Learning to Overcome Language Barriers

Learning to Overcome Barriers Language

Story by Mary Park | Design & Illustration by Sara Roach

No hablo Español.日本語を話せません. Je ne parle pas français.What do these sentences have in common? They illustrate language barriers; when two or more people are unable to communicate with each other.

When you travel to a country where you don’t know the language, everyday tasks like ordering food or asking for directions can become tough. At least you’ll be back home after a short trip. But what if you had to live and study there for weeks or even years? Current international students and University English as a Second Language (UESL) professors were interviewed to learn about the individual struggles of a diverse population on the CWU campus.

Kotone Iwasaki When Kotone Iwasaki, sophomore Hospitality major, first arrived in September 2019 from Osaka, Japan, she found it difficult to understand any English. “First time when I was [asked] ‘how are you?’ I couldn’t respond, I just [said] yes or no,” Iwasaki says. “I didn’t have confidence to speak.”

Iwasaki recalls that learning English in class and spending time with her new American friends helped her gain confidence in her language skills.

“They speak slowly for me and especially my Campus Friend explains each word, each vocabulary I can’t understand,” Iwasaki explains. “She thinks it’s necessary to explain slang to foreigners so I appreciate her.”

The most difficult part about learning English for Iwasaki is the pronunciation and trying to understand common slang words and expressions like ‘What’s up?’

Despite the language barrier, she says she felt a connection to American students over common interests like food, music and hobbies.

“I think [the] most important thing is to communicate with people, to try to understand … to break language barriers,” Iwasaki explains. “If we can’t speak same language, we can share feelings, emotions with gestures [and] body language.”

Kazuki Mizuno Kazuki Mizuno, a sophomore Sociology major from Japan, says he is learning English because he wants to

learn more about same-sex marriage laws in the U.S. and other Western countries.

“I think a lot of people can speak English so if I can speak English, I can get another perspective [from people] from many countries,” he says.

Mizuno adds that he saw some cultural differences between Japanese and American education systems. “Here, when I take a class, I felt a lot of students said [their opinions] very easily,” he says. “For me, American classes are very free.”

While at CWU, Mizuno says he feels challenged with expressing his own view and has had to change his essay writing style to be more direct. In Japan, Mizuno explains, students don’t share opinions with the teacher or with each other and when they do, they will only make indirect and abstract opinions. Azusa Imanishi Azusa Imanishi, sophomore English Literature major, describes holding a conversation in English as having extra mental work. She would translate what is being said in English into Japanese and then translate her response from Japanese into English.

“You know, [native speakers] speak pretty fast,” Imanishi says. “For me, it’s my second language and I’m not quite used to translating Japanese into English … They go to the next topic while I come up with idea [of what to say].”

Imanishi says she went to club events like Alpha Kappa Psi’s RUSH, a business fraternity social, to learn English and interact with American students. Advice from UESL Instructors Each student has individual pressures and struggles that their instructors can see on a regular basis.

According to Victoria Thomas, an instructor in the UESL program, as ESL students move up to higher level classes, they could go through a crisis of feeling ‘I’m not making progress anymore,’ or ‘I still make mistakes, what’s wrong with me?’

Each instructor is ready to answer these questions based on past experiences with ESL students. “I’ll tell them that they’re making good progress and even if they don’t see it … sometimes the learning is subconscious and they’ll see progress later,” says Thomas.

She adds that ESL students should not feel discouraged for making pauses during conversations. “Native speakers do that too … especially when we’re trying to choose our words carefully, even some native speakers speak more slowly than others.”

Something that ESL students and other language learners might also worry about is mispronouncing words.

Thomas advises native speakers to think about why the person is having trouble with English before judging their pronunciation as odd or frustrating.

“You can speak grammatically correctly and use all the right vocabulary, but if there’s even one pronunciation error, people start to look at you funny,” Thomas says. “Other dialects of English also use weird words, so to speak. For example, if you go to Appalachia or England or Australia, words are going to sound different.”

Students are not the only people on college campuses to face language barriers; even some professors have struggled with similar situations.

Reka Britschgi, a UESL instructor from Hungary, says she faced language barriers when she first arrived in Ellensburg, Washington and says that it’s normal to encounter them when first learning a language.

“In my experience, many [students] expect too much of themselves when they get here,” she says. “So, I tell them just to take a step back and relax.”

To improve your English, Britschgi recommends watching movies and TV shows as well as reading books, preferably something you have already seen in your native language, and getting involved outside of the classroom. “I always tell my students, ‘I don’t give you a lot of homework because you’re not here only to learn English,’” Britschgi says. “‘You could have stayed at home for that. You didn’t have to pay a lot of money to be here.’ I encourage them to go out and participate in college activities, connect with the community, make friends … because that’s why they’re really here.”

Language barriers are a normal situation that many students and professors on the CWU campus have faced. If you are experiencing issues related to pronunciation, understanding and connecting with the culture, it may be a good first step to try and join clubs or programs where students embrace diversity and practice inclusivity. “I think a lot of people can speak English so if I can speak English, I can get another perspective [from people] from many countries.”

OUT WITH WALKING; SNOW SHOE IN WITH I N G

Contributions by Kyle Wilkinson Photos by Zahn Schultz Design by Kayla Craig

The snow has fallen and the temperatures have dropped. The fresh powder and weather shouldn’t prevent you from hitting your favorite trails. Snowshoeing provides people with the possibility to prolong their time outdoors without hitting the slopes.

Pay attention to the forecast before heading into the woods. Although fresh snow is fun to walk in, it can also make it difficult getting home on the return journey.

Fresh powder clings to the dog’s fur after rolling in piles of snow. Man’s best friend just got a few pounds heavier. Does it smell like wet dog to you ?

At the base of the pole are baskets that are a necessity for keeping your balance when hiking in fresh powder. Without them, you’d sink several feet into the snow! Ready for more snow? Check out our snowshoeing video on cwupulsemagazine.com

If you answered mostly As: You survived the night outdoors and someone in Search and Rescue found you the next day. The search party heard your whistle and saw your headlamp in the distance. You stayed warm overnight and suffered only minor dehydration. Surviving the Wilderness Quiz Answers (from page 11):

If you answered mostly Bs: You were found by Search and Rescue two or three days later. You were near the edge of hypothermia when they found you. People began looking for you at the trailhead, but you walked several miles to the east instead of staying where you told people you would be. You were severely dehydrated and very hungry.

If you answered mostly Cs:A hiker stumbled across your remains a couple of months later. You hurt yourself worse trying to stumble out in the dark and tumbled down a ravine. You contracted hypothermia that night and ran out of food and water the next day.