Lost in Translation - M13U2A2
Being lost and confused can be one of the most frightening experiences anyone can face. A sense of having no control, no way to communicate clearly, and no familiar surroundings, all combine to create a great amount of stress. And while being lost and confused most often produces these feelings, there are some people who frame and perceive these moments as an adventure; a challenge to be accepted. Now consider if you were an immigrant student trying to learn in a new country and were panicking because you know longer felt like you fit in, that you were the outsider now. The reality is that this situation is happening to millions of students all over the world and will continue to happen the more globalization allows for the migration of people throughout the world.
While I in no way am trying to minimize or easily assume that migrant students would quickly think that moving to a new country and learning a new language and customs is an exciting challenge, I have anecdotally seen that overtime, students look back and reflect on it with those thoughts in mind.
The title of this post, “Lost in translation,” was selected by me because I felt that while the articles for this assignment offered great insight into the struggles, it rarely spoke of the success stories among some of the most notable people in history who have dealt with many migrant or multicultural challenges in their education journey (Think of Barack Obama, or Jose Rizal). It is thus that I believe the stories of these immigrant students, ironically, are not simply a “single story,” as even warned against by Chimamanda Adichie (Adichie, 2009).
While of course immigrant children face many similar stories such having a higher chance of being bullied, dealing with mico-agreesions, or that they are often struggling between two or more cultures (Shenfield, 2017), we must also be careful not to lump all these stories into a single story. My thoughts on this concept come from the idea that by looking at this research or these stories in such a way so as to perceive them as utterly different, or pun intended, foreign, that people or students that were or aren’t immigrant students, perpetuate the divide between the “insiders” or “outsiders,” as a think does just that, divide. Before I discuss some of the concepts and research gleaned from the authors of these articles, I simply want to offer a different and maybe controversial perspective on this topic: It is my belief that the greater common denominator in the discussion of students, immigrant or not, is that we are all confused about who we are, and where to find our identity.
Before I move forward, let’s pause for a bit and explore some of the research presented from these articles. Two of the central themes that were presented were the struggle with language and thus the result of that being the second, the struggle of identity. I particularly liked the mentioning of the struggle related to non-veberal cues that immigrant or TCK’s students deal with in regards to adapting to a new environment (Shenfield, 2017). This non-verbal confusion is one that I think was too easily overlooked and would do well to have more research or scholarship on in the future. These subtle yet powerful pieces of communication can be drastic from culture to culture as mentioned with the example of how cultures interpret avoiding eye contact (Shenfield, 2017).
These mixed messages or situations of being lost in translation result often in the sense of not knowing where to belong. A powerful statement that stood out to me was: “I feel like I belong nowhere and everywhere” (Where do I belong). It is in this setting that TCKs or immigrant students are forced into adaptability mode. And while many learn to be chameleons, blending in, they are often restless, only able to relax when they are in a group of peers that are in the same situation as them, whether other immigrant students, or other TCKs. This blending in, may even become a defense mechanism that many students create so as to avoid the cultural backlash of not knowing or wrongly understanding the cultural norms.
One of the greatest challenges to thus blend in, fit in, or “belong” is to be able to speak and understand language. This is because language is the common ground or medium by which relationships are built and established. By being in a multilingual setting TCK’s struggle because they may know multiple languages but not be skilled enough to interact adequately for relationships (Harrington, 2008, p.12). This sense of being different is also compounded for immigrant children because they might have the same skin color as the majority of people in their new country, they might dress different, have different religious beliefs and even eat different types of food (Understanding). These are all no doubt, difficult challenges for children to face at a young age, and some might argue even unfair for them to have to face without much support. However, Shenfield concludes that with the right parental support, many will have an overwhelming positive sense of experiencing the “best of both worlds” (Shenfield, 2017).
While there are many immigrant students that develop a great sense of pressure to be “ loyal to the old world and fluent in the new” (Transcultural Identity, 2020), I believe in many ways this is an advantage in the long run because the quest for understanding “who am I?” is one that, while seemingly daunting for a child, becomes something that allows them to more consciously explore, and thus have a greater sense of self-actualization (Druart, 2016, p. 23).
So it is, in conclusion, that in the broader context, immigrant or cross cultural, or third culture, or multicultural students have an advantage. They are forced to see and experience a variety of “stories” and perspectives at a young age. They are not falling into the trap of only seeing “one thing over and over and over again” as Adichie mentions (Adichie, 2009). Rather, these students are able to see the complexity of life and culture, the complexity and differences of people and emotions, and are forced to struggle and deal with identity not through a fixed one-story lens as maybe most mono-cultural students have to, but as dynamic and adaptable individuals. Again, I believe that we are all seeking to understand who we are and where we belong. I also believe that we all get “lost” along the way, however, these students are able to develop the skills, albeit through difficult means, to transverse the journey of understanding the meaning and purpose of one’s life at a younger age. So maybe we’d all do well to get lost more often, to deal with some confusion, and even to be misunderstood; we might just develop a little more empathy for our fellow migrant students; our fellow human beings.
Sources
Adichie, C. N. (2009). The danger of a single story [Video]. TED: Ideas worth spreading. https://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_ngozi_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story?language=en#t-1110022
Druart, R. (2016). “Where do I belong?”: Third culture kids. Marymount Learning Leadership. https://marymountlearningleadership.tumblr.com/post/144998171596/where-do-i-belong-third-culture-kids
Harrington, P. (2008). The negotiation of identity in an international school setting. International Schools Journal, 28(1), 12-16.
Shenfield, T. (2017, May 17). Understanding the challenges faced by immigrant children. Advanced Psychology Services. https://www.psy-ed.com/wpblog/challenges-faced-by-immigrant-children/
Transcultural Identities (2020). Facing History and Ourselves.
https://www.facinghistory.org/civic-dilemmas/transcultural-identities
While I in no way am trying to minimize or easily assume that migrant students would quickly think that moving to a new country and learning a new language and customs is an exciting challenge, I have anecdotally seen that overtime, students look back and reflect on it with those thoughts in mind.
The title of this post, “Lost in translation,” was selected by me because I felt that while the articles for this assignment offered great insight into the struggles, it rarely spoke of the success stories among some of the most notable people in history who have dealt with many migrant or multicultural challenges in their education journey (Think of Barack Obama, or Jose Rizal). It is thus that I believe the stories of these immigrant students, ironically, are not simply a “single story,” as even warned against by Chimamanda Adichie (Adichie, 2009).
While of course immigrant children face many similar stories such having a higher chance of being bullied, dealing with mico-agreesions, or that they are often struggling between two or more cultures (Shenfield, 2017), we must also be careful not to lump all these stories into a single story. My thoughts on this concept come from the idea that by looking at this research or these stories in such a way so as to perceive them as utterly different, or pun intended, foreign, that people or students that were or aren’t immigrant students, perpetuate the divide between the “insiders” or “outsiders,” as a think does just that, divide. Before I discuss some of the concepts and research gleaned from the authors of these articles, I simply want to offer a different and maybe controversial perspective on this topic: It is my belief that the greater common denominator in the discussion of students, immigrant or not, is that we are all confused about who we are, and where to find our identity.
Before I move forward, let’s pause for a bit and explore some of the research presented from these articles. Two of the central themes that were presented were the struggle with language and thus the result of that being the second, the struggle of identity. I particularly liked the mentioning of the struggle related to non-veberal cues that immigrant or TCK’s students deal with in regards to adapting to a new environment (Shenfield, 2017). This non-verbal confusion is one that I think was too easily overlooked and would do well to have more research or scholarship on in the future. These subtle yet powerful pieces of communication can be drastic from culture to culture as mentioned with the example of how cultures interpret avoiding eye contact (Shenfield, 2017).
These mixed messages or situations of being lost in translation result often in the sense of not knowing where to belong. A powerful statement that stood out to me was: “I feel like I belong nowhere and everywhere” (Where do I belong). It is in this setting that TCKs or immigrant students are forced into adaptability mode. And while many learn to be chameleons, blending in, they are often restless, only able to relax when they are in a group of peers that are in the same situation as them, whether other immigrant students, or other TCKs. This blending in, may even become a defense mechanism that many students create so as to avoid the cultural backlash of not knowing or wrongly understanding the cultural norms.
One of the greatest challenges to thus blend in, fit in, or “belong” is to be able to speak and understand language. This is because language is the common ground or medium by which relationships are built and established. By being in a multilingual setting TCK’s struggle because they may know multiple languages but not be skilled enough to interact adequately for relationships (Harrington, 2008, p.12). This sense of being different is also compounded for immigrant children because they might have the same skin color as the majority of people in their new country, they might dress different, have different religious beliefs and even eat different types of food (Understanding). These are all no doubt, difficult challenges for children to face at a young age, and some might argue even unfair for them to have to face without much support. However, Shenfield concludes that with the right parental support, many will have an overwhelming positive sense of experiencing the “best of both worlds” (Shenfield, 2017).
While there are many immigrant students that develop a great sense of pressure to be “ loyal to the old world and fluent in the new” (Transcultural Identity, 2020), I believe in many ways this is an advantage in the long run because the quest for understanding “who am I?” is one that, while seemingly daunting for a child, becomes something that allows them to more consciously explore, and thus have a greater sense of self-actualization (Druart, 2016, p. 23).
So it is, in conclusion, that in the broader context, immigrant or cross cultural, or third culture, or multicultural students have an advantage. They are forced to see and experience a variety of “stories” and perspectives at a young age. They are not falling into the trap of only seeing “one thing over and over and over again” as Adichie mentions (Adichie, 2009). Rather, these students are able to see the complexity of life and culture, the complexity and differences of people and emotions, and are forced to struggle and deal with identity not through a fixed one-story lens as maybe most mono-cultural students have to, but as dynamic and adaptable individuals. Again, I believe that we are all seeking to understand who we are and where we belong. I also believe that we all get “lost” along the way, however, these students are able to develop the skills, albeit through difficult means, to transverse the journey of understanding the meaning and purpose of one’s life at a younger age. So maybe we’d all do well to get lost more often, to deal with some confusion, and even to be misunderstood; we might just develop a little more empathy for our fellow migrant students; our fellow human beings.
Sources
Adichie, C. N. (2009). The danger of a single story [Video]. TED: Ideas worth spreading. https://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_ngozi_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story?language=en#t-1110022
Druart, R. (2016). “Where do I belong?”: Third culture kids. Marymount Learning Leadership. https://marymountlearningleadership.tumblr.com/post/144998171596/where-do-i-belong-third-culture-kids
Harrington, P. (2008). The negotiation of identity in an international school setting. International Schools Journal, 28(1), 12-16.
Shenfield, T. (2017, May 17). Understanding the challenges faced by immigrant children. Advanced Psychology Services. https://www.psy-ed.com/wpblog/challenges-faced-by-immigrant-children/
Transcultural Identities (2020). Facing History and Ourselves.
https://www.facinghistory.org/civic-dilemmas/transcultural-identities
