Lost In Translation: When English Isn’t Your Mother Tongue

Photo From: https://static.pexels.com/photos/203237/pexels-photo-203237.jpeg

“I feel like, I’m like a six year old coming to a place where all the adults live.”

By McKenzie Gallagher and Danielle Ely

A college education is a privilege that many students often feel lucky to ‘survive’. Can anyone say finals week? Higher education is tough. Chances are, if you are reading this, you are either a current student, or you were one just a little while ago. Imagine or remember, then, as a student, how you would cope with these many stresses if you could not communicate with your professors or peers in your first language. It would almost certainly be infinitely more challenging, but beyond that, would it also shape your identity?

“I always think, people don’t really perceive me as who I really am.”

Many international students continually wrestle with this reality, and their experiences have significant potential to alter the ways in which they think and act. Journalists at Millennial Influx were curious to explore more deeply how this reality might be affecting their fellow students. McKenzie Gallagher had the opportunity to interview a couple international students, Zhou Yu and Robin Kelman about their experiences at an american college. Zhou and Robin shared with us some of the complexities they have encountered first-hand as well as how cultural differences have affected their transitions to american education. To hear from these fascinating individuals, visit our digital interview, English as Second Language.

Homeschooler in the Real World

Emma Folts, a sophomore at Wheaton College, shares her experience about her transition into college and how homeschool has both helped and hindered her.
How has your homeschool experience benefitted you, especially in your transition into college?
I think the one thing that homeschooling did that was really helpful as I entered college was that it taught me time management. As a homeschooler I had the same freedom as a college student has to put things off during the day and go see a friend instead. Since I had that experience, I knew the cost of that.
Also, personal responsibility and accountability with assignments. I feel like a lot of the other students had more expectations for gentler grading and that the professor would give them retakes or extensions, but that wasn’t something that ever happened to me in school. That learning curve wasn’t added because I never had it the other way. I think another thing was that because I was homeschooled, I was familiar with the format of teaching and then studying on my own.
Did you see any issues with your transition socially?
I think that homeschooling had two ramifications for me socially. One was helpful, one was hurtful.
It was really helpful because as a homeschooler, I had spent a lot of time realizing and developing who I was as a person and learning to recognize people who were being themselves, and those were the people I sought out as friends. Friendship as a homeschooler takes a lot more investment. I knew I was choosier with my friends which made me a lot less anxious and a lot more content.
The only real negative impact of the social bit was that I was really used to getting to choose the time I got to spend with people. As a homeschooler I spent a lot of time with people, but that time was controlled by me. As a college student, I found that you can’t really control the time you spend with people and alone time is not really available. Learning to deal with that was a lot harder than anticipated.
Any last comments on homeschool and how it has affected your college experience?
I think homeschooling is really helpful, however it does take a slightly increased amount of advocacy with your peers when you’re entering into college. I think a lot of people come in with certain assumptions about homeschool, especially students. You’re going to get a lot of, ‘oh my gosh, you don’t seem like a homeschooled person!’ [You can’t] take that too personally and explain your experience so that friends can understand it’s an important piece of you, though it might not look like the homeschooling that they’ve seen.
My encouragement to anyone who is a homeschooler transitioning into college is to realize the benefit that you have having been homeschooled, and to realize that the bit of advocacy and explaining that you need to do with your peers is totally normal and that it’s not a big deal. Once they understand your experience, it’s not something I’ve experienced being looked down on for.