Category Archives: Language

Advice, college, culture, ericroth, Language, USC

Be Brave: Speak Up in Class

By Masae (Emily) Yamanaka

An Overview

In many Asian cultures, it is very common for students to not speak at all in a classroom setting. They are merely in schools to absorb as much knowledge as possible from the teachers. Absolute obedience is viewed as a virtue. “I don’t want to waste other people’s time.” “Nothing I share can be that important to interrupt the flow of the lecture.” “Teachers know best.” Almost all the Asian international students I have had resonated similar sentiments.

On the contrary, in a traditional American classroom, you will find the teacher picking on students to voice their opinions. With that being said, it does not mean blurting out anything you can think of in class. Your responses should be relevant and contribute to the topic under discussion. This system strives to build young independent leaders and focus on sharpening critical thinking skills of the youths.

The Two Systems

A main difference between Eastern and Western educations lies in its prime focus. Asian systems utilizes teacher-centric classes where the teacher serves as the main authoritarian figure and answers questions directly from the pupils. Lecture is the main mode of instruction. Students are often dissuaded from exchanging ideas with each other.

The American system employs a student-centered setting where students share ideas with each other and actively participate in the learning and teaching process. Originality is greatly stressed upon and valued. Since each student is unique and no two students have the exact ways of thinking, students can learn from each other and stimulate self-understanding by listening to others’ questions.

Personally, I think Eastern educational institutions offer a wider breadth of knowledge, as teachers who specialize in specific topics get more time to instruct without disturbance. However, being given more content does not equate to the amount of substance pupils actually absorb on average. This one-way direction hinders solidarity as youths are taught to unquestionably oblige to what is given. A more collaborative setting not only promotes critical thinking but serves as a built-in check-and-balance within the classroom since teachers would need to take into account inquiries of everyone and could not simply recycle previous teaching material. At the end of the day, humans are individually unique and each class’s batch of students are different from another.

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Asian American, Language, music

The Language of Humans and Me

By Iric Hong

Language is such a sophisticated concept. It can be studied and practiced for years and yet some things will just never be conveyable, or be the same, with only words.

Language, as the words you and I speak, the words your friends and everyone you do not know speak, is universally understood in the general sense. For me, I learned Cantonese alongside English so that I could communicate with my grandmother who raised me for most of my childhood. So I have two languages in my arsenal to convey my ideas. But what about everything else that life consists of? What happens when you do not have the vocabulary to translate your ideas? How are those things explained when words become dull and pointless?

This is where the third “language” I grew up with comes into play. Throughout my childhood, music, a classic way to convey passion, was passed on to me by not only my grandmother and my mother, but also my community, my brethren and sistren.

Passionate music is a truly universal language that transcends the boundaries of the languages we speak. Music has allowed me to understand myself and help others understand more about me than I think I know about myself. One does not have to understand the spoken language to understand the vibe of music. Music, in my opinion, beats to the frequency of one’s core, the frequency hiding behind the many walls setup to protect oneself from whatever life has in store for its people. 

Music has helped me to better understand the world around me and has also helped me to improve how I can convey my ideas when words fail me. In fact, listening to music that is not too fast paced has actually helped me to better understand languages that I am trying to learn while also teaching me specific lingo from where different artists herald from.

I listen to pop, indie pop, hip hop, swing, jazz, etc. But regardless of what you call it, at the end of the day, music is all about passion. Passion speaks louder and clearer than the words that can come out of one’s mouth. Anyone can listen to completely polarizing types of music but still get the same fulfilling feeling of strength because the passion and emotions a composer or artist feels when putting out music is all the same.

While I only listen to the music that people make, that is not to say that music only comes from people and their passion. Our passion was created by nature and we translated that with our instruments but nature has its own instruments in the form of its constituents and its many forces. Rain, the chirping of birds, the crashing of waves, the buzz of insects, the roar of the wind are in its own special way music that beats to the frequency of us all even if we all beat at different frequencies. So, if you’re ever feeling lost in words, whether in English or otherwise, listen to some music, or step outside and listen to the roar of nature, to find yourself again.

Featured image from Wikimedia Commons

Iric is a sophomore majoring in Electrical Engineering. His career inspiration from a very young age was on-screen robotics like Iron-Man and Gundam. He hopes to work in the aerospace industry, as that industry resembles what he wants to strive for the most. He likes to play tennis, play video games, and watch movies in his spare time.

Cultural Exchange, culture, Language, New Experience, Outlook

How Are You? Does it Matter?

By Samantha Wong

It’s always fascinating—illuminating even—to take a step back from the comfort of our daily interactions and to ask, why? Why do we do some of the things we do? 

During one of my first sessions leading as a Conversation Partner, an international student asked me, “How do you respond to how are you?” Immediately, I reacted with the oh-so-familiar reply, “Good; how are you?” Unconvinced, the student questioned why people respond that way even when they are not good. Like an automatic reflex, it seemed to her as though people ask and return this ostensibly benevolent greeting without any genuine interest at all. 

This inquiry into the utmost timeless greeting focused my attention on to the standard of politeness that Americans have become accustomed to. Why do we continue to blindly ask each other “how are you” when we simply expect a moderate variation of the same answer 99% of the time?

In America, I believe we come to ask each other “how are you” because, frankly, we are afraid to come across as impolite otherwise. It is due to our crippling fear of appearing “rude” or “crass” that we ask a question that does not seem to bear much weight anymore. Indeed, when we ask this question, we more often than not are returned by a one-word response and a dreadfully long, awkward pause… Consequently, we need to move beyond these greetings that yield one-word answers to unlock opportunities to stimulate dialogue we are sincerely interested in. It is only then may we bridge meaningful relationships.

Across all cultures, we hope to reciprocate both courtesy and respect during our interactions with new people. For, every day, we inevitably cross paths with dozens of new faces under distinct circumstances. Particularly as USC students, we have the unique ability to meet and learn from hundreds of different perspectives through a simple “hello” and informal introduction. With one of the largest international populations on campus, we truly are a melting pot of diverse and similar stories waiting to be told. Thus, why should we waste our perfect opportunities to engage in thought-provoking conversations by asking a question that leads to nowhere?

In reference to a Forbes article, there are countless questions to ask that can prompt dynamic and distinctive conversations. What has been the best part of your day so far? What are you looking forward to this week? What has inspired you recently? Truly, the possibilities for good questions are endless. 

With this untapped reserve of productive conversation starters, we can (and should) begin exchanges with positivity, purpose, and ultimately, genuine interest! After all, who wouldn’t want to make a great first impression?

Let’s do ourselves a favor and ask better questions. Who knows, perhaps we can gain something more valuable during our conversations!

Featured image by Sawyer Bengston on Unsplash

Sam is an undergrad business student at Marshall School of Business. While raised in a small town in New Jersey, she loves to explore diverse cultures through travel and unique eats (particularly, desserts). Since flying 3,000 miles across the country, Sam has continued her passions for consulting, interacting with students across cultures, and helping others! Sam is greatly involved in the Marshall community (AIM Marketing Consulting, Marshall Business Network), and is an enthusiastic American pop culture follower.