Dissolving Language Barriers

In Spring 2009, as the U.S. economy worsened, many adults found T’ai Chi Chih classes as a way of coping with stress. One such class in south Hayward, CA, became so crowded that another class was added, and within two weeks, 17 more people had enrolled. This class was unique: half the students spoke English and half spoke only Chinese. The latter were invited to continue in class, even if they could not speak English. Smiles and nods from go a long way in communicating the essentials. Having a calendar also helped, since it was not clear if they could read English.

I hoped that the non-English-speaking students would follow and imitate what I did. To support them, I began to use more gestures and facial expressions, and different sounds to convey meaning as we practiced. We began to communicate through the flow of Chi and simple body language. On week three, Robert, a gentleman with both Chinese and English language skills, arrived. Now we could really have an exchange.

There is something wonderful about teaching TCC to non-English-speaking students. They observed and adjusted their movements more quickly and precisely. They picked up nuances of the movements: softness, slowness, and circularity. They observed every small detail of movement, foot position, and posture. They progressed quickly; motivation to learn and their innate respect for their teacher helped.

When one of the Chinese students needed additional help, I would pause between movements and stand in front of each student in class, demonstrating the movement. They would imitate the movement and make adjustments. I would smile and move to the next student. (All students were treated equally.) During this time, students were watching how quickly the Chinese students caught on. I had not used this technique before, but found it powerful. Everyone seemed to improve from this individual brief time of demonstration with no words.

Together, we discovered that many TCC movements are about letting the arms bend at the elbows as the hands comes back toward the body. Soon after, I just needed to point to my elbow, and they got it that we let the arm fold back or rise naturally. All the extra effort of circular patterns that were too large just seemed to disappear. The Six Healing Sounds were a real joy. After all, we were all speaking the same sounds, the same language. All the students enjoyed this newfound unity of movement and sound. The barrier of language dissolved. Joy thru movement was the fruit of our practice in class, and I shall treasure the memory of these students trusting their new teacher to guide them gently.