Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Interview with Jenny

Who is Maria?
Hi, I am Jenny. I was born in Hong Kong and both of my parents are Filipino. I have 3 brothers. After finishing my first year college, I have become a singer, a recording artist.

Family background

Mother
Father
Age
51
64
Profession
Sales marketing
Musician
Nationality
Filipino
Filipino
No. of years in HK
29
40
Educational level
2nd year college
Grade 6 primary
Language Proficiency
Tagalog: intermediate
English: intermediate
Cantonese: Beginner
Tagalog: advanced
English: intermediate
Cantonese: Beginner
Language Use
Home: Tagalog+ English (with code-mixing and code-switching)
Work: English
Social gatherings: Tagalog+ English (with code-mixing and code-switching
Home: Tagalog+ English (with code-mixing and code-switching)
Work: English
Social gatherings: Tagalog+ English (with code-mixing and code-switching

What languages do you use in everyday life?
I use Tagalog to communicate with my parents and siblings at home, but sometimes we also use English in our conversations, so there are many code-mixing and code-switching. I did not learn Tagalog at school so I can speak fluently but I can only write a bit of it because I studied in Hong Kong from primary school all the way to first year college.

When I hang out with my friends, we mostly use English as some of my friends are not Filipino and they do not speak Tagalog. But of course if I go out with my Filipino friends, we will use both Tagalog and English. Although I seldom go to church now, but if I go there I will definitely speak Tagalog because there is like a small Filipino community in the church where I usually go, so we naturally speak Tagalog with each other.

Since all the colleagues that I am working with are either Chinese or Westerners (mostly French!), so I have to use English to communicate with them.

What do you identify yourself as?
It is kind of mixed identity. I will call myself a Filipino, but I will not be regarded as a 'real' one by other Filipinos who live in the Philippines. I think this is because of my appearance and clothing, I do not look like a Filipino, even though I am a very traditional Filipino deep inside. And maybe I am also affected by cultures in Hong Kong, for example  I believe in Feng shui! That is why my identity is a bit complicated, I would say I am half Hong Kong half Filipino.

How could schools improve the teaching of Cantonese to children from local minority communities?
It is about teachers. I did not pay attention to my Chinese classes was because I did not like the way teachers taught me. I found the teaching materials and the design of curriculum is okay, but sadly the teachers who taught me Chinese were not very supportive and they were actually quite boring. I think if the teachers are more interactive and more willing to teach, this may increase students' incentives to learn. Also, it would be better if my teachers knew how to speak Tagalog, so that there would be a better understandings between teachers and me.

Would you want your children to learn Cantonese?
Absolutely. I am so regret now that I did not put much effort in learning Cantonese. I did not realize how important Cantonese is until I started working. If I could go back to the past when I was still a student, I would definitely have made more effort on my Cantonese. So if I have children in the future and if we are staying in Hong Kong, I will push my children to learn how to speak Cantonese and to write Chinese because this will be a great advantage for  their study and work.

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