MU international student overcomes language barrier with her co-workers

COLUMBIA— Kune Park has enjoyed working at the Bookmark Cafe in Ellis Library for the past two years, however, she can still remember the days that she felt like she didn’t belong. When Park, an international student from Korea, first began working at the coffee shop, she quickly realized that some of her co-workers were harder to understand than others. Park says that some of her coworkers were patient with her grasp of the language, while other coworkers would just point and say “hey, can you get that,” making it hard for Park to understand what they needed.

“One co-worker even told another that she thought I needed to go to the doctor to get my hearing checked.” Park said. “That moment upset me a lot, because I was very sensitive about the language barrier.”

Park says she took the comments seriously and would sometimes cry after work. She was so upset about her communication problem that she found that her life outside of work was being affected.

“I was so devastated that I couldn’t even study.” Park said. “I knew I had to fix the problem or I wouldn’t be able to function normally.”

Park says she did not really consider quitting her job, because she didn’t think she would be able to find another job on campus. Due to U.S. immigration law, most international students are limited to working only at their universities and cannot work over 20 hours per week. There are exceptions to the immigration law, but Park said that she didn’t qualify for any of them.

For Park, working was important. She needed to make as much money as she could to help alleviate the cost of living in another country.

According to the 2007 Open Doors report that is published by the Institute of International Education, international students contribute approximately $14.5 billion dollars to the U.S. economy. International students bring money into the national economy by paying for expenses such as room/board, books and supplies, transportation, health insurance, support for accompanying family members, and other miscellaneous items. The report also says that 61.5 percent of all international students receive the majority of their funds from personal and family sources. When assistance from their home country governments and other sources of foreign funding are included, the number increases to 66 percent of all international students.

Park says that she is glad that she did not quit her job, because she would have been put in a financial bind for a problem that was easily fixed. After she asked her fellow employees for their patience, she received their support and has not had a real problem with communication.

“It made me feel good that they finally understood.” Park said. “I was finally able to relax at work and the barrier eventually just went away.”

According to the MU international center, there were 1,336 international students enrolled for Fall 2006, which was an increase from the 1,295 students enrolled for 2005. Among the international students Park knows that work on campus, she says the language barrier with their co-workers is the most common problem.

“I am always very concerned if I see someone in the same situation that I was once in.” Park said. “I just want to make sure they are as comfortable as I am now.”

Park says she knows that most international students need to work and don’t have a lot of choices in jobs, which is why she wants them to have the great experiences she has had working on campus.

“I have made so many friends here.” Park said. “I don’t think I would have ever truly experienced the culture, if I would have never worked.”

Technology changes how students learn, but not what they learn

UMKC Pharmacy Program makes home in Columbia

A Way With Words and Numbers uses MU students to tutor at community schools

Starting young: MU grad has head start on graduate research

Laser research may be the future in medicine

Students fear student loan debt after graduation

Columbia College, Stephens College and MU keep close tabs on growing enrollment numbers