Summary

In Chapter 6, Qian recalls beginning school in the United States. She attended a public school in Brooklyn. Qian spoke Mandarin, but the teacher and students only spoke English and Cantonese. A student named Janie was designated to translate for Qian. Unfortunately, Janie was cruel towards Qian, and she often shirked this assigned translation duty. Because of this language barrier, Qian often felt excluded from school in general. In spite of these hardships, Qian’s personal curiosity propelled her to pursue her own academic interests. Specifically, she soon found that she loved reading. She learned English through a variety of resources, such as televisions, school, and immersion in English-language environments. She soon found that she was able to read and enjoy English-language books in addition to the Mandarin-language books that she already read. She also benefitted from the compassion of her teacher, Ms. Tang.

In...