Like many other babies, my first word was ‘mama’, but unlike other babies, I don’t know the language in which I spoke my first word. Born in America to two Taiwanese parents, I was surrounded by a fusion of cultures and both English and Mandarin Chinese happened to have ‘mama’ as a variation of ‘mom’. From my parents, I had a constant stream of Chinese. From my sisters who were already in elementary school, I received a steady sprinkle of English into my vocabulary.
I, like 18 percent of Americans, am bilingual. I wasn’t ever given the choice to learn a second language; it just happened to be the way I was brought up, but unfortunately, for many Americans, since there’s no need to learn a second language — apart from high school or college graduation requirements — there’s no drive to truly become fluent in a second language. If our world stayed the same as it is now, with English as the official language in 65 countries, there would be no problem with this mentality. The predicament lies in the prediction based off of the July 2012 census which says by 2043, there will be no white majority in the United States. Those who are monolingual are at a growing disadvantage.
In my line of thinking, I’m lucky to know two languages, both of which are very powerful. In addition to the 65 countries and territories that have established English as their official language, 35 made English their sole official language. This widespread use of English opens lanes of communications and access to greater parts of the globe. In regards to the benefits of knowing Mandarin Chinese, roughly 20 percent of the world’s population lives within China’s borders. Although there are many dialects of Chinese, I still have the ability to decipher cognates with my knowledge of Mandarin Chinese.
With a second language, so many more opportunities around the world are opened up. English may open up lanes of communication, but proficiency in a second language can land a job offer. As demographics are shifting, the ability to communicate to multiple communities is increasing in value. Even though high school might seem a bit late to begin learning a second language, there’s no time like now. Before 2043 hits, students should invest in their education of a second language.

My childhood contained a mixture of languages; there wasn’t ever a dominant tongue that I spoke in. My parents made sure that my sisters and I spoke Chinese at home, especially at the dinner table. Away from my parents’ ears, my sisters and I would converse in English. All-in-all, I had a balanced exposure to English and Chinese until I entered kindergarten.
Even though I also attended Chinese School every Sunday from one to four p.m., three hours of instruction on the Chinese language was no match for five days of elementary school. My conversations in English greatly outweighed those in Chinese. Even in Chinese school, my classmates and I would converse in English whenever we had break time.
I used to dread Chinese school where I would no doubt forget how to write at least one Chinese character on the weekly quizzes. I didn’t understand why I had to complete extra homework every week and spend my Sundays learning a language that I was using less and less. When I stopped attending Chinese school three years ago, I felt a load lift off my shoulder, but now, it feels as if there’s a boulder squashing my potential.
Although I can speak considerably fluently in Chinese, my reading and writing levels are that of a kindergartener, at best. I can still travel around Taipei with my level of Chinese, but only because bus stops and metro stops are spelled out phonetically in English on the signs. When even the phonetics can’t help me, I’m always able to ask a pedestrian to point me in the right direction. But I can’t read a novel in Chinese. I can’t write a simple note. I’m not even sure I know how to write ‘I’m sorry.’ Now, as my future plans involve exiting the borders of the United States, I want to learn more.
I want to be able to survive in another country and not have to depend on strangers to help me translate simple phrases. I want to be able to read store names and distinguish the ingredients of the foods I purchase. Even though I am considered bilingual, I feel like I owe it to myself and my Taiwanese culture to fully learn the Chinese language, characters and all.
I started young, but I’m starting again soon. I want to increase my opportunities by becoming proficient and fully fluent in Mandarin Chinese. I may not pick up the language as fast as I used to, but my speed of learning is only getting slower. The time to learn is now and I, as well as every student, should capitalize on the foreign language classes offered to us to build our human capital. The world is open for all of us to travel. We just need to equip ourselves with the right tools.
[vc_text_separator title=”The Rock asked students, “What is the coolest thing about being bilingual?“ ” title_align=”separator_align_center” align=”align_center” color=”custom” accent_color=”#2bb673″][TS_VCSC_Image_Hover_Effects hover_image=”273213″ effect_style_type=”text” effect_style_text=”ts-hover-effect-jazz” effect_style_icons=”ts-hover-effect-zoe” effect_permanent=”false” title_text=”Wendy Zhang, junior” title_color=”#ffffff” content_text=”“You are able to communicate with more people. Also, you have access to more culture and you get to experience different cultures with different perspectives. In a way, language kind of embodies cultures.”” content_color_text=”#ffffff” content_color_other=”#ffffff” content_color_icons=”#000000″ overlay_handle_show=”true” overlay_handle_color=”#2bb673″ hover_event=”none” hover_show_title=”true” hover_video_related=”false” hover_video_auto=”true” tooltip_html=”false” tooltipster_offsetx=”0″ tooltipster_offsety=”0″ margin_top=”0″ margin_bottom=”0″][TS_VCSC_Image_Hover_Effects hover_image=”273216″ effect_style_type=”text” effect_style_text=”ts-hover-effect-jazz” effect_style_icons=”ts-hover-effect-zoe” effect_permanent=”false” title_text=”Priyanka Patel, freshman” title_color=”#ffffff” content_text=”“It’s cool whenever you are around people and you can talk in your language to someone else and they can’t understand you. So you could be talking about them and they won’t know.”” content_color_text=”#ffffff” content_color_other=”#ffffff” content_color_icons=”#000000″ overlay_handle_show=”true” overlay_handle_color=”#2bb673″ hover_event=”none” hover_show_title=”true” hover_video_related=”false” hover_video_auto=”true” tooltip_html=”false” tooltipster_offsetx=”0″ tooltipster_offsety=”0″ margin_top=”0″ margin_bottom=”0″][TS_VCSC_Image_Hover_Effects hover_image=”273214″ effect_style_type=”text” effect_style_text=”ts-hover-effect-jazz” effect_style_icons=”ts-hover-effect-zoe” effect_permanent=”false” title_text=”Abdu Kikhia, Freshman” title_color=”#ffffff” content_color_text=”#ffffff” content_color_other=”#ffffff” content_color_icons=”#000000″ overlay_handle_show=”true” overlay_handle_color=”#2bb673″ hover_event=”none” hover_show_title=”true” hover_video_related=”false” hover_video_auto=”true” tooltip_html=”false” tooltipster_offsetx=”0″ tooltipster_offsety=”0″ margin_top=”0″ margin_bottom=”0″ content_text=”“When you are around people that don’t know the language you are speaking, I think it is kind of fun to mess with them. I get a kick out of it. Sometimes they think you might be cussing at them. You just laugh because you are just talking to your mom or your dad.“”][TS_VCSC_Image_Hover_Effects hover_image=”273217″ effect_style_type=”text” effect_style_text=”ts-hover-effect-jazz” effect_style_icons=”ts-hover-effect-zoe” effect_permanent=”false” title_text=”Yesenia Prince, Sophomore” title_color=”#ffffff” content_text=”“It would be talking about other people who don’t speak the same language as me without a certain people knowing. It is like a secret code in a way. There are a lot of different cultures in America, so it helps a lot with people who speak the same language.”” content_color_text=”#ffffff” content_color_other=”#ffffff” content_color_icons=”#000000″ overlay_handle_show=”true” overlay_handle_color=”#2bb673″ hover_event=”none” hover_show_title=”true” hover_video_related=”false” hover_video_auto=”true” tooltip_html=”false” tooltipster_offsetx=”0″ tooltipster_offsety=”0″ margin_top=”0″ margin_bottom=”0″]By Alice Yu
photos by Devesh Kumar