Shining My Light on Bilingualism and Fulbright

When it comes to the level of importance attached to learning English in Japan, it is not that high as a lot of companies use Japanese. But despite that being able to speak English would be «a strong point» for a job candidate as not so many Japanese people speak English well. But even without speaking it much one can work «normally».

Now that Masumi has been in the U.S. for a month, she has had more opportunities to use English as she is studying at Baruch College in NYC. Back in Japan whenever these limited opportunities to speak English occurred, Masumi used to be afraid to speak for fear of making mistakes. Being a foreigner here, she knows it’s ok for her to say something wrong.

Actually Masumi feels more confident speaking English compared to her native Japanese as in her first language she feels she cares about other people too much. As she says, in English she can be «selfish in a good way».

During this first month in the U.S. she has faced quite a lot of misunderstandings caused by her «mishearing» what people are saying. She is perfectly aware of answering some «weird» things when asked a question, but she has learned not to mind that too much.

Masumi is still too young for making a solid career choice, but she would love to use English in her future job. So, she might pursue translating or anything with «a connection to languages».

Currently she is learning Chinese, which she considers a quite important language to learn these days. On the surface, Chinese looks like Japanese, but grammar and vocabulary are totally different. Some parts of written «symbols» are a bit different, which makes it particularly confusing. At this point Masumi isn’t feeling confident enough to use any Chinese, but becoming a «good user» is part of her plan.

She believes that the most important thing in mastering a language is to actually use it. As for her own example, she feels that

her English is «showing some kind of improvement» as she uses it daily. Besides, the fact that there aren’t many Japanese people in NYC helps quite a lot.

∞ Not only was the ocean landscape against which we were sitting and talking soothing, but also so was Masumi’s manner of speaking. She seemed reserved yet totally relaxed speaking with me. What she said about rigorous language instruction back in Japan might be in line with what we believe an Asian education system to be – with a strong focus on achievement and discipline. That might in a way explain why people in Asia tend to generally feel uptight about using English for the same reason Masumi did – for fear of making mistakes… Some causes of certain linguistic barriers run so much deeper than a wrong teaching methodology indeed…

Unfortunately, we never crossed paths with Masumi again, but I would go back here to this exact spot in Coney Island quite a few times during the fall to contemplate these and many other things we talked about while enjoying my burger from Nathan’s. Even as a linguist, you sometimes feel like paying no attention to what languages are being spoken around you, but just want to listen to the sounds of the ocean waves instead…

A level-headed bilingual full of determination to succeed (Sharifullah, Afghanistan)

Languages spoken: Dari, Pashto, Urdu, English, French.

Field of study/career: Public Health (Montclair State University).

After over a month in the U.S. I became more proactive about meeting people «locally», i.e., at my host university as physical proximity facilitates longer and more sustainable connections. I met a fellow Fulbrighter Sharif from Afghanistan at an event for international students and scholars at Montclair State.

When we think about Afghanistan, news reports of never-ending war conflicts come up in our minds. But no journalistic report (even the most well-balanced one) or an in-depth research article would replace actual interactions with individuals who have had to witness and/or suffer the consequences of these atrocities committed in their home country.

It was a unique opportunity to do that while getting to know Sharif who seemed longing for company and open for new connections. For this interview we sat down on a lawn in the university campus. Despite 5 years of being a university teacher, I felt we were just students catching up in between classes having profound conversations – that was the way I had been imagining university life to be…

For Sharif learning English was a «long and steady process». He got his elementary education in Pakistan where it is the second language of instruction. Despite limited opportunities to speak, there was a lot of reading and writing practice in English.

Initially, it was somewhat difficult and even teachers themselves weren’t so good at grammar nuances. Whenever a student asked a question, the teacher switched to Urdu for giving explanations. At least a lot of opportunities to practise writing were provided. In senior classes Sharif took control of his language learning and improved his English dramatically by reading extensively outside the school curriculum and watching films.

As Sharif started building his career in Nutrition and Food Science, he found himself increasingly having to interact (send emails, make phone calls) with colleagues he shared no other language rather than English. Besides, as part of his job duties, he had to stay on top of the latest research in his field which is published in English and only considerably later might be translated into other languages.

In Afghanistan English isn’t taught until Grade 5 and 6. There are two national languages – Dari and Pashto – which everyone learns at school. According to Sharif, that might explain why English isn’t introduced earlier to avoid the pressure of teaching three languages at a time.

Unless a student in Afghanistan isn’t ready to take control of his own language learning outcomes the way Sharif did, there are some extra courses they can enroll in which are taught completely in English. That would certainly require extra time and commitment.

Dari and Pashto are both equally important in the country, but that has not prevented English from gaining increasing popularity. For example, as Sharif feels, around 30 percent of the population have some level of proficiency compared to probably one third of this number decades back. Despite the colonial past, Afghans seem to have become more «liberal» about speaking a foreign language which can now be commonly heard in social meetings. The nation’s natural resilience helps to embrace changes and do their best to incorporate the world’s «primary» language into their day-to-day lives.

Even after having worked on a few international projects and some overseas experiences, Sharif still feels his reading, writing and listening are above his speaking. He has only spent a month in the U.S., but is hoping to perfect his skills during the next 2 years he is going to spend here on his Master program.

Sharif expects English to play an even bigger role in his professional life as his is «a new emerging» field and being able to develop it in his home country will involve continuous interactions with international funds and organizations.

Sharif believes his identity certainly transforms as he switches between languages. Unlike when speaking Dari and Pashto, English and Urdu require some extra time to make up his mind on how to speak, how to react causing him to feel «caught up».

Sharif is sure his little son will grow to be multilingual as there is definitely going to be more need for that in the future. But at the end of the day, the number of languages one speaks isn’t that important.

∞ Humble but very articulate, Sharif seemed quite optimistic about the future of his country back then. We would occasionally catch up with him on campus over coffee «to put the world to rights». He actually became one of the backbones of our Montclair Fulbright group, a «community of practice» we, MSU Fulbrighters, created at our host university to stay connected. Sharif had a consistent and comprehensive approach to arranging group meetups. It seems like this «businesslike» approach to language learning has borne fruit for him. It was also so much pleasure to be able to stay in touch and have insightful discussions online after I left the U.S. a year following the interview.

«Routine» news stories become personal when you know a soul from the place where a report is being made from. I have certainly felt more involved watching reports coming from Afghanistan ever since I met fellow Fulbrighters from there.

Despite new challenges posed by more political turmoil that followed, Sharif went on to have an international career in a few more English-speaking countries.

A European’s experience with English (Milena, Austria)

Languages spoken: German, English, Slovene, Chinese.

Field of study/career: Molecular Biology.

I met Milena from Austria in one of the weekly events at my university called «Connecting Through Cultures». She was one of the very first Europeans I ran into here in Montclair. Having been to quite a few places in Europe, I still held onto this collective image of it despite being perfectly aware of how different the countries making up the EU are (linguistically, culturally and somewhat politically).

Due to geographic and historic reasons, as Russians we might have conflicting views of Europe and the West overall. In the mid-19th century two opposite groups – the Slavophiles (those believing in Russia having its own way and not follow the West) and the Westernizers (emphasizing Russia’s inferiority and the need for it to adopt the Western standards) emerged in the Russian Empire. Probably, up to this day, the Russian society is divided over how they feel about Europe in particular. I personally imagined that Europeans would have access to more educational (including language learning) opportunities compared to Russians.

So, Milena and I sat down to have a slow pensive chat on campus on a bench offering a blurred distant view of the Manhattan skyline.

In Austria it is mandatory to learn English from the 4^th Grade. Milena doesn’t feel there was too much focus on grammar. Even though her native language and English are of the same language family, pronunciation is completely different, so that was a bit of a challenge. Grammar wasn’t that difficult, though, compared to that of German.

English is pretty popular all over Europe as it is the language for connecting with people from all across the world. Based on Milena’s experience, everywhere she has been inside the EU all young people were fluent in English. Older generations might not be so open and the main reason for that might be that it is easier to learn a foreign language while you are young.

Milena went to Great Britain for a week with her school where she got to speak English continuously for the first time. That brief trip helped to «get into the language». Of course, living in Europe makes it easier to get around and mostly it is the regular use of social media and watching English movies that facilitates language learning for young Europeans. That is why speaking it is «not much of a big deal» in the EU where it feels «almost like the second language».

When it comes to German, Milena’s first language, the way it is spoken in Austria is different. Basically even though it is the same language, dialects are different and so are some words and even sayings that Milena hadn’t realized weren’t used in Germany till she had Germans misunderstand her. In a way German brings two nations together, but obviously Austria doesn’t want to merge with its bigger neighbor. «We are still a nice country», says Milena.

Milena has faced no issues after around 1.5 months here in the U.S. If she misses her native language, there are some Austrians on campus to talk to. Here she feels it is «not a big deal to be from somewhere else» so having an accent or making occasional mistakes isn’t a problem.

If Milena chooses to pursue a career in research, she will have to use English to get published as it is the language of science and networking. It is still possible to publish in German, but it is obvious it doesn’t have such «a big audience».

Back at school Milena did some Slovene as this country is really close by, but sadly, she can’t «actively speak».

Here at Montclair she started taking Chinese, which she mainly sees «just as a chance to learn a new langauge», which is «big» at the moment. Learning tones and characters is different but has been «fun».

Finally, Milena believes English is enough to get by in the multilingual Europe, but of course learning a country’s national language is essential if you want to «feel more like you belong».

∞ As someone who had been considering looking for opportunities to continue my research in Europe after my Fulbright program, I was particularly interested in the European perspective on bilingualism. As I had expected, a lot of things that in my home country were somewhat inconceivable were «not a big deal» there.

I also did German as my second foreign language at university, so hearing a German-speaking person’s experience of sharing this language with the bigger country was interesting. At some point I felt tempted to practise my now rusty German with Milena, but honestly speaking, my level wouldn’t have allowed me to have a conversation of much depth. But I did muster the courage to give it a go when Milena’s Mum came to visit a bit later.

I spent the entire trip from Montclair to NYC (around 40 minutes) speaking German with an Austrian and was able to understand about 70% of what was being said. No wonder I never regretted stepping out of my linguistic comfort zone like that!

Later on we got to travel with Milena in the U.S. and even a few years later as well…

Inspired by a teacher (Geetanjali, India)

Languages spoken: Hindi, English, German.

Field of study/career: Biochemical Engineering.

We met up with Geetanjali, a fellow Fulbrighter from India, in Philadelphia, a member of the so-called Miami group – a bigger «community of practice» – that brought together the fellow Fulbrighters from our first days in the U.S. at Gateway Orientation. Me, a fellow Russian Fulbrighter as well as Milena from Austria went on a day trip to the neighboring state of Pennsylvania. After a substantial meal of a Philly cheesesteak we sat right in front of the Independence Hall where the U.S. Constitution was adopted. It was overwhelming to be in a place where American history was made.

I was excited to talk from one more person from India and get to compare two perspectives from the same country so early on in my project.

Geetanjali comes from New Delhi (North of India) where she studied at an English-medium school. Initially she didn’t really enjoy English much despite not having many difficulties. She can only remember having some with speaking. It wasn’t until her middle-school English teacher encouraged the students to use English exclusively during classes. This specific teacher really made a huge difference as in day-to-day life no one encouraged Geetanjali to speak English. Afterwards it became «fun».

As she progressed to more senior classes, Geetanjali felt the need for English. Her Dad was in military forces so they moved across the country quite often. India has so many languages and sometimes English is the only language that can be used between Indians coming from different states. For example, in the South people don’t know Hindi, which is Geetanjali’s mother tongue.

According to Geetanjali, there is no use denying how «everything is getting globalized», so English is the number-one language for people moving around the world. At this point she doesn’t consider her English to be perfect and feels it is still in need of some improvement. Here in the U.S. in between doing her research in Biochemical Engineering she is doing her best to make friends through Fulbright. It feels a lot easier to be using English here than in the UK (particularly Scotland) where Geetanjali had a tough time understanding people. That might have been due to more exposure to American English through Hollywood films.

Using English, Geetanjali does feel different. Hindi is something she has known since birth, but in English she has to «frame sentences» before speaking and there is «some thought process going on».

As she is determined to continue her postdoctoral research in an English-speaking country, speaking is the skill she is trying hard to improve.

Geetanjali believes that making friends from other countries by taking part in social events is key to mastering English as you would be put in a situation where you have no other shared language.

As for other languages, Geetanjali might consider continuing learning German on her own after previously taking an introductory course.

∞ Overall, Geetanjali’s experiences are similar to those of her compatriot Apoorva, my first interviewee. It is fascinating how no matter which part of the «circle» one happens to live in, the language learning difficulties they face are basically of the same nature. Even in the countries where speaking opportunities can be less limited than in others, it can still be down to an individual teacher to make the world of difference.

Geetanjali must have worked really hard towards improving her skills as she was able to continue her research in another English-speaking country after her Fulbright year.

A multilingual and multicultural future psycholinguist

(Jonathan, Malaysia)

Languages spoken: English, Malay, Cantonese.

Field of study/career: Psychology.

It was such a pleasure to meet such a young and open-minded person as Jonathan from Malaysia at another meeting of «Connecting Through Cultures». I considered him a colleague as he was here in the U.S. to study Psycholinguistics at Montclair State for one semester. For such projects you always wonder whether specialists in your field are actually better participants as they would be able to illuminate a lot of issues we hope our interview questions are designed to tap into. On the other hand, there might be some caveats as being too conscious and aware of the topic is likely to make their answers more controlled. Anyway, I was happy to sit down on the familiar lawn of our campus to talk with Jonathan and hear his insights into bilingualism in his multilingual native Malaysia.

Jonathan (which is an English version of his name) considers English to be his dominant language which he grew up speaking with everyone in the family except his grandparents. He picked up Cantonese in the family environment as well.

While being at elementary school he picked up an English book and ended up developing love for reading. By the age of 12 he would read 2–3 books a week. That, paired with his passion for creative writing, must have helped him a lot to make English indispensable to his existence.

English is seen as a prestigious language in Malaysia, which fact is emphasized at schools where three languages are used: Malay (the national language), Mandarin (in Chinese schools), Hindi and Tamil (in Indian schools).

When it comes to English grammar, Jonathan had no difficulties with it due to extensive reading. He says, «I just know, but I can’t teach it. The rules simply grew on me».

In Malaysian households it is common to casually use the so-called «Manglish», which is a «jumble» of English, Malay, Cantonese and sometimes Tamil.

English is mandatory for everyone to learn. Mandarin and Tamil are optional. Some of Jonathan’s Chinese friends go to Indian schools and Indians go to Chinese ones, which makes Malaysia a sort of a «cultural pan». In this multicultural and multiracial environment there is no stigmatization of accents. Nevertheless being «weak» in English is generally seen as unprofessional. Some people speak broken English and direct translate phrases from their native tongues, which makes people talking to them «reframe their mind» in order to be able to understand whatever they are saying.

Jonathan’s interest in Psycholinguistics originated while he was working at a Learning Disability Centre. His research thesis is on how bilingualism affects cognitive abilities in individuals. During his semester here in the U.S. he is continuing this project which is only theoretical at this point as there is no time to get a special permission to conduct any experiments involving «human subjects» here in the U.S. One of the hypothesis in Jonathan’s work is that individuals who are fluent in 2 or 3 languages would have «lesser reaction times». Jonathan mentions the Stroop Test which has been widely used in experimental psychology since the 1930s after it had been introduced by an American psychologist as well as for studying the effects of bilingualism. Another question Jonathan is struggling with is at what point one considers themselves proficient: is being able to hold a conversation enough or does it have to be of a certain complexity and length?

Switching between his languages, Jonathan is mostly affected by how different they are in terms of showing respect. For example, English doesn’t have a hierarchy of respect, but when used in Malaysia, it does sound different. So, if I came to Malaysia, Jonathan as someone younger would address me as «Aunt Olga» to show extra respect. In Cantonese there are even more nuanced forms for that. E.g., the form «the first Aunt» would be used to show even more respect and reverance.

When it comes to his linguistic experiences here in the U.S., Jonathan is amazed by how unique the language they use here is. It has quite a few «hipster» terms such as the word «lit» to describe something super good. But overall, accommodating to new terms has been a fun experience.

For those wanting to step up their language game, Jonathan thinks it is important to find a person you can discuss how English is used in a certain community so that you can «connect and stick with them». Preferrably it has to be a native speaker so that accommodation to the culture goes more smoothly. Finally, Jonathan believes language is a relative thing. So, here in NJ it would be different from Texas and vice versa. As long as you find a local to help you through the process, you will be fine.

∞ Having heard Jonathan’s story, I was in no way surprised he chose bilingualism as his research object. There was no way for me to even imagine growing up in such a multilingualism environment. I believe researchers like Jonathan and myself (with similar interests but different backgrounds) enrich the field. What I could totally relate to was dealing with the ethical issues of doing research in the U.S. American universities have IRBs (Institutional Review Boards) that are tasked with reviewing and monitoring research involving human subjects. This inspection takes a while. I had to go through it for this project as well.

Despite some age difference, Jonathan and I were able to connect and stayed in touch even after he had left the U.S. He was able to pursue a PhD program and further his fascinating research. I was really moved by his sincerity in sharing some of issues faced on his journey via social media.

A Latin American with an American accent

(Pedro, Paraguay)

Languages spoken: Spanish, English, Portuguese.

Field of study/career: Hospitality Management.

The first time I met Pedro (a friend of Jonathan’s, the previous interviewee), I thought he was American. It was not only his perfect American accent, but there was something about the way he used body language – I can’t even put that into words – that made me think like that. Once I found out Pedro was actually from Paraguay and was here in the U.S. on the Global UGRAD program to study Hotel Management and Hospitality,

I was really surprised.

As we talked more with Pedro – particularly during our weekend trip with a bunch of other internationals to see the fall colors («fall foliage») of Upstate New York along with the Niagara Falls – I found out he was my colleague teaching English back in his home country. For some reason I used to have a collective image of Latin America, so starting meeting more and more people from this region here in the U.S. helped me find out more about the linguistic profiles of the countries making it up.

Pedro learned English on his own by listening to a bunch of songs and recording himself repeating the lyrics to improve his pronunciation. At that point it was nothing more than «a fun game». After that he started translating some comic books, poetry and video games. Pedro was amazed by how much stuff he was able to access in English. Then the Internet «blew off» in his country and this was when virtually everything one needed for studies was to be found on YouTube and it was actually better explained in English than in Spanish.

Normally at schools only basics are taught and there is no speaking practice whatsoever. But there is a big institution in Paraguya called CCPA (Centro Cultural Paraguayo Americano) where immersive language courses where students are thrown into the environment are offered. Everything is in English and for those at lower levels visual cues are provided. There is also an institution called Elevate English (that Pedro is working for back home) where the focus of the instruction is the pronunciation. This was the method that Pedro used to employ in his own language learning and is now embracing as a teacher. He believes that the way one sounds is something that can make or break it for you when it comes to that crucial first impression – be it at an interview for a job or an exchange program. Pedro adds that he sees no point in spending too much time on grammar and general vocabulary. Instead, learning has to focus only on certain things a student will be using when speaking English in the future.

Pedro prefers American English which he imitated by focusing specifically on the features that were different from other varieties of English. Interestingly, in the CCPA British textbooks are mostly used, but audio recordings are predominantly American and sometimes they showcase «an array of different people» (e.g., Chinese). The majority of teachers are non-native speakers but have American accent.

There is no doubt as to the extent to which English as a foreign language dominates Latin America as a whole. Even though Latin American music is in the national top 40, songs in English are in the majority. There are also more and more stores selling books in English. Besides, a lot of opportunities are offered for Master and PhD programs after college. They are not very competitive as most people in Paraguay go straight to work instead of pursuing further studies. Being fluent in English, Pedro had access to a bunch of resources he otherwise wouldn’t have known about.

Now in his career as a teacher Pedro also uses «a wide array of activities» that are only available on English-language sources. Now he is also studying Hotel Management and Hospitality where knowing foreign languages comes in handy.

Based on his teaching experience, Pedro finds that Spanish speakers mostly struggle with certain vowels. He also has his students record themselves to be able to keep track of their progress.

He believes that the moment students realize they sound more native, they muster the courage to start applying for international programs that might potentially change their lives dramatically. Their self-image becomes more positive, which shows how pronunciation is something that can seriously hold one back.

Apart from American English, Pedro picked up the language of the neighboring Brazil as comic books in Portuguese were cheaper than those in Spanish. He used to speak some Japanese as his family hosted a group of Japanese students as part of an exchange program. Now he has lost all of it.

To conclude, Pedro believes that having a plan for your language learning is key. It has to be something you are looking into using on a daily basis. One shouldn’t be afraid to expose themselves to as much authentic stuff as possible.

∞ There is absolutely no doubt that the method Pedro has been using for all these years – on his own as well as with his students – works wonders. However, according to my own experience as a learner and a teacher, pronunciation doesn’t have to be an absolute priority – especially for such an international language as English mostly spoken by non-native speakers with a wide variety of accents. Honestly, both as a learner and a teacher, I used to think of Phonetics (a branch of linguistics studying how sounds are produced) as my least favorite activity. As much as I realized how, as Pedro noted, pronunciaiton is key to making a good first impression, as someone with no ear for music, I was never fond of practising it. There has been a never-ending debate as to how to go about language learning and teaching, but what is for sure is that mimicing a certain English variety involves some identity work. Pedro has definitely succeeded in creating this «American» image and the way he speaks has a major role to play in projecting it.

A brave researcher willing to make sacrifices

(Jelena, Montenegro)

Languages spoken: Montenegrian, Croatin, Bosnian, Serbian, English, Russian.

Field of study/career: Marketing Management, Associate Professor, a Fulbright scholar.

By Novenber I had been able to establish some connections with a few members of the Fulbright community in New York and New Jersey. There was also a one-off event at MSU there I met some more Fulbrighters. Jelena, an Associate Professor in Marketing Management back in her home country of Montenegro, a country in Southeastern Europe, was one of them. She was struggling to find the appropriate words in English, but her Southern charm and smile made up for that. Whenever we met on campus and beyond, she would give me a big kiss and a hug, which felt so sweet. It felt incredible to connect with a fellow Slav and to know we had this extra thing in common as Montenergo used to be part of Yugoslavia (which is a combination of the words «south» and «slavs»), which used to be part of the Soviet Union. At this point we must have all gotten accustomed to living in the U.S. and had a lot of thoughts and feelings to share with each other. Jelena and I felt comfortable talking and pouring out hearts to each other. One day we met at her office to have a conversation about her English learning history.