mee ORSSAET Teme amare

Len eee Sa 8 ee

 

The struggles of Generation 1.5 ©

The hidden price tag of learning a second language

By Joy Kim

earning a second language is a
truly enlightening experience,
yet a very frustrating process
for sure. As a second language
speaker myself, I can attest to this.
Today, in North America, and
especially in the multicultural city
of Vancouver, there are different
groups of second language
speakers—newcomers, skilled
immigrants, international students
and naturalized citizens (who were
not born in Canada but acquired
Canadian citizenship). As a society,
we are pretty much aware of the
difficulties and struggles new
immigrants and international students
face in adjusting to a new culture and
learning a new language. We are even
aware of the struggles that the second
generation of these immigrants
face—thanks to people who’ ve shared
their personal stories and helped other
immigrants. Unfortunately, we are not
as well informed about the unique set
of challenges Generation 1.5 faces.
First of all, who is Generation
1.5? Generation 1.5 consists of
bilingual or multilingual immigrants
and citizens who immigrated when
they were young and therefore went
through the elementary or high
school systems in North America.
For this reason, they are able to
speak English fairly fluently, albeit
with a slight accent. Since they’ ve
grown up in North America, they
are familiar with the culture,
traditions, norms, pop culture,
entertainment, and way of life. To
them, learning the new language
means learning the culture, beliefs
and values, which in pragmatics
(study of language) is called learning
the ideology. In essence, Generation
1.5 learns and accepts the ideology
behind the English language along
with acquiring and learning the
language itself. As a result, they learn
to think like North Americans or in
other words, they are westernized.
For instance, to second language
speakers, learning how to use articles
like native speakers is almost an
impossible thing to nail down. Many
of their first languages don’t have

articles to start with and therefore,
they have no concept of articles.
They need to develop the concept
as well as how native speakers of
English view certain nouns as either

second language speakers learn
new concepts and unlearn some old
concepts from their native languages
and cultures. Being bicultural and
bilingual (for some, multicultural

parents.

countable or non-countable. Take the
word “advice” for example. Although
advice is something we can count,
native speakers don’t say “three
advices.” They say “three pieces of
advice” or “some advice.” However,
they do say “three suggestions,”
“three ideas,” and “three concepts;”
not “three pieces of suggestion
or idea or concept.” So, second
language speakers who think advice
is something they can count, need to
make a conscious effort to remember
it doesn’t need an “s” at the end.
Word by word, they learn to think
more like native speakers.

By being immersed in an
English-speaking environment,

and multilingual) definitely enriches
Generation 1.5’s experience and they
even enjoy easily moving back and
forth between distinctively different
cultures. However, the downside

to this is the identity crisis they
experience, especially as teenagers
who are vulnerable to emotional and
cultural pressures. At home, they
speak their home languages and
experience home cultures, while at
school and work, they speak their
second language, immersed in the
North American culture.

While Generation 1.5 teenagers
struggle to form their true identities,
it’s common for them to experience
confusion, frustration, and even self-

   

 

 

   

rejection at some point. Until they
come to terms with their bicultural
and multicultural identities, they can
reject having anything to do with
their home cultures, refuse to speak
in their first languages with family
and refuse to eat ethnic food at home,

Until they come to terms with their bicultural and multicultural identities, #!! of which certainly affect their
Generation 1.5 teenagers may reject having anything to do with their ; : i
home cultures, refuse to speak in their first languages with family and ‘ty their best to be more like their
refuse to eat ethnic food at home, all of which certainly affect their

parents. In the face of confusion, they

North American peers.

As the quest for finding one’s
place in the world is essential and
inevitable, there’s a great need for
people who understand the unique
emotional pain and confusion
Generation 1.5 faces. I’m sure their
parents who face new cultural,
linguistic, and financial challenges
themselves, aren’t the first ones to
know how to help their children.

As a society, especially in
Vancouver where it’s becoming more
multicultural with new immigrants
flooding in, it’s time we become more
aware of the struggles Generation 1.5
faces and provide help and resources
to assist them in finding their unique
identities in order to enable them to
see that learning a second language is
truly an enriching experience.

17