Simply put, I adore languages. In the last few years, I have fallen in love with Chinese and have been lucky enough to have remarkable Chinese teachers and friends by my side to guide me along this journey. I can confidently say that speaking, reading, and writing Chinese has opened the door to myriad opportunities I would never have had without this language, including making life-long friends and grasping a very rich understanding of education and people. This is the main reason that I came to NYU Shanghai, as I knew that if I wished to pursue the study of Chinese language and get a great education simultaneously, it would be the ideal school for me. While attending the admitted students’ weekend last April, I was surprised to notice a certain stigma surrounding the Chinese language among the students in the year above me. It seemed like a taboo to speak Chinese, whether you were a foreigner or not, and when I would speak earnestly and ask questions in Chinese, the entire atmosphere of the room would change. Perhaps I am overly sensitive to the subject, but I fervently believe that respect towards all languages is crucial, particularly towards the language of the country in which one is living as a foreigner. While some students seemed passionate about learning Chinese, I rarely heard any Chinese actually spoken during the aforementioned admitted students’ weekend. Many of my visiting peers were unfazed by this fact, but, in all honesty, I was shocked. For a school located in China with a 50% Chinese student body, I gained the impression that Chinese culture and language was, to a certain extent, absent from the campus and from student life. The school’s mission clearly delineates that we at NYU Shanghai will unite “the intellectual resources of New York University’s global network with the multidimensional richness of China.” But this seemed to not be the case. When I raised the issue with some Chinese students in the grade above, many of them seemed genuinely surprised by the notion of a fellow classmate being so passionate about Chinese. Some even suggested that I look into transferring to Beida or Fudan if I wanted to pursue Chinese language studies, although at that time I’d not even finished my senior year yet. Although this aspect of the weekend made me slightly apprehensive, the incredible quality of students, the great promises of a new campus, and the whole mission of NYU’s Global Network was more than enough to convince me that it was, nonetheless, the right place for me. Since the start of the school year, I have noticed a few things about the use of Chinese at our school. At the beginning of the year, I heard statements from international students such as, “this an American school, so everyone should use English”, and “what’s the point of speaking Chinese if everyone is at least proficient in English?” Meanwhile, there were Chinese students who were very surprised that some of their peers had such little interest in Chinese, and that some would not even allow them to speak Chinese in their presence. Well, to this I ask: what is the reason we came to NYU Shanghai? Is it really to speak and think in one language, allowing four years to pass without taking our immersion in the language beyond the classroom level? Why would someone come to a country for school with the notion that working hard to master the nation’s mother language is not important? Yes, it is true, we hear it over and over again - that Chinese is “almost impossible to learn as a foreigner” - but this should not mean that we close our minds to the language and ignore it, as we are all required to learn it if we have not learned already. Doing so is counterintuitive to the very reasons we chose NYU Shanghai, but furthermore I believe disrespectful to the country that is hosting us for these four crucial years. Since hearing these initial reactions, I’ve seen the eyes of my international peers light up upon recognizing a character on a street sign or menu. I’ve seen the wide smiles of my Chinese peers when they hear someone in the process of learning Chinese hard at work on their tones. Now, after a few months in, comments like these have almost disappeared among the freshman class. I believe that with each day more and more students are recognizing that dual availability of English and Chinese is not only nondisruptive, but, in fact, enriching for every student in our community. So, if there’s a sign someone wishes to post around school, why not put it in both languages when we have the resources and knowledge to do so? If a student or teacher wishes, would it be disruptive to send an e-mail in both languages? If someone who is willing to make an announcement can and would like to speak both languages, why not let a peer, Chinese or not, have an opportunity to speak the language of the country we are in? If someone overhears students speaking Chinese and is struggling to understand in a social setting, is it really productive or fair to tell those students to switch to English, or should this person use the opportunity to step back, and just simply embrace listening? These are questions that I encourage the student body to consider. For me, the idea of being in the United States and being asked to stop speaking English is preposterous. Undoubtedly, it can be awkward to stand in between two people speaking a language you cannot fully understand, but these moments are all opportunities to pick up on something new, especially considered we are required to learn it. Sometimes, it’s as easy as asking a peer to translate - “Do you mind explaining what you guys were talking about?” It might be uncomfortable, but in a community as diverse as ours, we must learn to thrive on this idea of being “uncomfortable.” We are here to help each other learn, and with our talents, we can do so very easily. And what if they’re not willing to translate? Simply put, we cannot and should not restrict the right of other people to speak in whichever language they prefer. Some may try and reject the idea of learning Chinese or speaking it, but once you leave the academic building and dorms, speaking English or relying on a Chinese-speaking friend is not always going to cut it. I encourage the student body to keep in mind to not let the idea that this is simply an “American school” get in the way of how remembering how much more NYU Shanghai is than just that. So, let us grow together and learn from one another, and if we simply take a moment to look around, we’ll see that all the necessary tools are right at our fingertips. This article was written by Wesley Livingstone. Send an email to [email protected] to get in touch. Photo Credit: Hongbin Chen