Yoonsuk Jung, Assignment #1

The only thing Zitkala-Sa and I have in common is that we have to study English whether we like it or not. The most different thing is that she was enforced by a periodical background rather than her subjectivity. In my case, I am studying English for my own purpose.

My experience of studying in a new environment starts here, in the United States. Whatever I do, I have to use English everyday and every situation. Therefore, I have experienced a huge number of mistakes and misunderstanding. In other words, it is difficult to apply my mother language, formerly learning experience, and knowledge to this new environment. For instance, I am still confused about differences between formal English and informal English. When I go to a bar, a class, or any other places, I realize that people use totally different English expressions than what I learned before. Although I agree that expression styles can be different by each person, it is hard to understand or adapt to diverse circumstances for me as long as I have the knowledge of all the idioms and expressions. Think about this, a conversation between professor and student. "Hello, professor. How are you?", "Hey, what's up man?" These two conversations have huge different meanings. I think when I distinguish the difference between formal and informal English and speak fluently in both aspects without any hassle, I will then be satisfied with my English proficiency.

From the story of Zitkala-Sa, I could have a chance to think about the culture shock that she and her friends had sadly experienced. Different background, race, language, culture, and the way of thinking can easily lead people to conflicts and misunderstanding of each other among the relationship of people. Of course, these influences can also accompany positive effects such as progress, or coexistence.