If you understand what I'm saying right now, like right now as I speak these words, you are part of the 25% of the world who knows at least some English. And if English isn't their first language, then you are part of the 12.8% of the world who know English as their second language. For me, I am part of that 12.8%. I have been studying at an international school for almost a decade. Ever since third grade, I had foreign teachers, foreign friends, and foreign education. Almost every subject was taught in English, and the school completely adopted the American system of education. Beginning from the alphabet to solving math problems were taught in English. Every topic, every discourse and communication was received and delivered in the foreign language. My past goal was a Mongolian-Belgian school. Most of the subjects were taught in Mongolian, and I was excelling at it. I was good at math, I was good at Mongolian, and I was good at almost every subject except English. Just something about learning English was hard for me. I just couldn't grasp the grammar, the sentence structure, the verbs, nouns, and grammars, and there were all kinds of rules and grammar that I was not familiar with. Summer came around and I had just graduated second grade when my mom suggested that I should transfer to a new school to improve my English. She told me that learning English would tremendously help me in the future, and she told me that a person who knows English will find their way in life no matter what. I didn't really agree at first. Of course, as a nine-year-old, I wanted to be with my friends and classmates. The process of transferring to international school was something that completely shattered my idea of norm and education. The two schools had so much in contrast. Everyone was conversing in English and I felt like an alien, so out of place. I felt like I was trying to throw a ball when all I knew was how to kick it. I tried to put together a few words with my spoken English, but that took maximum effort. But like any human being does, I started to adapt. I improved my English, I started to get more comfortable holding a conversation in a foreign language. Slowly, I started to learn how to hold the ball. I got a tutor, I started speaking more in English with my friends, and gradually, throwing a ball was becoming much easier. English had taken its place in me as my second language. I consider myself a bilingual person. The formal definition of bilingual is a person who is fluent in two languages. So I am fluent in both Mongolian and in English. I was pretty proud that I could speak in two different languages. So I thought I should put my knowledge into good use. So I volunteered in this organization in which I had to translate from English to Mongolian. So there were two girls speaking in English and I had to write down what they were saying in English and write down the Mongolian translation right below it. Writing the English part was easy, it breathes by so quickly and I was finished within minutes. However, as I got to the Mongolian part, I got stuck. I stared into those English words and couldn't find the right word to describe what the girl exactly meant. I couldn't find the right word to use. It felt like my mind hit a blank wall and no appropriate words would come to my mind in Mongolian. Finally, after so much thinking, I could somewhat come up with a word similar to the original meaning. Then, I moved my fingers to type out the words, and I paused again. I didn't know how to spell those words. I realized that the more I developed my English skills, the more I was losing my Mongolian. I had learned to throw the ball so much and practiced it so much that I now forgot how to kick it. So then I wondered, is this also happening to those around me too? Are people like me, who have learned English through most of their life, also experiencing the same problems I was facing with Mongolian? To test it out, I would ask my friends how to spell certain words in Mongolian, but their typical response was, I don't know. So we all brought our phones and relied on this translator tool to check for the correct spelling and word for our own native language, the very language we first uttered when we were babies. I would also speak with my classmates in Mongolian. Then I would notice the small but noticeable grammar mistakes they would make subconsciously. I realized that almost everyone around me was facing the same issue as me. So that was the case for my international school. But what about the rest of the Mongolian population? Were they facing the same problems as us too? It turns out, Mongolia has been actively promoting making English the most prominent second language to replace Russian. Every child, regardless of where they live and where they study in Mongolia, receives at least 8 years of studying English. And it has been successful. According to World at Last, English is now replacing Russian as the most spoken foreign languages in Mongolia. English is now being taught at almost every school, both public and private. To make my research even more relatable and more in line with the context, I wanted to narrow my focus to the students of international schools in Ulaanbaatar. For me, as an individual, I didn't take my problem too seriously. i just thought that i needed to practice my mongolian more and all my problems would be fixed but when i looked at all the problems would be fixed but when i brought in my perspective and looked at the whole younger generation on scale the problems started to take a much serious turn By the pace of which English is spreading and being incorporated in our educational system, it is no doubt that if not now, English will be prevalent in almost the majority of all the students in Ulaanbaatar. When we take that into account and take a step back to see the broader image of the impact of English on the larger scale that relates to the majority of the student body in Ulaanbaatar, we realize the personal attrition of the student body. Personal attrition of Mongolian affects the whole community. It was not just language being lost, it was the identity, the culture, and collective thought that was fading away. The attrition of the first language has long been researched and brought into discussion many years ago. Scientists have done so much research on the impact of second language on the fluency of the native language. There were hundreds of examples of case studies that had the same circumstances and situations as us. And the results of these many case studies the researchers have conducted is that the efficiency of the first language fades away, but the capacity to learn and relearn the first language never stops. There are other studies that suggest that thinking in a second language dramatically changes your thought and decision-making process. Studies have found that you are more likely to make decisions with your heart when you're thinking in your first language and think more with your brain when you're thinking in your second language. A professor at the Boston University of Psychology found out that because we first learned our first language when we were little, when we first associated words with feelings and emotions, when we think and listen in our first languages, it triggers an emotional response, an emotional aversion. However, using a foreign language dampens that emotional reaction. So on a larger scale, we can assume that all the students of international schools in Mongolia are changing their thinking and decision-making process as they continue to develop their English. This can create a separation and disconnection or even hostility between generations. In the 21st century, most of the older generation in Mongolia speak Russian while the younger generation speak English as their second language. And because of these differences of languages, there's differences of thought and decision-making process. A second language definitely has a strong effect on an individual. Identity, culture, language, and choices can all change when a person starts conversing and thinking more in their second language rather than their first. Of course, there are pros, like opportunities. Just like how I learned to throw the ball, I could play games that I wouldn't have been able to play if I only knew how to kick it. But then there's also the cons, like attrition of our native language, the attrition and how to kick the ball. But when you hear it this way, it seems like there's only two sides to the circumstances. You either gain a language or you lose a language. But I didn't want to just focus on the black and white. I wanted to balance out the pros and cons and use the first and second languages. The ball wouldn't just roll and it wouldn't just bounce. I had to find a way for the ball to do both. So I created this list for myself and for many others who are struggling to balance these two out. First and foremost is dividing which language to focus on for academics and casual. For me, as a student going to an international school, most of the subjects will be taught and delivered in English, so it is extremely difficult to attain the same amount and type of information in Mongolian in accordance to my studies. Thus, separating which language to use for which category is important. For example, focusing on your English when you want to focus on academics and focusing on your Mongolian for something casual, like talking with your friends and family, watching a movie in Mongolian, texting in Mongolian, learning Mongolian songs, or just incorporating Mongolian in your daily activities can make our brain get used to Mongolian and eventually form it as a habit. Second, is continuously talking with people in the same language. This one is especially important when dealing with hardships expressing your thoughts in Mongolian to your friends and family. Slowly try to build back the thought process that happens when we start using our second language more than our first. For example, if there is something that you're happy about, then think of happy thoughts in Mongolian. And if creating a Mongolian narration in your head seems tough, then you may want to try reading Mongolian books. I know people say it very often, but they do have a reason for it. Reading Mongolian words in your head or out loud can get you re-familiar with the wording and familiar with the grammar again. Last but not least is transforming your thinking process into Mongolian. Transforming your thinking process is probably one of the most important steps in preserving your native language and keeping your Mongolian identity as an individual. Your thought process can directly influence your word choice and your actions. I struggle with Mongolian, and many others struggle with it too, and I'm sure many more will follow in the upcoming years. As Mongolia progresses, the abundance of students having troubles with their mother tongue creates serious issues from disconnection between generations to shifts in thought and decisions. So it is vital for us, the future of Mongolia, to take small steps like these to create a well-balanced future. Like the analogy I have mentioned throughout my speech, the ball is yours. You don't have to just kick it or just throw it. You can do both. You can pursue both. And you can balance both. Thank you.