English Not A Native Tongue Analysis

“English Not a Native Tongue”

English as a second language is an issue now days. Many people that don’t speak or write English, life tends to be a bit harsh on them. I personally have experience how difficult it is when one is not born in a family where English is not the native language. I came across two great essays, written by Amy Tan and Richard Rodriguez. These two great authors wrote about the challenges they faced while growing up in families that English was not their native tongue. Tan from an Asian family, and Rodriguez of a Mexican family. While reading these two essays I notice that they are related to each other in similar ways, although they have different outcomes. In both essays school plays a huge role, for their success
For example Rodriguez essays talks about being shy, not wanting to raise his hand to answer questions been asked. He thought that the classmates would laugh at him, therefore he didn’t participate. When the nuns picked on him to read, he would mumble, he looked down at the floor, even thought the nuns told him to speak up and put his head up. After the day, 3 nuns went to Rodriguez house to speak with the parents, and to find a solution to Rodriguez behavior in class. As a non-English speaker I know how hard it is for one to speak out loud, its nerve wrecking because you don’t know if the people around are going laugh or what? With Tan situation it’s a similar path with Rodriguez. But the differences were that the school steered her to science and math subjects. She stuck to the English subject because; she saw that there was no right or wrong answer, unlike math or science. Tan school was not really involved with her parents, when it came to finding ways for here to speak properly. The school helped her achieve success through books. From both essays I read, I relate myself to Rodriguez in the way that, the school was involved with my parents. Both my parents had communication with school teachers and counselors to find out the progress of my education. I too felt the same way Rodriguez did, while sitting in class and not knowing the answer for simple questions being asked. Whenever I did get call on in
Tan’s mother spoke her own “limited” (446) English. Therefore she was ashamed of her. Tan realized that her mothers English “reflected the quality of what she had to say.” (447) she also saw that for that same reason her mother was not taking seriously at public places, sometimes people would act like they never herd what she had said. Tan really didn’t do anything, to change the way her mother spoke, instead she spoke the same way too. For example the day she found her self saying “not waste money that way”. She realized that she didn’t care how she spoke, but how she made her mother feel comfortable; because over the time that was the English of “intimacy” (446) they spoke. With Rodriguez case he talks about a great deal of emotions. He mentions the night that him and his father where at the gas station listening to his dad trying to speak to the attendant. He describes how hard it was for his father to express himself. After that experience he took off running, while his father was going to put his hand on Richard’s shoulder. He felt awkward to the situation, also feeling ashamed of his father not speaking the language. Rodriguez mother also didn’t speak the public language, therefore Richard had to daily errands for her. After Rodriguez learned to speak and write the public language, he became the representative of the family. With any issue he was the one, which the parents came too.