Language Barriers and how do I bring a lesson on diversity to my students
Yesterday (Saturday), the kids were going out doing their own thing and I was running errands and going to get fabric at the store Monica works at. I had been there several times with her, so I knew the routine about how to order fabric cut in the metric system and with not speaking the language. I felt pretty confident that I could go by myself and do this. I really wanted to do this alone and show myself that I could. All went well as far as finding the fabric I wanted and getting it cut. I also looked at yarn thinking I would get a few skeins for my knitting friends back in the States. I had flash cards that Monica made me for the Kanji for cotton, wool and linen. I can't figure out the yarn thing so I opted not to get any at all. Sorry BABES! Actually none of the yarn stood out as much different from what we get. They did have some beautiful yarn from Italy. I didn't get any!
So here I was, fabric all cut and money calculated in my head and I get online. The lines are pretty long in this store but moves very quickly. I got called to the register and she counted my items, had to count twice, some man next to her packed my bag and she rang me up. The total was 8880 yen which is like 88.80 US dollars. I only had 70 yen on me but calculated in my head it should only be about $40. I didn't know what to do. I took out a 20 US bill and asked if she would take that, she said no. I never activated my charge cards to say I would be in Japan but I took it out anyway and used it. It went through. I had the embarrassment of not having enough money as well as knowing either I miscalculated in my head or she messed up. I paid and slowly walked out as I looked at my receipt. I realized what she did wrong but I didn't know how to get it fixed. I walked home upset, knowing that Eric and Monica would be out for quite a while and that I would just have to wait. Waiting helps, because you can't stay angry or upset for too long, your physiology just doesn't let that happen.
I sat home thinking about what it must be like for people who come to the America and something as innocent as what happened to me, happens to them. I am very fortunate to have Monica working in the store and speaking Japanese to help me correct this. Imagine being in America where many people's attitude is: "If you immigrate to America then learn English". I feel like I am proof it is not as simple as that. Other languages are very difficult for me. I kid that I can barely speak English, but I can really speak New York. Those are my two languages. I think if I stayed here longer I would make more of an effort to seek out Japanese classes. I am slowly figuring out how to pronounce the train station stops. I have figured out a few language rules by myself but I have interest in language acquisition and the rules of the language more then the ability to speak it.
Some of the language rules are:
1. The "U" makes a "oo" sound like in tattoo
2. The "e" ALWAYS makes a short "e" sound, not silent like in English. It also doesn't change any other vowel sound
3. The "I" in words, is a long E sound
4. The "R" in words is an "L" sound, this is where Americans think Asians mess up bad but if you look at their own native tongue, we are the ones who are wrong about them.
5. Say all the vowel sounds separately. Don't blend them together as we do. I didn't figure this rule out, Eric told me and I hope I got the other rules right, I think I did!
So with this said, Eric and Monica live in the section spelled Urawa. Pronounced: oo la wa
I also want to bring the information to all my students about moving from one culture to another and what it might be like if the shoe were on the other foot, as it was for me yesterday.
PRACTICE TOLERANCE...
So here I was, fabric all cut and money calculated in my head and I get online. The lines are pretty long in this store but moves very quickly. I got called to the register and she counted my items, had to count twice, some man next to her packed my bag and she rang me up. The total was 8880 yen which is like 88.80 US dollars. I only had 70 yen on me but calculated in my head it should only be about $40. I didn't know what to do. I took out a 20 US bill and asked if she would take that, she said no. I never activated my charge cards to say I would be in Japan but I took it out anyway and used it. It went through. I had the embarrassment of not having enough money as well as knowing either I miscalculated in my head or she messed up. I paid and slowly walked out as I looked at my receipt. I realized what she did wrong but I didn't know how to get it fixed. I walked home upset, knowing that Eric and Monica would be out for quite a while and that I would just have to wait. Waiting helps, because you can't stay angry or upset for too long, your physiology just doesn't let that happen.
I sat home thinking about what it must be like for people who come to the America and something as innocent as what happened to me, happens to them. I am very fortunate to have Monica working in the store and speaking Japanese to help me correct this. Imagine being in America where many people's attitude is: "If you immigrate to America then learn English". I feel like I am proof it is not as simple as that. Other languages are very difficult for me. I kid that I can barely speak English, but I can really speak New York. Those are my two languages. I think if I stayed here longer I would make more of an effort to seek out Japanese classes. I am slowly figuring out how to pronounce the train station stops. I have figured out a few language rules by myself but I have interest in language acquisition and the rules of the language more then the ability to speak it.
Some of the language rules are:
1. The "U" makes a "oo" sound like in tattoo
2. The "e" ALWAYS makes a short "e" sound, not silent like in English. It also doesn't change any other vowel sound
3. The "I" in words, is a long E sound
4. The "R" in words is an "L" sound, this is where Americans think Asians mess up bad but if you look at their own native tongue, we are the ones who are wrong about them.
5. Say all the vowel sounds separately. Don't blend them together as we do. I didn't figure this rule out, Eric told me and I hope I got the other rules right, I think I did!
So with this said, Eric and Monica live in the section spelled Urawa. Pronounced: oo la wa
I also want to bring the information to all my students about moving from one culture to another and what it might be like if the shoe were on the other foot, as it was for me yesterday.
PRACTICE TOLERANCE...
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