A MATTER OF IDENTITY

In "The Classroom and the Wider Culture," Fan Shen shows the difficulty of changing from the passive Chinese way of writing and thinking to the "I" culture of America. "Be yourself" is an idealistic foundation of English composition. It was a new way of thinking and writing to Shen. She explains that she created an "English self" by playing a game. First, she made a list of simple features she had been used to when writing in Chinese. Then, next to that list, she created a new one. This was the English "identity" she now had to adopt. It was not easy for her. There was a totally different logic between the two cultures.

Coming from a "different" culture, I understand Shen's difficulty. I sometimes think in Korean. Then I have to translate those thoughts into English. I also have to correct the style of my thoughts and words. I also understand the difference between being passive and the "I". Asian cultures are far more of a total mass way of thinking, English is very individual. What's more, there are many words in English that mean nearly the same thing. Ideographs in Asia are very specific.

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Category: Psychology - A