The room is quiet and filled with the stillness of dawn. Sounds of fingertips hitting the screen can be heard continuously echoing in the room, along with the ruffling sound of pages turning occasionally. The weak brightness of a small lamp highly contrasts with the dark, pale blue sky outside. Sujin Kim immensely focuses on the pages in front of her, determined to understand every single word with the help of Google Translate.
Sujin is currently a sophomore at Great Neck South High who moved to the United States during sixth grade. “I was excited to move to America. My family had been planning for 2 years before we moved to the United States. My parents want to give me and my sister a better education since the Korean education system is very competitive,” said Sujin.
The enthusiasm to start a new life in a new country pervades Sujin as she still recalls the sunny summer day she arrived in New York in August 2020 in the midst of Covid .
The eagerness soon died down when Sujin realized the challenge of mastering a new language. “One of the hardest things for an immigrant is the language barrier, “ said Sujin. Though Sujin learned simple English conversations while attending elementary school in Korea, it was not enough to comprehend a full English lesson in her classes when she first moved here.
Covid also didn’t help Sujin with learning a new language. The muffled sound when people speak behind a mask makes understanding English even more difficult. “I remember when one of my teachers came up to me to greet me, I was so nervous. I couldn’t understand what he was saying behind his mask,” said Sujin.
Sujin was automatically placed in the English New Language class. Since most of the people in that class were ethnically Chinese and often spoke Chinese to each other, she often felt alone. However, she turned her loneliness into her initial motivation for learning English. “I want to make friends with other students.” expressed Sujin.
The journey to learning English was easier said than done. “I was lucky enough to have many great mentors along the way, especially Mrs. Klein, who helped improve my language skills,” said Sujin.
“I think Sujin paid attention to the social signals around her. I think she was always translating and moving between the two languages,” said Mrs.Klein. Indeed, frequent translations between the two languages assisted Sujin’s improvement. By the end of sixth grade, Sujin could understand and communicate with her peers and teachers seamlessly. .
Regardless, Speaking was only one part of learning English. Reading and writing was the hardest part. “Reading was really hard for me, because I have to translate everything in my head into Korean before I understand,” said Sujin. In seventh grade, Sujin began to resolve the challenge of reading. She decided to wake up every morning around 5 o’clock to read books with the help of Google Translate. Sujin’s determination and her self-driven approach would eventually lead to her success.
“I still remember the feeling when I had the realization that I no longer needed to translate every English word into Korean. It was one of the best feelings I have ever had and will never forget,” Sujin reflected. She decided to challenge herself even more the next year by taking self-select English in eighth grade. By the end of middle school, she had made a full transition to understanding and making connections with English books containing complex themes on her own.
Learning a new language is a continuous process, even for native speakers. Challenging oneself to one’s best ability and never stopping trying is key to success. “Sujin always took on huge academic tasks, even if they were a little out of her reach, and she did what she could over and over and over again. That’s the recipe for becoming successful. She never stopped,” expressed Mrs. Klein.
