Alina Yu

Period B3

17 March 2017

ENL Student Americanism

Word Count: 738

Proud to be...American?

Students evaluate how American they are based on language and culture

After moving halfway across the world from China to the United States in the summer

before her sophomore year, Rachel Du, former English as a New Language (ENL) student and

junior, took a test in the counseling center that measured her ability in the English language.

They tested me on reading, listening, speaking and writing. (For the speaking portion,)

the ENL teacher gave me gave me a comic and asked me what did I see on it, and try to tell a

story, Du said.

The ENL program placed Du in Level 3, an intermediate level in its scale for fluency in

English. Once the 2015-2016 school year started and Du stepped in the halls of CHS, she said

she had a hard time adapting to her new life in the school.

I actually went through a hard time first coming to a new school, I had to adopt many

new things: the language, the environment and classes in America are also very different, Du

said.

According to a 2016 Pew Research Center survey, 70 percent of the people in the United

States said being able to speak the national language is the core of national identity. Furthermore,

out of people age 50 or older, 81 percent said they believed speaking English is important to

national identity, as well as 58 percent of the 18- to 34-year-old age group, and people with high
school degrees were more likely to have that opinion than those with college degrees. However,

the English language is not the official language of the United States, according to the Central

Intelligence Agencys World Factbook. Thus, people like Du may question what is the national

language and how it plays into determining how American a U.S. citizen is.

For her part, being a former foreign student, Du said she does not agree with the previous

views. To her, the national language is not the core of national identity. She said having lived in

China nearly all her life, she still sees herself as mainly Chinese and not American, not because

she grew up speaking the language but because she understood Chinese lifestyle and culture.

To make people American, I think the first thing is to try and learn the culture and

embrace their culture, which is how people interact with other people and the ways of living. I

dont think language is the main part of the culture. Its probably a small part, but not the main

part, Du said.

English teacher Kristin Beeson, who also teaches ENL students, said she agrees with Du.

She said she thinks culture is multifaceted and is subjective to each person, and because someone

is not fluent in the language doesnt necessarily mean he or she is not part of the culture.

There are a variety of factors (involved with culture), and it differs from person to

person, but I would tend to think anthropologically. Basically, I feel like typically commonalities,

in terms of food, stories like myths and legends and literature, language, religion to some extent,

could all be unifying factors within a culture, Beeson said.

According to Gordon Copee, AP U.S. History teacher, there were many pinnacle

moments in U.S. history that not only created and shaped American culture, but also included

people from various countries in hopes of freedom and a new life; immigration dramatically
increased in the mid to late 1800s, and the World Wars shaped what it meant to be American, as

well as the Cold War and Great Depression.

I think it lends to sort of creating, what people refer to as, the cultural melting pot:

being more inclusive of people who speak different languages and come from different cultures

and backgrounds. American culture isnt what it is without immigration and people coming in

and influencing American culture in different ways, Copee said.

Still, Copee said speaking English and knowing the language would certainly be helpful,

as it is the most popularly spoken language in the United States.

I think its certainly helpful to know English. But, I dont think its in our best interests

to declare it or try to make it a national language with all of the different cultures. In the United

States I think its important to celebrate all of the different cultures and diversity. Copee said.

Yet, as once a student who couldnt speak English well in a totally new school in a totally

new country, Du said she thinks being immersed in a culture is more about interacting with

people and the language could help her learn but is not major factor.

Du said, Id like to know more about the ways people use to interact with others and

things that people should be aware of in daily life. I feel like Americans chat differently

compared to how I chat with my friends from China, so I think it's important to know more about

that.