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Welcome to Students Incorporated, a podcast where we dive into relevant topics and issues

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related to the world of business, technology, education, and design.

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I'm your host, Mr. Jason.

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Episodes include student conversations, interviews with thought leaders, and inspirational stories

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with an international flavor.

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This podcast is created and produced with the help of students from the International

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Community School of Bangkok.

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In today's episode, we'll be discussing the topic of foreign language.

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I'm joined by co-hosts Lyon and Tazia for this episode.

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In our first segment, we'll be interviewing two foreign language teachers, Ms. Siriporn,

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the high school Thai, for Thai teacher, and Ms. Ching, the high school Mandarin teacher.

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We'll be discussing the benefits of studying a foreign language and how it can impact your

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life.

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For the second part, we'll be discussing how some words and phrases do not always translate

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directly over to another language.

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And we'll welcome another guest, our high school French teacher, Ms. Amy, for that segment.

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Okay, let's get our quote of the day and some headline news.

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Our quote of the day comes from Frank Smith, and he said, one language sets you in a corridor

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for life.

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Two languages open every door along the way.

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Frank Smith was a Canadian psycholinguist.

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He has contributed to linguistics and cognitive psychology.

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He was a big influence in the whole language approach for reading.

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The whole language approach states that language is the larger category, and reading, writing,

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speaking, and listening should be integrated into education.

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This quote really emphasizes the importance of languages and how studying multiple languages

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can open up so many different opportunities.

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To begin with, the biblical worldview of the Tower of Babel tells the story of humanity's

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attempt to build a tower that reached to the heavens in order to make a name for themselves.

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In response to this effort, God confused their language and scattered them across the earth.

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This story is often seen as an explanation of the diversity of the languages and cultures

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that exist today, and serves as a reminder of humanity's need for humility and reliance

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on God.

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Next, in Hinduism, the origins of languages are tied to the god Brahma, who is used to

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have created language in order to communicate with the gods and humans.

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According to Hindu tradition, Brahma created Sanskrit, the language of the gods, which

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is considered to be the oldest and most sacred of all languages.

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Over time, other languages developed from Sanskrit, and today there are thousands of

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languages spoken throughout the Indian subcontinent.

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And finally, in Islam, the origins of languages are tied to the story of Adam and Eve.

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According to Islamic tradition, Adam was taught the names of all things by God and from the

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names language developed.

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This story emphasizes the importance of language as a means of communication between humans

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and between humans and God, and suggests that language is an essential part of our relationship

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with the divine.

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In Islam, the diversity of languages is seen as a reflection of God's wisdom and creativity

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and is celebrated as a sign of his power and majesty.

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We'll now jump into the first part of our episode with an interview.

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I'll turn it over to our co-host and guest, Ms. Jing and Ms. Siraporn.

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Could you please introduce yourselves and tell us how long you have taught at ICS and

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what you teach?

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Hello, everyone.

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Ni hao.

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Hi, this is Ms. Jing, and then I teach Mandarin in high school at ICS.

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This is my fourth year teaching Mandarin over here.

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Some of you probably haven't taken my class.

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You probably haven't yet.

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I hope more of you will be joining my class next year after this session.

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I come from Tianjin, China, and before ICS also taught both in China and Indonesia.

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And I've been enjoying teaching here at ICS in Thailand.

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Sawadee ka.

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I'm Ms. Siraporn.

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I've been teaching here for 26 years since 1997.

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Actually, I graduated in our major, my major in science teaching for secondary.

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Come working at ICS is my new experience in teaching language and culture at the same

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time.

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And it has been a very wonderful time.

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And I enjoy working here.

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What benefits do you believe a person can gain by studying a foreign language?

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Well, because I'm a Mandarin teacher, I'm just going to talk about this in terms of

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like Mandarin Chinese as a foreign language.

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So as most of you know that the world is becoming very increasingly globalized and learning

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Mandarin foreign language can help you gain a very competitive advantage in a global business

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world.

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And Mandarin Chinese is spoken by over one million populations around the world, which

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is like one fifth of the world population.

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So Chinese history can date back to 5,000 years ago.

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So it's very interesting language to learn from a neuroscience perspective.

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I would say learning a language, especially learning Mandarin language, can use both of

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your left and then right laparolope.

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I'm not sure if you have heard about this.

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The left hembrolope usually help you to learn the language, learn the sound, but learning

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Mandarin because of the pictographic characters can also help you to enhance your memory and

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cognitive skills and also can just help you to use both of your lobes at the same time

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while learning Mandarin.

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For me, I would think learning a foreign language would benefit you in many, many ways.

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But what I would like to talk about is to help you to enjoy life more.

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Because once you understand other people, you can communicate and that just open your

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new window that you will understand them more.

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You will be able to participate with the activity that they are doing.

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And at the same time, it's build relationship with new friends and it just open another

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world.

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It's not only that, it's a chance that you can increase your brain.

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I would say make you in many ways because as once you can read other language, you know

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what people think about the same subject that we are talking, different language, different

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culture.

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We have more angles to look at.

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So that would be our, I think the benefit that we could get from our learning foreign

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language.

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Thank you for that, everybody.

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Now, our next question is how is learning a foreign language impacted or helped you personally?

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Learning a foreign language definitely can help us to just understand different cultures

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and then thinking in new ways or communicate with people from different part of the world.

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I feel like the most important part for me to learn foreign language is I'm able to have

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a very positive attitude and I have less prejudices toward the people who are different, especially

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when we're in a very diverse world and then we're able just to embarrass the difference

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among each other.

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I started learning foreign language when I was in elementary school.

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I started learning English and I continue in my high school, in my college and then

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I personally feel like learning English, which is one of the other global language definitely

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helped me to meet with people from different countries.

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I'm able to communicate with them, I'm able to still learn more from them, which has helped

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me to be like a more multidiverse person as well.

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My personal experience about learning language, what has helped me?

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First thing before I would enjoy another language, I have to go through the mountain of our problem.

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Like I am the scared person who wouldn't want to try the new task and I'm so afraid of

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speaking up and even make it harder, but once I have to start learning language when I was

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that time 30 something, even though entire system we start learning since grade five,

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but we know only A to Z and then that is, this is a chair and this is a desk, but I

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cannot use the language.

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But once I have to go over that mountains of problem, it's make me be more patient

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to put up with the problem that I have and be brave to try new thing and do not afraid

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to make the mistake, which was the very golden key for learning new language because we have

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to make mistake to learn the language.

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It was no way that we would speak perfectly at the first time.

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It have to be wrong first and then would be correct and wrong again and it could be wrong

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many, many times and even now I'm speaking English, I still make mistake, which I am

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not afraid of making mistake.

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So that would be one thing that I experienced that I have to go over that fear and then

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to experience the new beauty of knowing the language.

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The second thing that I have is when I start to understand the language, it's make me

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more joy.

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I can laugh, American Joke, I can watch I Love Lucy, which is my favorite own movie

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and I laugh out of my lung that I understand what she's saying and would be so wonderful

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and I would like to encourage anyone who would consider learning new language that you don't

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be afraid of making mistake that the way to learn the language.

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Moving on, what are some of the differences between teaching a foreign language versus

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studying a foreign language and teaching it has to be very different than just studying

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it, right?

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Well, I'm so excited to talk about this topic because if you ask me how many languages have

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you been studying, I can list a few, depends on who my students are.

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If my students are Korean, I will pick up some Korean to study.

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If my students are Thai, I actually start learning Thai.

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I think it's very important when I learn a second language, I have this first hand experience

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that how the second language has been learning and it's really helped me just to understand

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how my students will be learning and then how I can relate to their experience because

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when I teach a second language and then I can understand relate the challenge they're

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facing and then I'm just able to modify or accommodate to their learning style or to

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help them improve their learning.

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And also I think this can help me to build a good rapport between teacher and then student

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because I try to build this relationship, this understanding while learning a foreign

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language.

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So I think as a second language learner can also help me become a better second language

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teacher so I can use my experience to create more effective strategies, instructions in

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the classroom.

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For being a teacher, it's really different, right, to being a student because the teacher

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who teaches foreign language has to be the provider to provide the lesson and to connect

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with the student, find what is the good lesson that would fit their need.

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So each year our lesson, even though we have curriculum, it would have something that add

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up or take away if it's not updated anymore and that's the challenge for the teacher

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for providing the lesson that would interest the student.

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For students, they have another motivation that they come to register my course as Thai.

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Some would want grade, some would want to know more and some want to be with their friends

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who enroll the same course.

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But anyway, I would think that to be the student, first thing that they have to have joy and

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pleasure to learn, that would make their learning easier and then to me, it's a part of their

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routine to help them to practice the language.

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And the grade would be the last thing that I would tell them that it will be great, it

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will be good after they have a joy, the pleasure to learn and they make language.

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This new language is that new routine of their life, so the skill of using language with

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the new language would increase every day.

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So I hope their grade will be great.

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Thank you everybody.

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And now this question is from Ms. Jing.

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How would you say that the growth of Mandarin speakers will change the world and how it

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works?

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I feel so honored to answer this question.

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To tell you the truth, I have an interesting story to tell.

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So one day I was on BKS and then it was very crowded.

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There was a couple with their kids.

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They just got on the train and they were speaking Mandarin in front of me.

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And then I don't think they know, I understand what they're talking about.

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So they kept speaking in Mandarin and they kept using language for people around them.

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They don't understand, but unfortunately, maybe they have some secret, but I was in front

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of them.

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So I was able to understand a lot of what they said.

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So the reason why I was telling this, because you never underestimate how the population

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in the world that is able to understand Mandarin.

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I think some of you guys have this motivation when you learn Mandarin, you want to see if

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you are able to relate the Mandarin study with business career in the future because

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of the economy like in China right now.

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But I would like to encourage you to study this language with a passion and with a desire

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like for this country or for this culture.

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Personally, I was so inspired by a missionary that a long time ago, he was born in Tianjin,

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where I come from.

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I'm not sure if you have heard about his name.

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His name is called Eric Liddell.

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He's a British athlete.

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He was born in Tianjin and he's a very devout Christian and then who's famous for refusing

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taking part of Olympia because the game was on Sunday.

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So I'm not sure if you also watch his movie.

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It's an Oscar winning movie.

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It's called Chariot of Fire.

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So it's very famous if you're interested in watching.

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He works as a science sports teacher while he was in China as a missionary, but he was

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also being interned into a prisoner camp later.

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But over there that he's so passionate about Chinese culture, passionate about Chinese

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people and then like even though in a camp he was able to instruct the children and teach

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them sport and then helping others in a country where I come from.

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So I was so inspired by him.

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I think he has a great value of his life like in China.

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So while you are choosing a foreign language to study, I think it's important that if

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you have a desire to relate it to the people of the country, to get interested in their

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culture and being willing to spend some part of your life in that country.

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I hope this will be some reasons for you to choose which language you would like to study

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in your life.

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Thank you.

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And Kru Siwa Porn, why is it important for the Thai students of ICS to learn Thai on

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a deeper level?

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Thank you for the question.

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We the Thai, we have to be in Thailand, work with the Thai people.

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Mostly language is the culture and Thai language have the level of the language.

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Just today I listened about the level of the language.

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We have the language that we talk with only friends.

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The language was used with our parents, to our cousin, relative, teacher, and to use

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with our boss.

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So with the language that we have different level, that person know how to use the language

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with the right person, the right situation, and it will just tell the efficient of using

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the language.

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It's add the credit to the person who use the language.

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So even though we speak Thai, of course people would understand what we say.

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But to speak, we need to practice to use the right tone, the right words that would help

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the communication go very smoothly and we get more acceptable from others who work with

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us.

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So it's just be a very good, good benefit that we have to know our deeper level of the

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language.

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And with that, we'll be right back after a short PSA.

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One, two, three, four.

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The AP exams are coming up soon.

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From May 1st to May 12th, students all over the world will be taking their AP exams.

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Try to manage your time wisely and establish a good study schedule.

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Rest is just as important, so make sure not to sacrifice your sleep schedule or health

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in this process.

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But remember, grades and scores do not define you.

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Your determination and hard work is all that matters.

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Good luck for all your exams, everyone.

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We are back with part two.

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In this segment, we'll be talking with Miss Amy, the high school French teacher at ICS.

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We'll be discussing how some words and phrases in French and English do not directly translate

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over and may not make sense if we tried.

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Okay, let's jump into some French and English.

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Hello, and thanks for joining us on our podcast.

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Can you please introduce yourself and tell us how long you have been teaching ICS?

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Yes, my name is Miss Amy, and I started teaching at ICS in the school year of 2011-12.

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So it's been 12, this is my 12th year at ICS.

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Also, we'd like to ask you to give us some context of the French language.

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So what are some of your thoughts about its importance to French culture?

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Maybe how it's revered, protected, and any other things you've learned in your studies?

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You really cannot separate language and culture.

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You really just can't.

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They go together.

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They're kind of hand in hand.

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You can't, in the same way that you can't separate a culture from its time and place,

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you really can't separate it from its language.

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And we can't say that a culture is dead until its language is dead, right?

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So the French language is almost a religion in France.

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They really almost worship their language.

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And I don't mean that in kind of a literal way, like somebody's bowing down and praying.

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But the French language is so important to French people that being able to use language

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well is kind of the highest measure of your intelligence.

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And they place a super high value on being well read and well informed.

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Literature is baked into every level of the French education system.

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And it's almost like one of the highest aspirations you can have to be a published author.

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And the French people have really gone a long way for protecting their language.

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There's a whole organization called the Académie Française, which is made up of people who

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are the guardians of the French language.

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It's been around for centuries.

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And to be on it, you have to be a published author and you have to be invited by the other

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members of the Académie Française.

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And once you're on it, you're on it for life.

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And you even get a special title, which is Les Immortels, the immortal ones, right?

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Because the French people really consider their language to be a treasure and something

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that they guard.

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And that's why they're not really concerned with making it easy for people.

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They kind of like the fact that their language has some difficulties that make it a little

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bit harder to master.

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They think that the beauty is in the difficulty and the complexity.

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And every time that the Académie Française proposes something to make it easier, like

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simplifying spelling, people get very upset because it's not tradition.

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They really want to maintain the tradition.

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And so they have their languages highly codified.

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And it's just really such an intrinsic part of their culture.

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And proverbs and other kinds of expressions and sayings are part of that.

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Like being able to use your proverbs and your expressions at the good time is a real mark

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of intelligence and wit.

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Our word that we use for like when people are good at kind of arguing back and forth

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is like witty repartee.

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That comes from French, right?

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That idea of repartee is the idea of like fencing back and forth with language.

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Thank you so much for sharing some of the background and context and how language is

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so closely tied to culture.

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So moving on to the next part of this segment, we like to discuss certain phrases or words

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and compare those in English and French.

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The first phrase in English we like to discuss is the phrase piece of cake, which essentially

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means that someone is going to be easy to do.

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Is there something equivalent in the French language to piece of cake?

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Yeah, it's almost exactly the same thing.

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It's c'est du gâteau.

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C'est du gâteau means that's cake.

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And that means it's easy, right?

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One thing you have to know about the history of French and English is that like a full

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one third of the English language comes directly from French because of William the Conqueror

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and the Norman Conquest of England.

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The nobility brought the French language to England and that kind of like trickled its

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way down into the English language.

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So we have a lot of expressions that are very similar, not only because England and France

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are neighbors with just a body of water between them, but because our language and history

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are so intertwined between the English culture and the French culture.

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Thank you for the history lesson, Ms. Amy.

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Okay, here's another one in English I've heard used.

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It's the phrase killing two birds with one stone.

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The meaning in English is that you can accomplish two things at once.

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Ms. Amy, is there something similar in French?

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Yeah, it's really similar.

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It's actually, faire d'une pierre deux coups, which is to make with one stone two blows,

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basically to do the same thing, to hit two things with one stone.

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What about this one in English?

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The phrase is the clothes don't make the man, which means that you can't judge a person's

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character by their appearance.

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What about in French?

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I really like the one in French even more than the one in English because it's, la vie

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ne fait pas le mien, which is like the robes don't make the monk.

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Well, because the Catholic religion is so also deeply ingrained into French culture,

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but it doesn't matter.

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The idea is that even though on the outside you might have the appearance of someone who's

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holy, it doesn't mean that's what you are like on the inside, and it really kind of

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translates across.

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Thank you so much for that, Ms. Amy.

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Our next phrase is used a lot when something smaller and significant breaks something larger

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significant.

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In English, the phrase is the straw that broke the camel's back.

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Is there something in French that has a similar meaning?

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Yeah, so that expression, the straw that broke the camel's back, is really kind of like the

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continuation of a fable where there's a camel that keeps getting straw loaded onto it, and

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finally it's one single piece of straw that's just too much for the camel and it breaks

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its back, right?

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Well, in French, the expression is, c'est la goutte qui fait déborder le vase, which

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is it's the drop that makes the vase overflow.

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And you can kind of have that same word image of a vase of water, and you just put one drop

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into it, one drop into it, one drop into it, and surface tension will hold it for a while,

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but finally there will be that one drop that sends it over the edge, and now it's overflowing.

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What about this phrase, getting a taste of your own medicine?

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We know this phrase has nothing to do with medication.

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It simply means that someone gets the same bad treatment as they have given out to others.

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What is your take on this phrase, Ms. Amy?

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Well, that's like in English, it's from, I mean, a long time ago, medicine always tasted

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bad, right?

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There was no such thing as like good flavorings in medicine, and a doctor would make up a

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medicine and make someone take it, but then they wouldn't have to take it themselves.

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They wouldn't be sympathetic when people thought it tasted horrible.

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But in French, this expression would not make sense at all.

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Getting a taste of your own medicine wouldn't mean nothing.

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They'd be like, why am I tasting medicine?

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I don't understand.

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But the expression that they use is, la roseur arrosée, which means the waterer gets watered.

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And it doesn't really seem to make sense unless you know where it comes from, and where it

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actually comes from is one of the very earliest films, like a movie.

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And it was a comic film, a silent film, of a man who's in his garden and he's watering

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the flowers with a hose, and a sneaky little boy comes up behind him and steps on the hose,

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and the water stops coming out, and the guy points the hose nozzle at his face to see

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what's going on.

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The boy takes his foot away, and the guy gets sprayed in the face with his own hose.

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So that's la roseur, the one who's watering.

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Arrosée is watered.

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And finally, there's just too many idioms and proverbs to cover them all in this short

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segment.

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However, are there any you think are worthy of sharing before ending?

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There are a million proverbs in French.

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Like I said, people knowing their proverbs is really important, and they really like

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to have things that rhyme.

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Like someone who goes hunting is losing his place.

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You can use that literally, like if you are sitting in a chair and you get up to go get

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something and your brother sits down in your place.

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So there's all kinds of fun rhyming ones.

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There's lots of ones about weather and seasons and times of the year.

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But one that I think is really important to me is one that I think applies to language

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learning.

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This is a proverb that I use all the time for myself, and it's petit à petit, le oiseau

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fait son nez.

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So petit à petit, little by little, l'oiseau fait son nez.

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The bird makes its nest.

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So just one twig at a time, right?

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The bird flies away, gets one little stick and makes a nest, and he builds something

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significant out of it.

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And that's what it's like to learn a language.

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You a little bit over time with consistency, you build and you build and you build until

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you become fluent.

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We are running out of time, but we'd like to thank our guests for joining us.

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It was an interesting experience and we learned a lot about the benefits of studying a foreign

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language.

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As we end this episode, we'd like to thank our listeners for their continued support

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of our podcast.

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Make sure to listen to all of our episodes, which are available on all streaming platforms.

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Coming up next, we'll be joined again by some of our younger listeners for Are You Smarter

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Than a Fourth Grader and A Spelling Bee, something you won't want to miss.

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This podcast will not be possible without the hard work and support of our international

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student production team.

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All music and sound effects are courtesy of Pixabay.com, a vibrant community of creatives

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sharing copyright free images, videos, and music.

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And we are signing off until next time.

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We're Students Incorporated, because your voice matters.