I Hate English! (A Blue Ribbon Book)

I Hate English! is a book about a Chinese girl whose family has come to live in America. She is sent to an American school to learn, but she does not understand English. She goes to a program after school to help her learn the English language but she refuses to learn. She still writes in Chinese

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because she thinks that the writing is so much prettier than writing in English. She finally has a tutor that understands that she wants to keep her own language but she tries to engage the girl into speaking in English by taking walks around town. In the end she learns to speak and writes English, but still uses her Chinese language.

I liked this book because so many of us in America do not realize how hard it is for an ELL student to learn English. I think that this book also shows the importance of keeping your traditions and heritage. So many cultures have lost so much by not being able to keep their ways. This has happened in my own family. My grandfather did not speak Kiowa to my mother or her siblings because it was not the thing to do back then. I really wished I had the chance (or interest) to have my grandpa teach me more of the language.

I would use this book to introduce students to know that there are other languages spoken in the United States of America and that is alright to do so. I would also explain that some students might speak their native language at home and only speak English at school or when speaking to someone outside of their family. We might then take a survey of the school to see what languages are spoken and then graph them on a chart. I would love to have someone who speaks Chinese come in and talk to my students and maybe show them how to write their name in Chinese.

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A young Chinese immigrant girl named Mei Mei comes to America to find that the primary language is English and she only speaks Chinese. Will Mei Mei learn English without any trouble or will she be hesitant about this new language.

Well-rendered story about the way a young girl moving to New York from Hong Kong feels about having to learn a new language. I think this book is probably a better story for teachers of English Language Learners than for kids--it really offers up images of how language and identity are intertwined.

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But, I've read it to ELLs in 3,rd,4th & 5th grade--and they identified with it as well.

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I Hate English! is a cool book that focuses on Mei Mei and how she struggles with the fact that she is losing her Chinese culture. She initially fights with her teacher, who is trying to help her speak the English language. Eventually Mei Mei realizes that she can still keep her Chinese culture

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while also adapting to the English language and American culture. Very good book for students whose second language is English.

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This is a book about a student who feels like they are losing their Chinese culture living in America. It teaches us that our culture is always a part of us no matter where we are.

This story is about a little girl that moves to America but only speaks Chinese. She understands most English, but she refuses to speak it until she realizes that she must in order to enjoy her life in America.
Teaching: I would use this book as whole class reading during the first week of school. I

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feel that this book will help children identify with the character and their similar feelings to being a ELL student.

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Demonstrates a great example of how a student can hate English. Once Mei Mei gets help from a friend she opens up and feels more comfortable speaking English.

This book is about a girl that comes from China and does not want to learn English. She then figures that to live in America she has to speak English. After learning English she realizes that she will lose her Chinese culture.

Teaching: I would use this book to teach ESL students that even though

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they learn a different language, they should never forget about their culture.

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In I Hate English! the main character, Mei Mei, has recently moved from China to New York with her family. Mei Mei is upset about the move. In school and at an aftercare program Mei Mei is encouraged to speak in English. She refuses and only wants to continue speaking in Chinese. Once she meets an

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English tutor who opens her up to the change, she begins to speak in English and continue in Chinese as she chooses. I Hate English! gives an amazing perspective of the ESL student and the emotions they encounter. The patience and understanding of the English tutor is something we all should have as teachers in diverse atmospheres.

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This appears to be a book from another time that addresses an issue that persists today. The whole issue of culture clash and language barrier is something that children continue to struggle with now and it doesn't feel like we've made as much progress as one would hope. This is at least an

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encouraging story of a child who does come to terms with being displaced without her consent.

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This book was interesting for me, because it made me think a little bit more about my family members that are immigrants. My step grandfather is Filipino a immigrated here when he was in High School, and I've never really asked him what that experience was like, but this story made me think more

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about what that transition must have been like for him.

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I loved reading this book! It was a great read as someone who is possibly going into the special education field, but also for a student who is an English Language Learner. The main character, Mei Mei, is very well developed and easy to relate to. The author expresses all of her inner-thoughts and

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feelings, and brings the reader on an emotional roller coaster as Mei Mei discovers her new identity in America. This inner dialogue is matched with beautiful watercolor images on each page that illustrate the thoughts running through Mei Mei’s head. We as the reader can see all of her memories and dreams and fears through depictions. For example, on page 28, the author illustrates a huge Chinese dragon with Mei Mei’s friends all celebrating, which parallels the text, “And before she could think about what she was doing, Mei Mei began. She talked about Children’s Day in Hong Kong.” Through this image the reader could see and feel what Mei Mei was missing and empathize with her, whether or not the reader celebrated these same traditions. This book pushes readers, especially who are in the same situation as Mei Mei, to either be more open to learning English or have more of an understanding of students in their class who are non-native English speakers. The message of this story is to not be afraid to change because your identity and who you truly are will always stick with you.

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I Hate English is a great book for anyone who is struggling with language, other languages, or wants to understand more of an multicultural / international point of view. The book is narrated from the point of view of a Chinese-speaking elementary student that moved to America. She describes her

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personal struggles being in a new school that speaks English, a language that she is only learning to speak. Her character has a rich background, where she details how successful she was in her old school and country. But after struggling with English, someone in her school takes notice and just talks to her, showing the wonders of a new language, without the pressure having to talk back. The illustration are a bit cartoony, but that doesn't diminish the experience at all. All in all, the book is a wonderful experience for all elementary school readers.

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Summary: This book is about a girl named Mei Mei who has recently moved to America with her parents. When she starts school she is reluctant to learn English because she is not comfortable with it and she is afraid she will lose her ability to speak Chinese. She goes with her cousin to the

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Chinatown Learning Center where she helps the younger children with math because it is the same in every language. A teacher named Nancy comes to the center to help Mei Mei learn English. They read books and go for a walk while Nancy goes on and on talking in English. Mei Mei eventually gets so frustrated that she eventually starts speaking to Nancy in English. She then learns that she is capable of learning English while also maintaining her ability to understand and speak Chinese.

Review: I think this book is well written and the author does a good job of showing how ELL students are often reluctant to start the process of learning English. The author made a statement by mentioning how Mei Mei often thought to herself "in Chinese" while everyone around her was speaking "in English". She also offsets these terms from the rest of the text so that they stand out. This creates a juxtaposition that draws the attention of the reader. Although the author makes her point by using this feature it seems to make the story a little choppy, especially when read aloud. The language used in this book is easy to understand and the author gets her point across effectively. The illustrations add clarification to and support the text.

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I loved this book because I think it is well written and really explains the idea of ELL and how most English Language Learners do not usually want to learn English right away. It is difficult to learn a new language and this book shows how most people do not want to face the challenge and will try

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to avoid it at first. Mei Mei is the main character who struggles to learn English. By the end of the book she accepts herself as bilingual and begins talking in both English and Chinese. However, in the middle of the book, the author mentions how she thinks in Chinese while others speak in English. I thought that was really interesting and would open the eyes of students to the idea that speaking a second language is a challenge and you need to be accepting of those who are learning. I think this book would be very effective in the classroom to teach students about English Language Learners and support those who are learning English as their second language.

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I liked this book because the plot was a touching story of how Mei Mei went from hating English, to learning it and even enjoying using it. This story gives readers a view of how others feel when they move to America and must learn English. I had never thought of the idea that our language is

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"lonely" because each letter made a different sound, but this is how it seemed to Mei Mei. This book helps me relate better to those learning English as a second language. The pictures were also an excellent addition to the book. It showed how sad Mei Mei was and enabled you to picture her walk through the city. Also the repetition of "in Chinese" had a nice effect of making these words stand out and bringing more meaning to them. The book made you realize how difficult the transition was to go from only speaking and thinking in Chinese to having to speak English almost constantly. I think the main idea of the story is that change may be scary at times, making you feel as though you are becoming a different person, but in the end it is okay and should be embraced.

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This book was a great multicultural book, and it really gave insight to how individuals feel about moving from a native home to a complete different home. This provided detailed specifics about culture shock, and how one acclimates to it. The book also described the individual, Mei Mei's way of

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adapting her life to her new culture, but how reluctant she was to do that since the beginning. I really connected with this book somehow, and it was mainly how Americans are consistently jamming their beliefs and cultural expression down others backs, and it can be overwhelming. However, it was nice to see how finally Mei Mei overcame those challenges but simply stating that it was her time to talk about her culture.

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There are several reasons why I liked this book. First, the main character, Mei Mei, is very believable and well-developed. While reading the story I tried to put myself in her situation and believe I would be resistant to let go of my first language if I moved to a new country as well. Secondly, I

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enjoyed the point of view of Mei Mei because I believe it made the story much more interesting reading exactly what she was thinking throughout the story. I think the message of the story is that you can still hold onto who you truly are when you go through a major change. I think the reason why Mei Mei was so hesitant to learn English is because she believed she would have to let go of her Chinese culture.

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The story "I Hate English" tells the story of a young girl who has just moved to the United States from China. She is struggling to fit in and hates English. This makes her hate school, she feels more comfortable with Chinese and does not speak in English. This results in her not speaking at all in

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school. The book details her thoughts and feelings about moving and using a different language. The young girl begins going to a rec center for chinese students where she can speak her own language and relate to people she feels comfortable with. She then meets a teacher who will only speak English to her and hates her at first. They then become close and the girl begins to speak English. It is a very honest book that could benefit a wide variety of students. This book forces readers to see things through someone else's eyes. I enjoyed the book and the new ideas it brought to my attention. I could easily put myself in the speaker's shoes and feel her emotions. The writer wrote from a little girl's perspective and kids often tell the raw truth. It was easy for readers to put themselves in the situation because of the author's ability to sound like an angry child. The wording and emotions in her writing was excellent.

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When first seeing the title of this story I assumed it would be about a young girl hating the subject of English in school. However, I was pleasantly surprised when I started reading and discovered that the main character, Mei-Mei, is a Chinese immigrant who came to America. She hates the English

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language because she is used to speaking in Chinese and is having difficulty adjusting to her new environment. She later discovers, after interacting with a teacher named Nancy,that it is okay to speak two languages and she does not have to give up her old culture for her new one. I liked this book for many reasons, one of them being that it is a great transitional book for ELL students. The main character is very believable and relatable and the illustrations on every single page convey the main character's emotions really well and the reader is really able to see the frustration Mei-Mei has with the English language. Overall, the writing style is superb and there is a really clear story-line for children of all ages to follow.

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I thought this book was great. Not only did it have to do with a child from another country being immersed into an American classroom, but it showed how she overcame her fears and reservations of the English language with the help of a great teacher. I liked the author's writing pattern. After

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every short paragraph, she would skip to another line and right indent "I hate English!" It was a creative writing choice, and was something that stood out to me. I also thought that the illustrations enhanced the story as well. The main reason I really loved this book is because it does a great job of showing the struggles of an ELL student, and what it takes to overcome those challenges. It was an inspiring book. The major theme of this book is the idea of overcoming a struggle or obstacle and persevering and never giving up.

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I liked this story because it shows how it feels to be from a different country and speak a different language than everyone else. The main character in this story is Mei Mei, who is in a city in America but is originally from China. The author, Ellen Levine, does a wonderful job of writing how Mei

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Mei feels by ending many sentences with "in English" or "in Chinese". To many of us, words are just words, but to Mei Mei she must differentiate between the language of her home or the language of the new city she is in. Mei Mei is hesitant to speak English because she feels she is losing part of who she is by changing her language. This feeling can probably relate to how many ELL students feel when they move to America and must speak English in school, not their native language. Mei Mei overcomes this challenge though and show that she is smart and can speak English. She is a very well developed character because she changes from being someone who avoids speaking English to someone who is willing to speak it in order to communicate with those around her. I enjoy the vivid illustrations that were bright and colorful. They helped to piece the story together and keep the reader feeling optimistic, hoping that Mei Mei would eventually speak to those around her in English. I enjoyed the plot of this story and watching Mei Mei change. She was worried she would lose her heritage if she spoke English but she learned she could keep her heritage while speaking a different language. I think this is an important big idea of this story. You can speak a new language without losing your heritage. This is an important message for students, especially ELL students, to learn.

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In my opinion, this is a great book. I really liked the way Levine set up the writing of this book. At the end of each sentence, she would either write "in English" or "in Chinese". This was symbolizing the feelings that an English Language Learner student may have when in school. The language was

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very descriptive, especially when Mei Mei is describing her feelings about living in New York. The characters in the story are well-developed. The reader is able to get a sense that Mei Mei is uncomfortable living in America. The helper in the story is someone who wants to help Mei Mei break out of her shell and become confident in speaking English. She does this by taking her for a walk. The illustrations were vivid. They help guide the reader to see what Mei Mei is seeing and thinking. The book pushes the reader to think about tough issues. Many students in elementary school usually just worry about things that affect themselves. This book helps open the minds of students to realize that what might come easy to them, might not come so easy to a peer. The main message of this story is to have students keep an open mind about all of the people that surround them because you may never know what they are really thinking. Many students can relate to this story, while many students can learn from this story.

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In my opinion this is a good read for children in order for them to understand the difficulty children have when moving to the United States from another country. Mei Mei was upset that she had to learn English when she moved from China, this wasn’t because she was having trouble speaking it but

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it was because she missed where she is from. I think this is an important read for students because it shows students that people are willing to help you when you may not even want help, just like the tutor helped Mei Mei learn that it was alright to speak English as well as keep her culture and memories of China strong. I enjoyed reading this book and I would recommend it to teach children about different cultures and diversity.

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