Thirteen percent of the student population at the University of Oregon is international students. Of that 13 percent, China, Korea, Japan and Taiwan are in the top five countries of origin. I find that this significant portion of our student body from that area of the world is often overlooked by us natives of the States. The divide between our differing cultures as social groups is something we see daily on campus.
Although every country in that part of the world is very distinct and diverse, we perceive their citizens in similar ways here. Part of this comes from the fact that all international students struggle with many of the same problems acclimating to our country’s culture, most prominently language barriers.
Language makes up a large part of the divide between American students and Asian international students. None of the languages originating from these countries bear any resemblance in writing or speaking to what English-first speakers are accustomed to, and that in itself seems to present enough of a barrier to keep these groups socially separated. But this barrier is a choice, and more importantly, we’re doing these international students a disservice by allowing this severance.
“I feel like American people avoid me because I don’t speak English,” said Sanghyun Jang, 27. For over two years Jang has been in the United States and he currently attends the university pursuing a degree in finance. For those of us linguistically challenged by his given name, he also goes by Jay. He explained that although many Korean students at the school stick together socially, he makes it a point to avoid that. “We came here to learn English and to learn a different culture, but if we hang out with Koreans in United States, that’s the same thing as if I lived in Korea.”
Jay considers his time in the United States a privilege. We spoke at length about how his travels around the U.S. far overshadow my own, despite having spent my whole life in this country. He is taking advantage of the limited opportunity to experience a culture so different from the one in which he was raised, something I believe people our age can really benefit from. However, this can be difficult if that culture won’t let him in. Luckily, he’s found a place that has. We spoke about how in Oregon, and Eugene specifically, he’s found a community of more open minded people. Jay said that he feels comfortable in Eugene and the laid back nature of its inhabitants, but that isn’t the case everywhere.
“(Eugene has been) better than other cities,” Kyong Min Nam, 21, said. Nam, who goes by Julie, is another Korean student studying here in Eugene. She’s been in the United States a little less than a year and is currently enrolled in an English language learning program at Lane Community College. We spoke about her more recent experiences struggling with language barriers. “Usually Americans cannot understand my English,” she said.
Luckily, she has a guide of sorts.
“(My roommate) can’t understand my English, not at all,” Nam said. Despite this, the two live together and enjoy each other’s company. This was the most interesting part of my interview with Julie. It showed that language is only as far of a barrier as you allow it to be. Genuine human connection is universal.
Obviously, all students in college have good and bad experiences. But, based on these conversations, the inability to speak English fluently contributes to the bad. I don’t think that has to be the case. It sounds like the Eugene community is working in the right direction, but we can do better. Our country has no official language– it’s important to remember that.
Symbolically, we are a nation composed of other nations. This unique foundation is meaningless if we don’t embrace diversity. We aren’t united as a country by a language, but by a desire to be here and improve – and to make this place something we can all be proud of.