Say my name

I had known our receptionist as Lilu since I started working in the hotel till the day she came and told us she was not Lilu anymore but Ashley. At first I thought she was joking but after a few weeks got used to her new name and now can hardly believe that Ashley had ever been Lilu. However, Ashley has not only been Lilu but had at least one more name her Chinese parents had given her. As some foreign names sound weird to English speakers, immigrants are usually suggested to anglicize them if possible or, if not, take another one.  

Being lucky to have got an international name, I had never thought about creating a new one for the purposes of living abroad. On the contrary, the first time in a foreign country I insisted on people calling me Masha as I had got used to it at home. It was later when I discovered that Masha sounded friendlier than the official Maria for me but not for everyone. Moreover, to my surprise it could even have bad associations in other languages. So after a girl told me my name was funny because it sounded like mashed potato, another said that in her native language it meant something like ‘poker’ and, finally, my Portuguese supervisor kindly suggested I stop using that ugly nickname while my original true name was so beautiful I gave up the idea of being Masha abroad. When in Rome, do as the Romans do.

Meanwhile, some of my Maori and Polynesian colleagues have really unique names which their parents invented for them: Temukisa, Te Okeroa, Tarawhai, Winter, or Euphrate. Interestingly, most of these names sounds exotic not only for foreigners but for locals as well. There is no other Temukisa or Tarawhai among the friends or relatives of Temukisa and Tarawhai, and on asking why their parents chose such unusual names for them the answer was because their parents had a fantasy. As a result, it certainly took time for our international team to get used to Tarawhai, who at first was called ‘Ta’, ‘Tara’ or even ‘Terrified’. However, now it is hard to imagine another more beautiful and melodious name.

My husband also told me an interesting story. When his new Chinese colleague, who had recently moved to New Zealand, introduced her daughter to a local Child Care Centre using an English version of the Chinese name, the staff asked for her daughter’s native name. Never mind how hard and unusual it sounds, they would teach other children to pronounce the name correctly, as it is so important for a little girl to keep her own identity, on the one hand, and encourage other kids to become accustomed to difference, on the other.

Reading as a way to learn English

       Reading, however and whenever we do it, remains one of the nicest and most rewarding things anyone of any age can do.

Marilyn Duckworth, New Zealand writer

I had not read a single book in English before coming to New Zealand. Even though I already had a certain level of language I never bothered to do that. Someone might say that I am simply not a fan of books, but the funny thing is that I am and that actually was the main reason for not reading in a foreign language.

The idea of reading two books at the same time, one of which is a dictionary, still does not appeal to me. I’ve tried several times but have never succeeded, which means I’ve never finished the whole book or even when I did I haven’t been absolutely convinced if I had got the idea or missed more than I understood. Furthermore, there was the other tough question that had been disturbing me all the time. What is the point of reading if in jumping from a word to its explanation you can’t immerse yourself in the process of reading? So my conclusion was that as long as you didn’t have enough vocabulary and knowledge to read in a foreign language it was better to stay away from literature.  

The understanding of necessity to adjust not your level of language to a certain book but a book to your certain level came to me after discovering a huge amount of different types of literature for English learners in a New Zealand public library. That’s how I started to read in English.

My first books were series of English and American classics retold for non-natives and accompanied by audio, so you can read and listen simultaneously. That was undoubtedly easy reading and as long as you can choose a book according to your level you don’t need a dictionary at all as it’s not hard to guess the meaning of the unknown word or phrase from the context. My other great discovery was books that are not retold but written specially for non-natives, so the author used simplified language and avoided hard constructions. The difference between this kind of books and cheap bestsellers, which are also easy to read, is that the first ones are written for intelligent but non-native readers so despite the simplified English there are still worthy topics and unpredictable plots, while the second, as I see it, written by and for those who have no idea what good literature is.   

Later, not being a fan of any detectives or horror stories I passed over Agatha Christie and Steven King, who are usually quite successful among English learners, but got addicted to the tales as I’ve always had a strong feeling that despite the simplified language many of them are written not for children but for adults. My favourites still are curious Alice discovering new worlds and meanings, brave Dorothy suffering from her homesickness and clumsy Pinocchio dreaming to become a boy.

There was also a period when I started to read Russian literature in English. Firstly I felt guilty for doing that as there was no problem to find the same book in Russian. Everyone knows how translations can change the meaning so reading in a foreign language what is written originally in your native tongue seemed ridiculous to me. However, my attitude towards this point changed when I listened to the BBC learning English adviser who recommended practising this kind of reading for non-natives as it is much easier to understand the familiar structures, reality and context but still helpful in order to learn new vocabulary and develop skimming skills. That actually was true. Even if there were serious novels or theoretical works that I hadn’t read before in my own language, it was much easier to read compared to non-native authors. Moreover, I found it interesting to look through the Russian version after and check the work of a translator. As I expected there were enough examples when meanings were slightly or sometimes even dramatically changed, not just words or phrases but the whole sentences and even paragraphs were missing. It is obviously not easy to be a translator, but probably it is even harder to be a writer seeing how your work is losing its original idea.

As a result of all those experiments, after one and a half years in a foreign country I still feel like a disabled reader who can’t afford to read Dickens or Virginia Woolf in the original. However, I’m at least happy to develop this wonderful habit of reading in English which I didn’t do before and which is probably the best and most enjoyable way to learn, improve and enrich your second language. 

About feminism

Germaine Greer, at 1960s

        To begin with I’ve never thought about feminism seriously. Moreover, I don’t remember that any male oppressed or humiliated me somehow because of my gender. And even if it happened I don’t think I noticed that at all. This issue simply didn’t feature on my list of problems, and maybe that’s why all I ever heard about feminist movement seemed ridiculous to me. Do you remember those anecdotes about women who cause a scandal if a man gives up a bus seat for them or suggests paying in a cafe? Isn’t it clear that all feminists are nothing but aggressive lesbians who just were not lucky to find a proper man? And yes, they all are from USA, just because all evil comes from there.

Gloria Steinem, at 1960s

            A few days ago I came across an interesting article in a local magazine. It was about Germaine Greer, who is coming to New Zealand this month. Greer is seventy-three years old and she is a university professor in Australia. She used to be extremely popular in 60s-70s and is known as one of the pioneering feminists. In short, the article is about the impact on New Zealand females that Greer had years ago. There were also some pictures of her in younger days. And to my surprise, there was nothing in common with an aggressive lesbian in her appearance. She is a beautiful and well-dressed woman with intelligence, confidence and courage in her face, the kind of woman I’ve always admired and wanted to be. That was enough to inspire me to learn more about her.

Germaine Greer, nowadays

      I found and watched several interviews with Germaine Greer and one of her public lectures. I also got information about another famous feminist of that time Gloria Steinem, from USA. Finally, I took up this theme with Pat, who is always interested and enthusiastic about discussing any kind of 'ism' all over the world. As a result, not surprisingly my attitude towards that issue has totally changed.     

       There are those who say that if a woman wants equality between male and female why doesn’t she go to the army or work in the mining industry. Others are protesting: who is going to raise children or do housework? Lastly, some people enjoy giving examples of successful business women who are very unhappy, lonely and long for nothing else but a simple life with a man who would love them and take care of them. That, undoubtedly, sounds very persuasive but has nothing to do with what I like about feminism.  

Gloria Steinem, nowadays

         My personal view is that in the end all feminism is about choice. Everything that Greer, Steinem and all those feminists were fighting for was a free choice that any woman had to be able to make herself. And it doesn’t matter at all if she wants to become a housewife, follow a career or combine both. Actually, it’s much more important to get rid of stereotypes. Learn to listen to yourself, and not only to society around you. Finally, have confidence that your government and country will support you anyway. Do we achieve that nowadays? Are the ideas of feminism not important for us anymore?  

         Talking about Germaine Greer, Gloria Steinem said what she valued in her was her daring – ‘so rare in women because we’re so trained to be concerned about approval’. It is hard not to agree, especially in relation to females in general. However, as long as there are such examples around us as these beautiful women there is always inspiration and hope for change.   

Isn't that a strong motivation?

There is no need to explain the importance of motivation when you learn a foreign language. It is a long and hard process, and I’m always sceptical of people who swear they learnt English watching TV or listening to pop songs. For me, good English is much more than being able to keep small talk going or get the idea of a film (sometimes when watching English movies, I am certain it’s possible to understand even Chinese ones as we get so much information from what we see and not what we hear). Good English, as I see it, means that you’re equally good at listening, reading, writing, speaking, and understanding. Is it possible to achieve that without hard work? Is it possible to force yourself to work hard without strong motivation?

Some people say English will come to you if you live in an English speaking country. I have an opposite view on that. I believe that everything will come to me as soon as my English improves. Isn’t that a strong motivation? It is my plan to sit an IELTS exam soon. I have taken it twice already. The first time was in my last year at university, and I got 5.5 out of 9. I took it again two years later before coming to New Zealand and reached 6.5. Now I have to get a better score as I’m going to study at university. But if only a good score was all I should have been concerned about at the moment!

I know a lot of international students who study in this country. Some of them have more or less the same level of English as I have and they are doing pretty well in their university courses. The only difference is that the absolute majority of them study business, hospitality, or programming. The subject I’m going to study is Literature. And there is a question I keep asking myself ten times a day: is it possible to read, understand, analyse, and write a huge amount of different types of texts in English not being a native? The answer is clear and obvious: nothing is impossible as long as your language is as perfect as a non-native. Isn’t that a strong motivation?

 When preparing for the exam, listening to radio programmes, reading, memorising new words, or writing in English, as I’m doing now, I try to keep my motivation in my mind. When on my way to work, I pass by the university campus where I’m planning to study, I think about my motivation. When I suddenly come across foreign names among successful graduates or university teachers, authors of essays, books, or articles in English, it reminds me again of my motivation. Now, isn’t that strong motivation? 

Why not start blogging in English? Or my first experimental English post

I have been thinking about starting a blog in English for a long time. I already have a Russian one and enjoy writing it. My friend Jhennifer, who went to English classes with me, said she had been inspired to start her own blog when she saw mine. Well, I’m really proud of this but feel envy of her attempt. The thing is that she was brave enough to start blogging in English and not in her native language, which I did.  Well done, Jhennie, now it is my turn to follow you.

My English teacher Pat likes my idea of blogging in English as well. Of course, it will improve my writing skills anyway. But I reckon this is not the real reason. I’d prefer to believe that the real reason is that she is keen to know what exactly I’m writing about. Just imagine, at every other lesson I’m talking to her about my blog. However, as long as her Russian remains limited (privet, kak dela?) she can’t have any chance to read any of my posts, even those that had been written about her.

A few weeks ago Stellan, who taught English in another group but was always the first one to have a beer with us, asked me, why I was not blogging in English. My arguments were, firstly, who was going to read my broken English; secondly, I didn't have time to run two blogs - even one takes 80% of my free time; thirdly, I didn't want to lose my Russian followers, who were (I hope so!) reading me and waiting for my new posts. Listening to all those excuses for myself, Stellan suddenly suggested that smart idea about running one blog but with some posts in English. Why, why hasn't this simple solution ever come to my mind? I strongly believe that half of my Russian readers are able to understand what I’m writing about, moreover, half of that half  have better English than mine so they are able to not just understand but correct me as well. Lastly, for those whose English is not enough but who want so much to know what all this talk is about (it will be a real pleasure to know if these curious readers exist) I can always give detailed explanation in the comments below (as long as it’s in Russian there is no problem).

Finally, the last serious impact to start writing my first English post happened just a few hours ago, when trying again and again to find the best or (I know, that is utopia) the fastest way to improve my language I was browsing on a very useful BBC website for English learners. The example of writing a blog in English, that was published there, impressed me so much as well as the huge amount of comments by English learners from all over the world who are struggling to learn English almost the same way the author of the post does and I do. Well, the situation became clear very quickly. Like after attending an alcoholics anonymous fellowship. I am not alone with my problems and fears. There is nothing to be afraid of. There is no time to hesitate.

To finish on a positive note I’d like to quote from the comment of that post on the BBC website left by a sixty-year old Japanese lady who is learning English to become a guide of the world heritage in her hometown.

The more mistakes you make, the more you learn from them.
Follow your dreams and don't give up halfway.
Every effort brings you closer to your dream.

Impressive and inspiring, isn’t it?