“How did you learn English Ma’am?”
This is one of the first questions I often get asked when I enter the classroom to teach Composition or World Literature to a largely white group of students. So, try and imagine “How did you learn English?” as a question heavy with the Southern drawl that drags out each and every word. First of all, before you judge the students that I teach and where I teach, let me clear one thing, not everyone is supposed to know where Sri Lanka is or where I come from. Especially not when I am in the Southern part of the US and I meet people who’ve never left the country and are quick to assume that I am Mexican or Arab—the two places they can think of where brown people live.
Now, even though Sri Lankans take pride in knowing geography and are quick to point fingers, if you ask those very same Sri Lankans if they knew that Dominica is a separate country to that of Dominican Republic they may not know the difference. So, I never took offence that my students didn’t know where I came from. To them I’m some Indian girl who claims to be from an island that is less than 50 miles away from the India they know of. They know Bollywood, Yoga, and they know of Priyanka Chopra (because of the TV show Quantico) and of course Gandhi. I think that’s some good information right there about my part of the world! I know they will eventually improve their knowledge of geography, find out about my country, the culture and Buddhism by the end of the semester. Ignorance is never approached with disdain. Instead I see it as the opportunity to enlighten them. Open their minds in the hopes of making them accept diversity and inclusion in a world governed by Trump.
But, this question, “How did you learn English?” there’s no simple answer for this. I learned English at home, I spoke it at home. English is technically a language I grew up with and was fond of. They couldn’t imagine that I did. So, I struggled with this question for a couple of months when I first made it here to the US. After a few months of mulling over the best possible answer to give. An answer came to me in the middle of the night.
The next day I walked into class. My heart swelling with pride. Ask me again, “How did I learn English?” I chirped to my students. They looked bemused. They asked this question at the beginning of the semester and I am giving them an answer 2 months later. Also, from my previous student evaluations I knew my students found me “funny” and “quite strange”! I was prepared for their expressions. And then I laid it all out. “America was colonized by the British, the very same people decided that one country wasn’t enough, so they came to ours too. With them they brought English, their religion and their culture. Although I was never there to witness this grand event when our country was supposedly transformed from savagery to civilization, this is how I learned English. It was forced upon some of course, but by the time I was born in the mid-1980s everyone believed this is a wonderful language to learn and encouraged people to learn it. That’s my spiel!”
I think I gave them more than they asked for. But, generally speaking, I get asked this question even outside of class. For instance, the question “How did you learn English?” was once asked while I was at a regional airport security line talking to a mild-mannered white woman. I’m sure Sri Lankans who live in some foreign country get asked this question numerous times. I’ll be honest, it used to infuriate me. But now I realize this is simply a question that allows me to strike a conversation with a stranger and tell them about the wonderful island I come from.
The columnist is a Sri Lankan who resides in what is best known as the deep South of America. Living in a quaint college tow, teaching English and World Literature to university undergraduates at an American University. Currently pursuing the final year of her PhD in English, she hopes to continue her journey of teaching, writing and exploring cultures.