Yesterday as I walked up to the apartment of the the Ling Family I was feeling nervous and didn't have much idea of what to expect of my first visit with this refugee family whom which World Relief had paired me with. Luckily the volunteer coordinator from World Relief, Kelly, was there to put my mind more at ease. So together, along with my partner Liz, the three of us prepared to meet the Lings. We were welcomed into their home effortlessly and exchanged names and greetings. Mr. and Mrs. Ling (Lion Ling and Ester) and their two children Cindy and Ram are quite the lovely family and I am so happy to be working with them. After saying hello to the children, they went off to play and the rest of us sat down on the floor to begin learning together. The first thing we did was go through picture cards and assess the skills the couple had in reading and comprehending English. They have only been in the United States a short time and were doing very well at picking things up. Next we went through addition flash cards, and while math is said to "be the same in every language" it can still be difficult to translate, however both Lion Ling and Ester did great with the flash cards. We also helped them be able to write down all their personal information, things such as name, address, birthdate and phone number. Finally we started working on money and that where we will pick up on my next visit.
The most difficult thing about the culture difference is the language barrier, yet on our first visit with the Lings it was amazing to see how hard they worked to get things right. Ester was constantly asking for spellings of words and she wrote many things down. It made working with them so much more enjoyable knowing that they wanted us to be there and wanted to learn. We also made light of the language barrier and any mistakes that someone would make; just laughing about it constantly and this made it so much less frustrating for everyone involved. To make the experience fun for everyone we also would stop to ask the Lings questions of what certain words meant in their language and they would laugh when we messed up as well. So While they learned what a "vase" is, I was learning that "[ha-coum]" means spoon...and I will have to learn how to spell it too!
Due to the small group and quiet space there was not much noise in the environment to interfere with communication, again language and interpretation of gestures and facial expressions was they key to our cross-cultural communication. We used interactive strategies- communicating directly with one another as opposed to merely observing. With similar helpful attitudes everyone involved was able to have a positive and productive visit.
What I learned from this very first visit with the Lings is that cross cultural communication, even when trying to teach a language does not have to be frustrating, instead it can be exciting and a very eye-opening experience. Now that I have met the family and spent time with them, I know how they communicate and how to be mindful of their culture as well as their needs. I can see the signs of interpersonal dialectics and hopefully watch them as they cross over from protective to expressive, autonomous to togetherness and even novelty to predictability. I hope that with each visit I will become closer to the Ling family and also become a more competent communicator.
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