A Boy From Rawanda in the US and his Experience

John Smith grew up in Remera, Kigali, Rwanda and did all of his schooling of what the American system calls the kindergarten through twelfth grade there. His first language is the most used language in Rwanda and it is called Kinyarwanda. He came to Fox with the hope of studying Global business and has learned about American culture along the way.

His experience in learning a language was definitely not a positive one. Between the poor teaching style of the teachers at his schools and the limited resources he had it was a difficult start to learning English. The resources available for people to learn another language are critical for the success of the person trying to learn the language. For the Johns journey of learning another language I felt from hearing him was the disappointment that comes along with learning a new language. A reaction for him when people are not understanding what he is trying to say was to just completely stop talking because that is less embarrassing than trying to say what he means over and over. This I imagine would be the most frustrating part of intercultural communication, because the responsibility for understanding and being clear always seems to fall on the person who is learning the language. “Being mindful can also entail being aware that using a second language is more physically and cognitively demanding than speaking one’ native language”(261). This concept from the textbook is something that all people should know but I feel like most don’t realizes this. If more people could be educated on exactly what it entails to learn another language and the toll it takes on the learner it would make people understand why some language learners have such a difficult time learning the language.

Jo...

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...use it means that as a nation we are headed for a future where no person feels like they are less because of the color of their skin. This is something that really means the most to me because I have cousins that are African American and I have heard the stories over the years of what people have said to them and it breaks my heart. In the interview John talked about Prejudice and Racism in Rwanda was not based on what ethic group you were in but your location, religion. I believe that education is a major part of ending racism, discrimination, or prejudice. These idea seem to stem from ignorance and lack of knowledge. As teachers I know that informing students at young ages about other culture and intercultural communication it will allow them to grow up in a world where everyone feels valued and respected. This in turn puts an end to the ideas of ethnocentrism.