As an ESL tutor, I sometimes have the opportunity to be embedded in a class of English learners. Recently, as the students in an ESL class were writing a timed, in-class essay, I decided to write the essay, too, since I liked the topic. This is my work from that day. I hope it expresses to you, ESL students, how I feel about your being here in this country. You may need to look up some of the vocabulary, but I encourage you not to stop to understand every word; instead, read the essay for its main message.
For those of you who are at the level of essay-writing, take note of my essay structure: the hook, connecting/bridge information, and thesis statement of the introduction. Then pay attention to the topic sentences and supporting details and examples of the body paragraphs. Finally, get a feel for the construction of the conclusion. Do you see how I referred back to my hook in my conclusion?
The essay question was this: What are the advantages and disadvantages of living in a multi-lingual society?
Life in the Bubble of Babel
In an attempt to draw physically closer to their God, an ancient people decided that they should build a high tower that reached into the heavens. Vainly, they laid brick upon brick, constructing an edifice that could transport them into a spiritual realm—or so they thought. Their attempt was vain, for they did not realize that proximity to God could not be attained via a shortened physical distance. As punishment for their hardened hearts, God confounded their language. Instead of speaking one communal tongue, they suddenly spoke various languages. This lead to confusion and dismay, for they were no longer able to freely communicate with their fellow citizens. Fast-forwarding thousands of years, a multitude of “Babel towers” stand, soaring into the firmament: We are now a world of diverse languages. Are the speakers filled with frenzy, struggling to be understood and to interact with others—or are they cherishing the chance to grow in their multilingual society? With personalities and environments as disparate as the pastiche of languages, there are both pros and cons to living in the bubble of Babel.
There is a con that cannot be ignored: if one cannot communicate adequately in a multilingual environment, one’s identity suffers. The ability to express ourselves to the extent that we are understood and appreciated for that which we contribute is a cornerstone of our identity. When the co-workers, classmates, neighbors, and strangers around us all speak a language or languages that we are not privy to, we have little opportunity to share who we are on the inside. We may be evaluated on our appearance alone or by our clumsy attempts to assert our identity. Who we are may become lost. Others pass us by; we are invisible to them. Without the power of a voice that is understood, we turn faceless. Perhaps Mrs. Hidalgo was a nurse in her native country. Plunged into a society that speaks several languages—none of them her own—she rarely converses. The faces around her may decide she is dull, ignorant, illiterate even. Others identify her as “that quiet, boring woman who cleans hospital rooms.” She is not able to tug on their sleeve in denial, beseeching them to know that she is an RN, for she has lost confidence. Mrs. Hidalgo may even lose her own sense of identity in the darkness of lack of communion with her fellows. A multilingual society may serve as an unscaleable wall when one does not speak in at least one of those myriad tongues.
Just as a multilingual environment can act as a wall, it can also bring people together to deconstruct that very wall through allowing them to acquire a new language: a definite pro. To illustrate, thirty students representing eight languages may come together in an ESL class. They have recently traveled from their home countries to reside in a multilingual society such as Los Angeles. In their class, not only are they introduced to the common language of English, but they may for the first time be surrounded by the verbal music of Babel. Together they struggle to grasp the concepts of English. Trudging through the fundamentals of grammar, they form alliances with students with whom they are not able to freely communicate. Opportunities to practice patience arise as they are bewildered by foreign accents practically incomprehensible to their ears. During breaks, when students cluster into groups of same languages, each group hears the mysteries of unknown tongues. An Egyptian student may even be overheard teaching a Korean how to say “I love you” in Arabic. Forced to parley in their growing common language, students learn to be accepting, non-critical, compassionate, and trusting. When the same students move out into the streets of Los Angeles’ multilingual charms, they are catapulted into courage. They must take chances and order food in English or explain their circumstances to a public official. Those who reside in multilingual societies have the advantage of having their personal language barriers torn down in order to broaden their acquisition of language.
Putting aside the practical pro of language learning for a moment, there is a pro to living in an environment of diverse languages that has its roots in the emotions of the human heart; namely, having the privilege to dwell among a plethora of tongues incites emotion. Sitting in a room filled with strangers uttering exotic syllables caresses the ears of the listener. The guttural tones of a German family stir a sense of curiosity. The sing-song jabs of a Southeast Asian language bring a smile to the face. The sweet cacophony of Farsi makes one desire to draw her chair closer. The very sounds that are only peculiar noise to one who does not understand their meaning are like a honey glazing the soul. The heart may get “sticky” with confusion, but it is a loveable confusion. Listening to an Italian mustering all his knowledge of English to tell the doctor that his child is ill bakes a cake of compassion in the spirit. The melody of two girls having an emotionally happy conversation in Spanish swells the heart. This emotional response of hearing a Babel of tongues may not exist for everyone. It is tricky to explain, this surge of emotion caused by the sound of an unknown language. Perhaps it is the spirit responding to the humanity in others—a shared humanity. Perhaps it lays us open to vulnerability, or we recognize the fragility of others. Maybe there is an energy of joy in the sonorous melee. Whatever it may be, living in a multilingual society allows some listeners to experience the emotions that are somehow engendered by Babel.
When entering any city or environment that boasts a Tower of Babel, pause before entering. Pause long enough to ask questions to the heart: What may be found within? What obstacles must be contended with? What lessons may be swallowed whole? What love, sorrow, or pity may bloom in the gardens of the tower? Approaching the Tower from disparate angles provides manifold perspectives. To one, the Tower may, indeed, be a punishment, a sad dimension in which self-identity is lost, where the voice is muted and the face becomes featureless. To another, the Tower of a multilingual society offers a staircase to climb to wrench a bilingual star from the midnight sky. The pros and cons of a language-rich society are made clear by the attitude of the one who approaches: Enter and curse the confusion and hardship, or enter and get a glimpse of God.