Language played a major role in Amy Tan’s life. Amy grew up with an m0m who spoke “broken” English and had to speak for her mom the majority of the time. Amy always felt ashamed that no one could understand what her mom was saying. For example, Amy states,” I was ashamed of her English.”. No one took her mom seriously because she couldn’t speak proper English, even her mom noticed that no one took her seriously. This affected the way Amy perceived herself. She feels like because she grew up in a family who spoke “broken” English, it affected the way she performed on her exams. Amy states, “But I do think that the language spoken in the family… plays a large role in shaping the language of the child. And I believe that it affected my results on achievements tests, I.Q. tests, and the SAT.”. She excelled in other subjects like Math or Science, but English was always something she struggled with. Amy became aware of her language biases when she noticed that the way she speaks with people who aren’t close to her varies from the way she speaks with her mom and husband. When giving her speech, she noticed that her mom as never heard her speak in this type of English. As stated, “And it was perhaps the first time she had heard me give a lengthy speech, using the kind of English I have never used with her.”.

As a person who lives in a household with parents who don’t speak or understand English clearly, I believe they are aware of the way English is being used around them. People raised in a non-English household speak or pronounce words differently so their parents would understand compared to how they would talk in school or work. Most probably don’t even speak English at home and only communicate in their native language. I am aware of how English is used around me because, in my household, my mom and dad also speak “broken” English. majority of the time I only speak Albanian with my parents and only speak English with my siblings. Like Amy Tan, I believe my parent’s lack of English has affected the way I perform in English exams and why I feel English is my worse subject.

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