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On my notebook How I overcame a language barrier
By Sachiko Miyakawa
smiyakawa@kansan.com
"I'm a journalism student. I want to interview somebody in the office ..."
I tried to explain the purpose of my interview. Two receptionists looked at each other, puzzled. What was wrong with the sentence? How come they didn't understand me? I was panicked.
"I'm taking a reporting class at KU and our assignment is to interview a person who works behind the scenes and deserves to be noticed," I said.
I restated my purpose slowly, searching for a hint of recognition in their faces.
I stood in a hallway of Strong Hall, murmuring sentences that I jotted down on a piece of paper. I repeated the sentences until I memorized them. The paper was wet from my sweaty hands. I took a deep breath and entered the Office of the International Student and Scholar Services to talk with a staff member.
It was the very first interview I conducted in my reporting career. I was a junior and had just gotten into the journalism school.The interview stressed me out so much that I wondered if I could survive the major.
I came to KU three years ago after graduating from high school in Tokyo. Good journalism programs and cultural and ethnic diversity attracted me to study in the United States. I was thrilled to travel as a journalist one day and write stories about people from different cultures. I had never visited the United States or spoken English well, but I was optimistic. I figured, using English every day in the United States, that I would become a native speaker in a few years.
My English, however, didn't improve so quickly. I could understand English well, and learned different idioms and slangs. But I was never comfortable speaking English, especially when I had to explain complicated things. When I had a complaint about my classmates or roommates, I kept it to myself to avoid misunderstanding and confrontation. I hesitated to participate in a class discussion unless I came up with perfectly grammatical sentences. I rehearsed in my head what I would speak, but before I could raise my hand, an instructor would move on the next question.
My insecurity turned me into an introvert. My boyfriend once told me I was like a wallflower because I became quiet in front of a
group of people. I was more articulate and sociable when I was living in Japan.
Being a journalism major and reporter was like shock treatment for my insecurity. I reported for The University Daily Kansan in Fall 2008,
which forced me to be outgoing. I had to write three stories and interview about 10 people a week. One of my nervous habits was speaking too fast.After a number of interviews,I learned people could understand my accented English better when I slowed down and articulated each word.
The 2008 election was the hardest story I worked on as a reporter for The Kansan. I was assigned to go to the Republican watch party in Topeka and cover the congressional race of Kansas' 2nd district. It was the first presidential election I observed in the United States, and I didn't even know what a "watch party" was.
When I arrived at the watch party in the Topeka Capital Plaza Hotel, hundreds of people filled the hotel's ballroom. Among the crowds, I had to find a spokesman for U.S. Rep. Lynn Jenkins, and some KU students to interview. I called her spokesman several times, but was directed to an answering machine. I asked around to middle-aged men in suits where I could find Jenkins. They told me she was somewhere in the hotel. It was past 11 in the evening. I desperately called one of my editors, who told me I couldn't leave the hotel until I talked to the spokesman.
Being a reporter helped improve my English and boost my confidence. I also found myself enjoying meeting different people and conducting in-depth interviews. I was surprised many people were willing to help me out and share their stories, some of which were very personal. They didn't hesitate to express their opinions on wavs to improve community and
The pressure to finish the story forced me to be aggressive. I asked a Kansan photographer to come along and recklessly stepped into an elevator, not being sure where we would go. We looked through each floor of the hotel, until we finally found a room where Jenkins and her supporters waited for the election results. Right after we got there, incumbent candidate Nancy Boyda conceded the race. People in the room screamed, cheered and hugged. When I interviewed Jenkins' spokesman, I wasn't shy or conscious of my English at all. Questions came out of my mouth one after another.
society. I found it my responsibility to develop journalist: writing about people who live in those issues and address them to the readers. different cultures or have uncommon stories I didn't travel around the world for The Kan- to tell san, but it reminded me of my passion to be a
Photo illustration by Ryan McGeeney
Biting the bullet: Sachiko now knows she needs to be more aggressive and not let the fear of being misunderstood stop her from asking the right questions and writing the best stories possible.
February 5,2009
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