Shining My Light on Bilingualism and Fulbright

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.

Jelena started learning Russian at elementary school. It was only later on that she started learning English. For her generation (those in their 40s) it was all about theory (grammar) and there was no practice of English in «daily situations» (stores, cinema, etc.), which Jelena sees as an absolutely bad approach. This is why she is so happy having made use of her English actively here in the U.S. for almost 3 months. She has to use English professionally – mainly for writing research articles and attending international conferences. She is aware of how the American variety she has been picking up here (along with some professional slang) might sound a bit strange when she comes back to Europe where she does most of her work.

Back home she mostly practiced speaking with her son who is now in Grade 5. Here in the U.S. she is sharing a house with an American family and meets a lot of new people. «All my life is in English», says Jelena. Sometimes she feels it is «weird» to hear herself speaking English so much. She has even started thinking in English and she feels it solidly entering her brain.

Even though there are still a lot of Russians living on the Montenegrian coast and Russian, which her generation mostly learned back at school, is in demand, younger people prefer English instead. There is also some Italian used as the Italian border is close by as well as some Turkish used by the Muslim minority. As a specialist in Marketing, Jelena points out how in her country there are economic reasons to learn Chinese as there is an ongoing cooperation with China through investment.

English was a «crucial» reason for Jelena to decide to come to the U.S. Besides, one of her students had been on the UGRAD program here at MSU.

There have been some emotional trade-offs for Jelena as she had to leave her son behind for a year in order to come here. She realizes that is the price to pay for this «big» chance to start speaking English fluently.

Jelena feels her personality changes when she speaks English, which she again describes as a «weird» but definitely a positive change.

She believes that in order to survive and thrive in this increasingly competitive world, as she keeps saying to her students back in Montenegro, one has to be flexible rather than simply smart. Even considering herself not gifted for languages, Jelena knows she has no way rather than master English to advance her teaching and research career. As a side note, she questions she has no talent as in fact, apart from her native language, she speaks Serbian, Croatian, Bosnian which are all similar but still are separate languages.

In the future Jelena might consider learning German and probably Spanish. Even though she recognizes the global importance of Chinese, she says it is not for her.

For someone still feeling nervous speaking a foreign language just as she used to before coming to the U.S., Jelena suggests «going with the flow» and always looking for ways to listen to the target language in order to «center your ears» on it. That was how she overcame her «stage freight» particularly when asked questions in work settings.

∞ I can’t even imagine how much identity struggle is involved in learning English and experiencing all the ups and downs, which are inherently part of this journey, for someone who has a solid teaching career back home. Transitioning from a figure of authority to someone taking in new experiences almost as a kid while also being a parent must have been daunting.

As a Russian, I might have had mixed feelings about some kind of reluctance of the countries that used to make up the former Soviet Union to continue learning Russian, but as Jelena pointed out from her professional perspective, there are obviously economic reasons for that. It is still comforting to know that all the four languages she speaks would be somewhat intelligible to me. Actually, in the same year we had our talk (2017) in the attempt to counteract nationalism the Declaration on the Common Language was issued establishing that Bosniaks, Croats, Montenegrins and Serbs have a common standard language.

We were all separated from our families and sometimes it felt so hard to stay on the same page on some matters being thousands of miles away. Being in the U.S., a country that a lot of Russians have strong feelings about – which obviously goes all the way back to the Cold War – didn’t make it easy. Jelena was able to see I was feeling somewhat down on the day of our interview and said, «Your eyes look sad». That was so moving to have her point out something that I chose not to communicate with words. As much as we love our families, we have to make sacrifices to achieve what we want for ourselves even if that might cause us to have major arguments with those we love so much… Sometimes it is not only bilingualism that enables and enhances understanding as eyes can definitely be informative than words we say.