When it comes to learning a new language, sometimes you need to embrace your native one first.
Students returning from an immersive language experience often describe having transformative moments while abroad—but to have these moments, they first had to face the stress of navigating a new linguistic and cultural landscape. This stress sometimes becomes overwhelming, even to the point where students feel they must choose to either ignore their mental health or give up on their language studies altogether. Having seen several of his students struggle to learn Japanese without sacrificing their well-being, Assistant Professor Shinsuke Tsuchiya (Japanese Language Pedagogy) paired with BYU’s Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) to research how intentionally using your native language while in an immersive environment can actually improve your new language skills and help you feel less stress.
Meditative Language Learning
Currently, Tsuchiya heads the Japanese house for the Language Immersion Student Residence (LISR) located north of BYU campus. In this position, he meets with students in the program and finds ways to support their language learning during their time there. Tsuchiya explains, “I used to live [at the LISR] myself—I know how hard it is to stay in the language. But then there’s the issue of managing emotional needs or social needs, [and] that can be challenging to address in your target language.” Hoping to give students more tools to help them cope with the stress of being in an immersive environment, he turned to CAPS psychologist Adam Fisher.
Together, Tsuchiya and Fisher conducted research on the balance between using one’s target language and native language when in an immersive environment. As part of the study, volunteer students from the LISR’s Chinese and Japanese houses participated in weekly meditation sessions led by Fisher for five consecutive weeks. Each class was mainly conducted in English and started with a 45-question survey that recorded students’ stress levels. After meditating, Fisher finished with a group discussion on the meditation.
Tsuchiya compared the questionnaire data over the weeks to determine if the meditation and group discussion helped the students better balance their needs with their studies. Using student interviews and quantitative data from the questionnaire, he concluded that most immersion students who were experiencing stress did benefit from participating in meditation sessions in English—in fact, their stress levels decreased over time.
Purposeful Immersion
Though he used the LISR as a case study, Tsuchiya believes these results apply to any immersion program, both abroad and stateside. He hopes students will remember to lean on their native language and culture when facing problems such as mental illness or any other hardships. This practice will ensure that students’ lack of language knowledge won’t get in the way of addressing their needs. Tsuchiya explains, “It is okay to use English purposefully; sometimes you need to take a mental break or have emotional conversations.”
In fact, after seeing the impact of native language use on second language learners, he now believes that it’s important “to use English purposefully to take advantage of your identity as an English speaker in addition to your ability to communicate in [your target language].” Even outside of addressing urgent problems, Tsuchiya argues that it may be healthy for students to use their native language at least occasionally to help them feel connected to their identity and home. He believes that language learners have a complex identity: one that represents their native language and culture as well as the identity that emerges as they study another language. Tsuchiya says, “I want to teach our students to be able to embrace their identity as multilingual speakers so that they can proactively and effectively navigate conflicts with a multilingual perspective.”
Finding Balance in Your Language Journey
Tsuchiya believes that true immersion involves acknowledging both your first and second language. He explains that when students go abroad, they take their mannerisms, speech patterns, and interests with them—all of which are remnants of the language and culture that built them. Through the purposeful use of native language and the culture that comes with it, he argues that students will be able to better take care of themselves and more fully enjoy their language studies. As undergrads learn to create their own boundaries around language learning, Tsuchiya encourages students to “be open and be willing to learn and relearn; language is a lifelong journey.”
Explore the College of Humanities’s language departments to get started on a new language today!