How I learned English
People never seem to believe me when I say I grew up in Taiwan.
“You’re from Taiwan? But you’re not reeeally Taiwanese?”
“But you must have gone to an international school?”
Nope, and nope. Then the inevitable: But how come you have no accent!?
The short version: My parents were both English teachers, I started young enough that accent wasn’t a problem. And I spent two years in the U.S. as an exchange student.
But that’s not really the whole story, just the standard response for when I first meet someone and can’t be bothered to bore her with my life story. And I do have an accent. I have a bizarrely strong American accent. Midwestern, even, thanks to two school years in the Middle West that totaled about 15 months, which frankly isn’t enough to acquire native fluency. Living in the U.S. helped me become a more outspoken person and gave me the vocabulary to be culturally relevant, but it didn’t make my English good.
So the question parents always ask us is: how can I make sure my child learn English? And I get it, it’s a crucial skill. English has been such an integral part of my life. It got me through school, got me my first job, and granted me most of the opportunities and friendships in my life. No wonder everybody wants to figure out what the trick is.
Here are some things that my folks and I recommend:
Immerse Yo-Self
It’s so easy these days to find just about anything in your target language, Good English content is abundant and easily accessible. I have two linguistically gifted cousins. One of them learned Japanese by playing unlocalized Nintendo games obsessively. The other has been a big Japanese pop culture fan since girlhood. She’s now studying Korean, because K-pop.
Obviously, my parents played a huge role in this. They didn’t speak that much English at home or put me through any sort of language boot camp. But they made sure English was around; music, movies, and books. I was watching unsubtitled Disney movies and crying my eyes out to Aladdin and singing along to An American Tail before I even started school. With all the exposure, the rhythm of the language became natural to me.
I still couldn’t recite the entire alphabet when I started English class in middle school, but I could already speak English, sort of. I said “sank you” for years, and pronounced Minneapolis as “min-nin-nap-polis” until I was 18. But I could hold a conversation. And I loved English words. It’s easy to love something when you already have a leg-up on it.
So put your kid (or yourself) in front of a TV. Start with something fun. Find your favorite movie and watch it with English subtitles, and then graduate yourself to watching English cartoons and TV shows, sans subtitles. TED talks are great, as are any DVDs with subtitles. What’s your favorite type of music? Find an artist in that genre and go nuts. Heck, I can still sing Back Street Boys’ “Anywhere for You” in Spanish, just because it was a bonus track on a single.
Could it be genetics?
Maybe. Language skills do seem to run in the family. My Dad somehow always sounded like an NPR radio host, and he only lived in Indiana for two years for his master’s degree (the lady students loved him). My mom, a children’s English teacher, has never even lived abroad; she also speaks English with no detectable accent. Then there are my two cousins who speak English and Japanese with minimal to no accent.
My Dad believed that having sensitive ears made a difference. Perhaps coincidentally, my parents and cousins are all really good singers. Those who are musically-inclined tend to master native-like intonations much more effectively. In my experience, this is especially pronounced for people trying to learn Chinese, and I suspect might apply to other tonal languages.
So overload yourself or your kids on musicals. Yep. That’s the ticket.
Get a paper dictionary
As my Dad always said: “no input, no output.” My Dad insisted on paper dictionaries for all of his students, despite the popularity of electronic dictionaries in Taiwan. And he insisted on an English-English-Chinese dictionary. The idea is that you have to understand it in English, rather than memorizing a Chinese equivalent that might slightly miss the point. Plus, sometimes you discover randomly interesting words while you’re flipping through the pages.
Nerd confession: I read dictionaries in between classes in high school. No, I had no friends.
Build your vocabulary
My Dad bought me a copy of Word Power Made Easy, something I’ve treasured for years. It takes digesting, but I like going through a chapter or two before bed. The lessons are based on etymology, the origin and history of words. It beats memorizing word-by-word, and once you understand the common roots and origins, you can acquire more vocabulary as you read.
Again, the best way to build vocabulary is through something you’re interested in. When I was little, it was Disney cartoons. My aunts in California used to bring those big white boxes of videotapes whenever they visited. At age twelve, I read every single article online about the Backstreet Boys and Leonardo DiCaprio. In middle school, it was Eminem’s angry rap lyrics (epic for listening comprehension and releasing unfounded teenage angst). By the time I started university as an English major, I could quote every single Sex and the City and Friends episode.
Highbrow, I know. I’m classy like that. The point is, find something that interests you, and you’ll gain vocabulary that’s applicable in real life.
Bonus tip: preface your word search in Google with define:
Accept Imperfection
You’re going to mess up. That’s just how you learn. Friends often say to me: ”I’m so embarrassed by my English.” To that I say: “well imagine how they feel about their Chinese. They should be grateful that your English is so good.”
Also, If you’re past the age of 13, accept the fact that you’re going to have an accent. It’s not the worst thing in the world, and you shouldn’t let that dampen your efforts. The point is to communicate clearly, and you’re already awesome for making an effort. At least you won’t be that person who seems like a native speaker but pronounced Illinois with the s.
Now, I probably should have written this post in Chinese. I’ll get around to that.
