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US entrepreneur guided by love for language
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MOST people, including the Chinese, would agree that Chinese is one of the most difficult languages to learn in the world. And they are right.
The Chinese writing system, which is not phonetic, could be daunting for any beginner; not to mention the language’s tonal feature, which means that words differ in meaning based on tone as well as pronunciation.
For Jeff Kellogg, a US entrepreneur who has been learning Chinese for nine years, getting in touch with Chinese culture and the Chinese people has been inspiring.
When Kellogg and his family moved to Gig Harbor, a city near Seattle, in 2005, Kellogg found that the local high school did not offer French courses, his preferred foreign language, on its curriculum. “My first choice when I went to that new school was French, but unfortunately, the school only offered Chinese courses.”
Though his first encounter with Chinese was not love at first sight, Kellogg’s nine-year journey of Chinese learning never faltered.
After one year of Chinese learning, Kellogg went to China for the first time in an exchange program. He later started his own tourist agency to offer the Chinese people a unique traveling experience, like the one that once overwhelmed and touched him.
“The first time I went to China, I was so moved by the experience,” Kellogg says. “That’s why I study Chinese. Because I felt a very real connection to the people there. A lot of people think America and China are different. To me, we are all completely the same inside.”
Kellogg says his first trip to China started with no expectation about what China would be like, but ended with intense love for the culture and people there.
“China is one of the most welcoming places I’ve been to,” says Kellogg. “Doing this business, it is my hope that I can make Chinese people welcome in America.”
But a keen interest in the Chinese language did not necessarily guarantee his success in learning. “It’s persistence that matters,” he says, adding that his high school teacher Heidi Steele’s persistence and belief in her students inspired him deeply.
Steele, a Chinese language teacher, was one of some 1,200 participants who attended this year’s National Chinese Language Conference in mid-April.
In a letter to participants of the conference, former US President Jimmy Carter welcomed efforts to “strengthen American and Chinese students’ knowledge and understanding of the world,” adding that it would prepare younger generations in both countries for building a productive global citizenry.
“I only speak Chinese with my son ... Chinese is integrated into my home life too,” Steele says. “So when I share Chinese culture with my students, it’s a personal thing for me, because it’s part of my life at home as well as in the classroom.”
Steele wants to present a true picture of the other side of the world to her students, which could make them “reflect on their own country and China in a very objective and respectful way.”
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