Guest speaker Mei Li Inouye visited WKU Thursday to share her language learning journey and the lessons it taught her. 

Inouye is an assistant professor of Chinese at Centre College in Danville, Kentucky, and was invited as part of the Hatcher Speaker series.

Inouye began her presentation with a series of questions to narrow the focus of her talk. 

“What can language do for us?” she asked. “How does it and can it shape the world?” 

Inouye went on to highlight the skills she’s gained from studying language, in her case, Chinese, in her lifetime.

Inouye said the most impactful skills she learned were emotional intelligence and flexibility. She said speaking a language gives the ability to meet people where they are.

“You can communicate in a way that makes people comfortable,” Inouye said. “And when people are comfortable, they share more with you.” 

Inouye also said learning a language taught her that identity is flexible, and that when you learn a language, “you add another plane of personality.” 

Inouye also talked about the “project-based” mindset she takes with her students. Students apply their skills with activities ranging from calling Chinese restaurants to creating culture handbooks for immigrant communities. 

“The way that I design programs is: how can this be useful to students?” she said.

Inouye knows it isn’t always easy to pursue a skill like a new language, she said to ensure you have avenues to get rid of frustration healthily. For Inouye, she added a second major, saying that pursuing multiple interests helped “scratch parts of my brain that needed intellectual stimulation.”

She also said to focus on the “magical moments” of connection that language provides. 

“Find your motivation, reward yourself,” Inouye said. 

Overall, Inouye wants learning languages to open doors for students. 

“Language is an invitation to you to have an adventure,” she said.