Korean-American
Audrey was sitting on the floor of my dorm waiting for me as I came and sat down next to her. I told her about my project, and she was happy to talk with me about her experiences growing up in America. Aubrey spoke fluent English, Korean, and Chinese. However, when I asked her what she identified as, and she replied, “Korean-American”. Her family is from South Korea; therefore, Korean was her native language.
While Kenny, Nadia, and I spent most, if not all, of our lives in America, Sammie's family moved a lot as she was growing up, and this resulted in her being multilingual. She was born in the Philippines, but she attended elementary school in America. In the sixth grade, she moved to China and attended international school for the rest of middle school and high school. Along the way, she learned how to speak, read, and write all three.
The most notable part of our talk was when she described to me how she learned her native language formally. She never attended school in Korea; which is very similar to how I never attended school in Vietnam. Yet we can both, not only speak but also, read and write in our native languages. Our moms taught us the way Nadia's grandmother taught her. Audrey explained that before she ever started attending school in America and learns English; her mother sat her down and formally taught her the entire Korean alphabet. She honestly doesn't remember if it was a challenging task or not. All she knew was that before she ever started preschool, she already knew the basics and foundations of her native language.
She started elementary school not knowing a word of English. After a couple of months Audrey naturally adapted and followed what her American peers did. Even after starting elementary school, Audrey’s parents spoke to her in complete Korean at home, and she was expected to reply in Korean as well.
Later on, Audrey moved to China, and she was formally taught how to read and write Chinese there. Although she not physically in America anymore, her exposure to American English did not change. She attended international school which she stated as “an American school in China”. Classes were taught in English, and students were expected to speak English outside of class as well. Chinese was “a mandatory second language” class the way Spanish or French might be in America.
While Kenny, Nadia, and I spent most, if not all, of our lives in America, Sammie's family moved a lot as she was growing up, and this resulted in her being multilingual. She was born in the Philippines, but she attended elementary school in America. In the sixth grade, she moved to China and attended international school for the rest of middle school and high school. Along the way, she learned how to speak, read, and write all three.
The most notable part of our talk was when she described to me how she learned her native language formally. She never attended school in Korea; which is very similar to how I never attended school in Vietnam. Yet we can both, not only speak but also, read and write in our native languages. Our moms taught us the way Nadia's grandmother taught her. Audrey explained that before she ever started attending school in America and learns English; her mother sat her down and formally taught her the entire Korean alphabet. She honestly doesn't remember if it was a challenging task or not. All she knew was that before she ever started preschool, she already knew the basics and foundations of her native language.
She started elementary school not knowing a word of English. After a couple of months Audrey naturally adapted and followed what her American peers did. Even after starting elementary school, Audrey’s parents spoke to her in complete Korean at home, and she was expected to reply in Korean as well.
Later on, Audrey moved to China, and she was formally taught how to read and write Chinese there. Although she not physically in America anymore, her exposure to American English did not change. She attended international school which she stated as “an American school in China”. Classes were taught in English, and students were expected to speak English outside of class as well. Chinese was “a mandatory second language” class the way Spanish or French might be in America.