Language Barrier is a hurdle for foreign student

From getting up early to doing homework and taking tests, everyone has a difficulty at the beginning of the school year. New students from different schools have the added challenge of finding new friendships and trying to fit in.

Now imagine, on top of all these pressures, having to move from a country where english is not spoken. Everything is brand new: the people, the customs and especially the language.

Sophomore John Zhou faced such difficulties when he moved from China to Saratoga last year.

“The things that were difficult for me in America were the cultural difference and the language,” Zhou said. 

The English language has taken up a new aspect of his life since he moved here. Even though he learned some English in China, Zhou wanted to speak fluently in the U.S. 

“I learned to [speak] English by talking with American people and listening hard in class,” Zhou said. 

It was challenging for him to gain fluency. He said he struggled with the overall sentence structure of English because it is completely different that of Chinese. 

“What really helps me understand English is hanging out with friends and talking with them,” Zhou said.

Now in  his sophomore year, Zhou still has many problems with day-to-day school life, although he has become fluent enough to hold conversations.

While most students find it easy enough to listen to class lectures, Zhou finds it next to impossible.

“I have difficulty in class when taking notes,” Zhou said. “Lectures and notes are hard for me to follow, making me confused on what to study for tests and quizzes.” 

Zhou’s academic challenges do not stop at note-taking but are carried to English class itself. Native speakers are able to express their feelings and ideas in writing. However, Zhou has to play catch up to get to a point of English fluency where he can express his thoughts. 

For example, in his freshman year, Zhou had to participate in Socratic Seminars in his English class. Zhou had trouble formulating the right words he wanted to use to express his ideas.

Since he has a limited vocabulary, Zhou sometimes relies on a classmate who knows Chinese and can help explain the instructions to him. If he doesn’t have someone who speaks Chinese in his class, Zhou has to rely on an electronic English-to-Chinese translator, a process that can slow down his understanding of passages.

Now, Zhou has improved in his speaking and writing skills but is not yet up to par with his classmates.

“Reading problems are still hard,” Zhou said. “It takes me a long time to figure out what words mean to understand the problem or question being asked.”