The Relative Advantages of Learning my Language by Amy Choi

The Relative Advantages of Learning my Language by Amy Choi

1. The author opens the story with an anecdote. What is the anecdote and what effect does it have on the reader? The anecdote the author uses to open the story is when she's watching TV with her brother and her grandfather with bad English walks in and as he does the author says to her brother, 'I hope he doesn't sit,' but the grandfather understood that and walked away.The effect is that it makes the reader sympathetic towards the grandfather. 

2. What is the author’s view of the Chinese language in the 2^nd paragraph? The author's view of speaking the Chinese language is that it's redundant; she speaks English at school, watches English TV and lives in a country where the spoken language is English. 

3. What is symbolic about the house that the Grandfather mistakes for his own? What does it say about the assimilation of his family into Australian culture? What does it say about his understanding of Australian culture? What is ironic about the inhabitants of this house? What is symbolic about the house that the Grandfather mistakes for his own is that it was owned by Pakistanis. This shows how Australian culture is very multicolored. The irony is that the couple were friendly since Pakistan has been at war for a long time.

4. What does the death of her grandfather inspire the author to do? The death of her grandfather inspires the author to learn Chinese as her Grandfather tried to teach her. 

5. Why is she motivated to know Chinese? What is it she wants to ensure she is able to, regretting that she couldn’t do it with her grandfather? She is motivated to know Chinese because it was the language her Grandfather spoke. She wants to ensure that wherever she goes, she can communicate with people that speak her own language, regretting that she didn't spend the time to do this with her Grandfather. 

The author makes us consider what it really means about understanding someone's language? What basic human skill/ability is the author highlighting that cuts across all cultures? Communication

 Describe a time when you were at fault for not communicating with someone because of your own selfishness or lack of compassion. I met this chick I really like and we went out for a day. At the end though when she gave me her number I never called her.