Emma Roy with her host mom, Ching-wen Chen. Roy spent the summer of 2023 in an immersive language program at National Cheng Kung University in Tainan, Taiwan, speaking only Chinese. Photo courtesy of Emma Roy.
Excuse Emma Roy if she felt a tad out of place after returning to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga for the spring 2024 semester.
Last summer, Roy—a secondary education: political science major and Brock Scholar in the UTC Honors College—spent two months in an immersive language program at National Cheng Kung University in Tainan, Taiwan, speaking only Chinese.
She then spent her fall semester at the University of Brighton in England as part of a study abroad opportunity, where her Middle Tennessee accent stood out in classrooms full of students from the United Kingdom.
“It’s definitely been a culture shock coming back after being away for six months,” said Roy, a native of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. “When I came back, it felt like I was a brand new student here.
“It felt like my first few weeks when I first came to UTC.”
Roy, a 2021 graduate of The Webb School—a college preparatory school in Bell Buckle, Tennessee—had already planned to spend the fall 2023 semester in England when she was chosen for the Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) Chinese Program, an initiative of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. This immersive summer program allows American college and university students to study languages and cultures essential to the country’s engagement with the world.
More than 5,000 undergraduate and graduate students nationwide applied for the prestigious scholarship, with approximately 500 students from 245 institutions selected as finalists. Students accepted into the program spent two months abroad studying one of 14 critical languages, with intensive language instruction and structured cultural enrichment experiences designed to promote rapid language gains.
Emma Roy and Lîm Chi-Chhêng, her language partner at National Cheng Kung University. Photo courtesy of Emma Roy.
Roy was one of 23 U.S. students immersed in Chinese at National Cheng Kung University.
“It was the language policy 24/7; you had to speak it in all of the classrooms and everywhere on campus,” Roy explained. “Of course, when you left campus, you were on your own to make your own decisions, but you can’t get around Taiwan without knowing Chinese.”
Roy was paired with a language partner at the university, Lîm Chi-Chhêng, who didn’t speak English. The first time they met, they couldn’t understand a word the other was saying. “It was crazy to see how our bond grew,” she said.
She and the other U.S. students lived with host families, “and that’s a whole other realm of cultural immersion,” she said.
“The first time I met my host mom, Ching-wen Chen, it was the most nerve-wracking experience I’ve ever had,” Roy recalled. “I couldn’t understand anything and I was sitting there thinking, ‘What did I get myself into?’ But our relationship grew, and she became a source of comfort and security. She made me feel welcome and safe.
“It was always nice to go home where someone couldn’t care how bad my language skills were.”
Roy laughed as she recalled her early days in Tainan and her struggles with ordering coffee at a local 7-Eleven.
“The first two weeks, I couldn’t get my order correct, and it was frustrating knowing people couldn’t understand me,” she said. “In my third week, I figured out my coffee order, and perfecting those little moments is the best feeling ever. When you can speak to the guy at 7-Eleven and tell him what you want and he understands you, it’s awesome.”
Roy said the CLS program consisted of 20 hours of courses per week plus one-on-one courses, discussion classes, cultural classes and weekend excursions with her U.S. cohort.
“It was very challenging, but it was worth it,” she said. “It was one of the best experiences of my life. My passion for studying Chinese has increased even more since completing the program.”
As part of their study abroad experience in England, UTC students Addison Whittemore, left, and Emma Roy visited the Tower Bridge in London. Photo courtesy of Emma Roy.
Less than one month after completing that program, Roy was back on a college campus—this time at the University of Brighton, a public university on the south coast of England.
Roy didn’t face a language barrier in Brighton, per se. That’s not to say she didn’t stick out in the classroom when speaking.
“It was a different type of stress there,” she said. “It was still stressful because you’re going in and everyone speaks English there, but once you start speaking in class, they’re like, ‘Oh, you’re the American.’ That immediately sparks questions and everything.”
Roy had the opportunity to room in a flat with two University of Brighton students, saying that “living with people from the UK was really cool.”
“I want to pursue a career in U.S. diplomacy and work in foreign affairs,” she said, “and experiences like living in another country are awesome. I like experiencing the different cultures and getting to know everything.”
Roy hopes to travel abroad in the future to further her education. She is applying for a Boren Award for International Study, an effort funded by the National Security Education Program that focuses on geographic areas, languages and fields of study deemed critical to U.S. interests.
She also plans to pursue the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program award. The Fulbright Program, according to its website, is the flagship international academic exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government, providing awards to approximately 8,000 students, scholars, teachers, artists and professionals each year. Founded in 1946, the program has partnerships with more than 140 countries worldwide.
“I think everyone should apply for a national scholarship and study abroad,” Roy said. “The internal gains that you have when you’re there … your mind opens up so much more and you just see everything else out there.
“If you’ve only ever lived in Tennessee for your whole life and never really traveled, you only see that one perspective. So when you go to another country, you’re faced with insane adaptability, resilience, perseverance and those key mindsets you have. It definitely changes you.”
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