi Province, China, also arrived in America last August.
“The English language is the greatest difficulty in my life,” said Guo, who has opted against using an English first name. “I feel incredible pressure everyday.”
She immediately enrolled in the International Teaching Assistant Program at USU that lasted 10 days. The classes taught the basic skills of how to be a good teacher, how to give a speech and how to communicate well with students. She was required to give a presentation everyday.
Yet in China, teaching styles are different. Instructors give their speeches and lectures while they students silently receive the information. Here, she was surprised to find that both teachers and students put emphasis on mutual communication.
“I’ll do my best, but I am limited by my ability,” she said.
Nevertheless, she said she felt lucky. In her department, she is the only Chinese student, giving her countless opportunities to speak only English.
According to Gou, the best way to learn English is to speak up and ask questions.
“There are no stupid questions here,” she said. “If you ask, people are willing to answer.”
The function of language is to communicate, Gou said, which includes body language, facial expressions and gestures. In China, more emphasis is placed on words, rather than body language.
In addition, most students in China are taught formal, written English. They seldom use spoken English, which can become a serious problem in their daily communication in the United States. Gou said she found out, for instance, that she could not figure out what her American friends were talking about when someone mentioned as simple an item as plastic wrap.
“One thing that Americans have is a vast vocabulary of words describing the innate details of everyday life,” Guo said. “We cannot always match what we know in Chinese.”
When students get sick, they often are at a loss for words, unable to describe the specific terms and symptoms.
“I feel really helpless when I cannot express myself to the doctor,” said Kwok Lek Hang, a junior from Hong Kong majoring in management of human resources.
Kwok recalled that when his feet hurt in February after playing soccer, he went to see a doctor. He felt lost even when the doctor showed him a picture of a foot because he did not know the English terms. The doctor brought in a translator.
“What I felt and speaking it out were totally different,” he said. “I felt really embarrassed.”
Now he studies five new English words every day.
Ng Ho Pun, also from Hong Kong, has his own plan to overcome language difficulties.
“Before I speak out, I need to think twice in my mind,” said Ng, a freshman majoring in computer science. “When people speak 10 sentences, I can only speak one.”
Ng said he has made at least 10 American friends who constantly speak English to him. He hopes to make as many as 30 such buddies.
“Basic communication is no problem for me,” he said. “But when it comes to idioms and slang, I’m like a duck out of water.”
To improve, he has downloaded frequently-spoken idioms and slang.
“I am in America where the medium is English,” he said. “I have to speak the same language in this society. I don’t want myself be a mute and deaf. I am a social creature.”
-waimuimou@cc.usu.edu