In this Quick Hits, Qianying (Jennie) Zhang, associate professor of finance and economics, talks raising trilingual children, her favorite movie, and what inspires her to teach.
What is your favorite part of the day?
I am a night owl, so late at night.
What is your earliest memory?
My grandma and my mom took me to an amusement park when I was 3 years old.
What is your favorite music genre?
My favorite genres of music are R&B and K-pop.
What is your best advice?
Don’t be afraid to try things you think are impossible.
What is your favorite Hillsdale event?
Concert on the Quad.
Where are you from?
I was born in Shanghai, China.
What is the wildest thing a student has asked you?
To bring up his grade.
What is your favorite movie?
“Taegukgi”, a war and action film directed by Kang Je-gyu.
Who is your favorite author?
Yasunari Kawabata, a Japanese novelist and short story writer.
What is a quote you live by?
Words must be followed and actions must be carried out.
What inspires you to teach?
What inspires me to teach is the opportunity to guide students through a complex and exciting field like quantitative finance, where they can develop critical thinking, problem-solving, and analytical skills. I also want more people to understand the beauty and importance of investment and compounding effects of the investment in their lives.
Why did you raise your kids to be trilingual?
We believe that English, Spanish, and Chinese will be the most useful languages in the future, which is why we want our children to be trilingual.
My side of the family has spoken only Chinese to them since birth, while my husband’s side speaks only Spanish. At school, they will naturally pick up English. From what we’ve learned from friends and language professionals, it’s essential to associate each language with a specific person to avoid confusion. Additionally, we’ve made it a point to be consistent and not respond if they speak to us in different languages, in order to reinforce the other languages. Everything worked out very well for us like they started to talk at the same age as other kids and they are fluent in three languages.
