Mo Alsalahi visited Riyadh city to commune with relations. Hardly did he know that this visit would make lasting changes to his life. In this particular town that he visited, what jolted him was he couldn’t communicate with many people he met. In this town located in the suburb of Riyadh, everybody speaks the English language- a reflection of Riyadh’s metropolitan culture, away from the conservative Islamic culture that characterizes the general Saudi Arabian society.
It's not the communication gap alone. Mo's self-esteem diminished as a monolingual that is soaked in Arabian culture.
"It's a kind of fancy thing to have the English language in your life, you look more educated and sophisticated," he confesses after this experience.
This was a turning point for him: a decision to come to the US to study English language and study for his second degree in English. This turn of event resonates in the stories of many internationals studying in the English language.
For Jeamie Cho, an international from Korea, fierce competition among working-class Koreans to get a highly paid job in mega-corporations was the motivator. He explicates that there is not enough manpower in Korea with English language competence. Good corporations are asking for English language competence from job applicants. He decided that if he must learn English, the US is his chosen destination.
The competition wrapped up around English language competency is deeper in Saudi Arabia mass media where the production and technical aspects of the business are Anglicized.
"Competency in English is necessary to get a job in Saudi. For example, in directing and producing, all the technical jargons are in English." according to Mo.
The impetus for Vladimir Jakovljevic was the athletic scholarship he got to study in the US. He added that higher education is strenuous and sloppy in his country, Serbia. The well-structured educational system in the US was also a stimulus.
There is a high premium placed on English language competency in the labor markets of these internationals’ countries.
For all of them, English is neither their first nor second language, yet it’s taught in elementary and high schools in their countries. One wonders then why the need for competency that spurs them to embark on a journey of English language discovery to the US.
For Mo, Jeamie, and Vladimir, the English language curriculum in their individual countries fall short of competitive standard and rigorous procedures capable of producing high English language competence in students. Mo and Jeamie had the basic spoken skills that could enable them to exchange simple greetings like "hello," "how are you?", But this couldn't sustain them in prolonged conversation and writing. For Vladimir, his competence was good, but he lacked enough vocabularies to engage in dialogue and writing.
How has this scholastic journey impacted on these internationals?
The relative fluency of speaking English of Mo and Vladimir was impressive. This is a direct correlation of their long immersion in American society. Mo has been around for three years while Vladimir has stayed on for four and a half years.
Jeamie is here for a semester, yet he has gone beyond elementary knowledge to sustaining prolonged dialogue. “Since I came, I can speak better, I’ve more confidence. Most Koreans in ULM like me because I can speak the language very well within a short period that I arrived," he states in a tone of self-accomplishment.
Mo and Jeamie have to contend with an identity issue. The knowledge of English has beset in their lives split identities. Mo is a different person when expressing anger in Arabic and another personality when manifesting anger using the English language. There is always switching of mannerism and code between the two scenarios.
Dual identities come in the form of age to Jeamie. In the US he's 24 years old, while in Korea he's 26 years old. The difference is an account of different calendar systems that are in use by the two countries. The calendar system in Korea and the Arabian world is lunar, but it's Gregorian in the U.S.
The quest to learn English language has offered different romantic experiences in the private lives of these internationals. Mo’s relationship is waxing stronger because he finds the English language more effective in expressing love to his girlfriend than using Arabic. His girlfriend is thrilled by this.
The adventure for Jeamie has left a crack in his heart because his girlfriend has just broken up with him. The time-spatial differences between Korea and the US have made communication extremely difficult. The lovebirds are busy. While Jeamie is studying in the day, the girlfriend is sleeping and vice versa. Thirteen hours difference in time makes communication a rough experience.
Love life for Vladimir is another slant. He’s no doubt enjoying his relationship but wouldn’t think of marrying an American. He would rather date a non-American.
“The difference is that the girls here don’t cook, once they’ve money they go to restaurants to eat. But in Serbia, girls and mothers cook healthy meals for their families at home.” He expresses his turn off for American girls.
Socialization and its role in learning English and belonging to American society are different experiences for these young men. Vladimir draws a similitude between American and European cultures. This affinity makes friendship with Americans easier
Mo had a joyful experience back in San Diego, California where he made a lot of American friends that aided his learning and socialization. He has no American friends in Louisiana. However, his knowledge of the language has been because of his rapport with Americans in San Diego and his interaction with non- Arabian internationals who had no choice except to communicate in English because of their diverse cultures.
Jeamie has quite a gamut of American friends, but they're of a little asset to him in learning the language. He finds international students handy in learning. He says, “I learn more from fellow international students because English isn’t their first language. For example, I have a friend from Slovakia whose second language is English, we communicate better than Americans. Americans speak very fast and speak a lot of slangs.”
These men are very confident and optimistic about their futures. Taking everything together, their decisions to learn English and learn in English have opened and widened their competitiveness in the labor markets of their countries.
Mo counts himself as a candidate that can hold his own in Saudi. Jeamie is poised to make an edge in Korean competitive labor market after his studies in Korea University. Vladimir sees himself as a more employable candidate than European locals after graduation.
Asking Olivia Barfield, an American student, about her perception of these internationals’ sojourn to learn English, she says, “It’s a good idea to come here. I think it’s difficult…you’re submerging yourself into something different.” She advises international to take easier classes first before moving on to difficult ones to avoid being overwhelmed.
Dr. Mara Loeb, a former Chair of International Students Association of University of Lafayette at Monroe, describes it as "It's like finding yourself in a desert island. It's the bravest thing to do, it’s like studying two things at the same time. They’re adventurous and confident.” On her own, she advises internationals not to go back to their old friends but mix and attune themselves to American culture to aid their learning.
They also have advice for Americans. Urging American students to mix with international, Olivia says, “Americans need at least give international students a conversation after classes, learn from them…there’s much more than that (America and being an American), and there’s so much more to learn.”
"They need to see every international as their friend because when I go out there, I see non-Americans as my friends, they need to talk to people and make new friends." Dr. Loeb concludes.
© Tawfiq Abdullah
About Me
I am a marketer, communicator, and blogger. I worked extensively in the private sector as a business executive and organizational communicator, precisely in sales training. I bagged a bachelor’s degree in Philosophy and English from Olabisi Onabanjo University, a Chartered Postgraduate Diploma in Marketing from the National Institute of Marketing of Nigeria (NIMN), an MBA from the Lagos State University. I am an associate of NIMN and currently living in Lafayette, Louisiana where I am about to defend my Master’s thesis to bag the MS Communication degree from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.
I am a marketer, communicator, and blogger. I worked extensively in the private sector as a business executive and organizational communicator, precisely in sales training. I bagged a bachelor’s degree in Philosophy and English from Olabisi Onabanjo University, a Chartered Postgraduate Diploma in Marketing from the National Institute of Marketing of Nigeria (NIMN), an MBA from the Lagos State University. I am an associate of NIMN and currently living in Lafayette, Louisiana where I am about to defend my Master’s thesis to bag the MS Communication degree from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.
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