Talking about languages

Published: http://www.thecurrentonline.net/2.350/language-barrier-draws-some-students-together-on-green-river-campus-1.51953?pagereq=1

It's 6 p.m. and after another long day on campus it is finally time to go home.

The faint orange glow from a nearby street lamp casts an outline of a King County Metro Bus. The doors are locked which barring shut out students to shiver among fall's leaves.

In the shade of a lamppost an 18-year-old Vietnamese student sits patiently, while her friend talks on the phone in their shared native tongue.

Seated is Y Nhu Tran. She turns her head and looks with an inquisitive gaze. While hesitant at first, she loosens up to questions about languages.

 

Tran, a native Vietnamese speaker, and an English learner, is also familiar with Korean.

Tran found out about Green River in Vietnam where IESL "is very famous." She is a level five IESL student after a single year at Green River.

When asked about her experience learning a language she says that her first few months here were difficult, but it became easier with time.

"At first I didn't know what the teachers were telling me," says Tran with a nervous smile.

 To an untrained ear, people who talk in their native tongues seem to speak at an overwhelming pace. Tran said that a lot of students say that Vietnamese speak quickly. She argues that Americans are the ones talking fast.

 Her friend now finished with her conversation joins in and makes comparisons between English and other languages.

 Shyly, Tran buries her face in her friends arm for encouragement, but then turns to face two newcomers that she recognizes.

 The rest of the group is asked about the comparing speeds in Vietnamese and English. The consensus is that it depends on the person.

So why did Tran decide to study English?

 She is hopeful that it will help her pursue a career in the field of health here in the U.S.

 Tran admits that there are a few traditionalists who cling only to their native tongue. However, it helps to be bilingual in the workplace. Employees who know more than their native language garnish higher pay.

The door to the dormant bus hisses open to let the huddled group aboard.

 Slouched perpendicular to Tran is a 22-year-old American student named Jim Weather donning a black hoodie with the Mother Guadalupe emblazoned in white across his torso. He has a tattoo with Chinese characters etched into his forearm. It reads "hope."

 Weather has studied Mandarin Chinese last quarter and the previous year. He warns anyone wanting to learn Chinese that it is extremely difficult. He found the ancient lettering particularly challenging.

"It will make your head explode," Weather says with a smirk and raised eyebrows.

 Earlier Tran admitted that Korean lettering was more difficult than Roman letters.

However, amidst the sudden stops and bumps in the road, Weather says that learning mandarin is helpful on a campus where 392 students claim to be Asian/Pacific Islander, according to campuscorner.com.

 What does he use his knowledge of languages for?

Flirting and teasing.

In fact, he suddenly turns to Tran and speaks to her after she had pressed him to greet her in Chinese.

 After doing so she blushes as he explains that he had just told her that she was very pretty.

Weather says that he enjoys Asian culture and would like to visit the continent someday.

With a group of friends who are globally connected, Weather says he has learned many things on the go.

 In Vietnamese, he knows a couple phrases but did not wish to repeat them.