Because of Tufts' focus on global community, the university requires that students in the School of Arts and Sciences study and gain proficiency in a foreign language before they graduate. However, for Tufts' contingent of international students, the study of foreign languages began long before they became Jumbos, and unlike most other students, they are now required to use their foreign language of choice — English — both inside and outside the classroom.
Junior Emilia Luna, who is originally from Ecuador, began her English education at an American international school.
"There [are] two good schools in Ecuador," she said. "Mine … just had an American system."
Although some international schools are run through the U.S. Embassy, Luna explained, hers adhered to an accredited American curriculum in which classes — taught by Americans — were conducted in English and points were taken off whenever a student spoke in Spanish. This dynamic proved a vital part of the process of learning a foreign language.
Luna's future plans played a large part in the original decision to attend an American school, especially since she had always planned on eventually studying outside of Ecuador.
"If you do want to go abroad like my parents wanted me to, you do need a very high level of English," Luna said. She was able to gain a substantial amount of practical experience in English before coming to Tufts by attending two summer camps in America.
"I think what changed the most [afterwards] was how comfortable I was with my English," she said.
When she was 13, Luna attended a writing program offered by Johns Hopkins University, and she took a journalism course at Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire the summer before her junior year of high school.
"I've always loved to write," Luna said, further explaining that, in her case, the immersive environment and the chance to write provided by these camps was key to learning English.
"In order for you to appreciate a language, the language needs to be part of more than the academic realm," she said. "The main difference, learning−wise, [is that] English is considered only an academic language."
For junior William Luk, a native of Hong Kong, learning English also began as a purely academic endeavor.
"I went to a local school for the first six years of my primary education," Luk said. "My English was one of the best in my year."
When he realized his son's potential in the English language, Luk's father decided to transfer him to an international high school. Moreover, the decision to learn English in Hong Kong made sense because the territory — a British colony until 1997 — conducts much of its government and business in English.
As a student at the Canadian International School of Hong Kong, Luk participated in an Ontario−based curriculum with Canadian teachers and textbooks. All courses taught English very formally, he said.
"I learned English in a more structured way [with] a lot of grammar, drills, vocabulary," Luk said.
Luk added that his English as a Second Language (ESL) class at the school was instrumental in breaking through the learning curve.
Like Luna, Luk was able to gain practical experience speaking English outside of an academic context before he began studying at Tufts.
"My dad also enrolled me in theater. I joined an outside theater group," Luk said. "I did that for seven or eight years."
He elaborated that theater was also a way to practice speaking the English language confidently and fluently.
"You put yourself out there where you're put in a position that you have to speak English out loud in front of other people," Luk said, adding that, by doing this, he naturally improved.
Luk's eventual decision to study abroad was impacted largely by where he went to school.
"Being in an international school where everyone is going to study in English−speaking countries, that influenced [my decision]," he said. While he could have studied in Hong Kong, Luk explained that he preferred Western−style education and culture, seeing it as more creative.
Sophomore Ye Shen, who is originally from Nanjing, China, was also drawn to school in the United States because she preferred a liberal arts−style education.
"I liked American undergraduate education because it is more liberal arts based. I had no idea what I wanted to study when I was applying to schools, and in China you have to decide before you apply."
Since coming to Tufts, Luk explained that every day is a constant learning experience, and that despite feeling as though he was prepared when he arrived in America, there are still little things that he picks up.
"I'll pronounce a word in a different way and people will correct me," he said. "I rely on my friends to explain things … If it's something that alters the meaning of what I'm doing, if it's something important, I'll ask."
While Shen experiences the occasional difficulty with English as her second language, she is comfortable overall.
"I definitely have problems in terms of awkward wording, because I don't know the more natural way to say things," Shen said. "Other than that, I am able to express my ideas in English."
Now, Luk considers English his primary language.
"I think in English," he said, and added that it has even become more difficult for him to converse in Mandarin or Cantonese.
Luna described a different experience upon first arriving at Tufts.
"I knew I had the academic English, but I didn't have the conversational English that I thought I did," she said. Now, more than two years later, she speaks English fluently and has declared it as one of her two majors. Nevertheless, she admits that a small degree of apprehension will always remain.
"When you're in an international setting, it almost doesn't matter how good your English is," she said. Although it does not bother her in excess, Luna said her freshman fears of stumbling on words or making grammatical mistakes stick with her, despite her best efforts.
"Even if I'm an English major, it's still my second language," Luna said. "I still confuse ‘in' and ‘on' … I guess that never goes away."
Luna added that this includes her accent.
"Every time I go back to Ecuador, I come back and my accent is huge," she said.
After spending so much time in the United States, and now being fluent in English, the students still manage to find little slip−ups to laugh at. Luk explained that he once mixed up the expressions "I love you to death" and "I love you more than life itself."
"I confused [them] and said, ‘I love you more than death,'" Luk said. "My friend just said, ‘Thank you?'" he said, laughing. "I know those two sayings, I just mixed them up for a second and embarrassed myself."
Luna experiences similar stumbles, though she has another international friend to catch their own mistakes.
"One of my Greek friends says food is ‘nice.' Food can't be ‘nice,'" she said. "We just mock each other back and forth."
