Communication

Hello!
My name is Yasmin Newman in Grade 11 and I am from Malaysia. Currently, I am living in the UAE
I study in Raha international school and this blog is to document my journey through learning about the languages and cultures in this programme. My long term goals are to hopefully study in England after graduating, majoring in fine arts or Design. I enjoy anything in the arts. Both Fine arts and the Liberal arts, and my hobbies include anything  artistic.

I think language is very important for my studies because of not just the jargon terminology, but also the understanding of language and the stream of branches located in Media tertiary career opportunities for me.

Language is important because it is a way of communicating. The role of English is an important skill for me to learn because it is understood internationally and will help me not just to define, but support me in achieving my goals and future.

To top it off, I am half English and half Malay.

Moving to Abu Dhabi has given me privileges of being an open-minded student. When I was younger I remember that I never wanted to speak English, because I wanted to be closer to my Malay identity. Which brings me to my next point.

Have I ever felt excluded from Language barriers? I most certainly have. I think one of the hardest things of being a cultural hybrid, is that my language skills are neither strong in both Malay and English.

In the English aspects, they dominate my education as I learn everything in English, however when being referred to my childhood or past events, they’re normally remembered in Malay, which really gives me a half and half mixture.

Also, the fact that many Malaysians don’t think I speak Malay irritates me.

When I speak in Malay, it changes me as a person in my confidence and even the way I act, whereas in English I act in a manner using more hand gestures and talk about different things. This alone provides me the curiosity of how powerful language really is, as it can change you as a person and the way you act. Something I look forward to in this course!

I believe that culture is very important and connected to our language. I no longer believe that country borders stop languages. Language is so flexible and we even make languages that are even without words, like body language. Even art is another form of language as you use it to express yourself.

This blog post may seem a little monotone or stiff, however this is my first blog post ever and I hope to be able to write more fluently as the course progresses!

-Yasmin.