Fuquin reported having 16 years of education in China, including college training to be an accountant. She also reported learning some English while in China - self study with text books. While Fuquin started in level ‘A' (beginning), she had been living in the U.S. for six months prior enrolling in ESL classes. In her third week of class, she displays that she is able to engage in interaction with fellow students in English talking about and offering bus tickets (Click to View) (Requires Internet Explorer), requesting a book (Click to View) (Requires Internet Explorer), and greeting another peer (Click to View) (Requires Internet Explorer).

Education, especially learning English, is something that Fuquin stressed as being very important for her. In March 2003, she reported an educational goal of hers being to obtain a four-year, bachelor's degree. This goal, however, changed through the four years of interviews. A year later, she reported wanting to get a 2-year associates degree and in March, 2005, Fuquin listed her educational goal as being a high school diploma. Her goals changed the longer she was in the U.S. and saw the difficulty of doing self-study, work, and childcare all at the same time. Her observations on this difficulty is reported on in the family and work pages.

Though she had to stop taking ESL classes because of work, Fuquin made quite good progress moving from level ‘A' to level ‘D' classes in four terms. We evidence for her interest in reading as well in a short break-time conversation she initiated in her fourth week of ESL classes. In this excerpt, the teacher has just told the students to take a break. Fuquin asks her deskmate and the student sitting behind her if they like to go to the library (Click to View) (Requires Internet Explorer)

Language, education, self-expression

While she had strong instrumental (work) and familial reasons for learning English, there are interpersonal reasons for wanting to learn as well. In an interview from 2006 (in Chinese) when asked whether she feels differently when speaking English, Fuquin talked about how the lack of English and her inability to express herself makes her feel passive