Learning English with “No Role Modelz”

By Davaughnia Wilson | Published March 28, 2023

It was, “No role models and I’m here right now, No role models to speak of,” that impacted and changed the life of a 10-year-old Hispanic boy living in the Dominican Republic with big dreams and ambitions and no knowledge of how to speak or understand the English language. 

Growing up, Fernando Jimenez, a freshman international student majoring in Forensic Psychology, only spoke Spanish. His entire life, from his roots, culture, traditions, music, and education was solely Hispanic. However, that all changed when J Cole said, “First things first rest in peace Uncle Phil.”

“One day I heard the song and I saw the lyrics but I didn’t understand what it meant because at that time I knew nothing about English,” Jimenez said. “So, every day I would play the song over and over again to the point where I knew the lyrics word for word but I still didn’t understand the meaning of it.”

While the 2014 hit song impacted the lives and hearts of many Americans with lyrics such as, “I want a real love, dark-skinned and Aunt Viv love. That Jada and that Will love,” which references the iconic American hit sitcom “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” and married couple Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith.

It was the rhythmic vibration of the beat and the emphasis J Cole put on the lyrics of “No Role Modelz” that left its footprint in the mind of young Jimenez and one day, “just for fun,” he decided to translate the song to try to understand, on his own, what the song meant.

Jimenez soon realized that the hip-hop/rap sensation composed the song with words that are used by English speakers in everyday conversations. He then took English words from the song, added them to his vocabulary, and in conversations with his mom, he would use them. 

“No Role Modelz” was Jimenez’s foundational tool in learning the English language. After mastering and understanding the lyrics of the song, his enthusiasm for learning the language skyrocketed and he continued to learn English words and terms through songs.

While he strengthened his vocabulary and understanding of the language, he was still learning how to pronounce, enunciate and fluently speak the language. To that end, he started watching shows in English and turning on the subtitles so he could learn more. 

His mother was a huge advocate and supporter in his quest to master the language. She realized early on that he was devoting his time and effort to learn English and she was proud. 

“After I had a bit of understanding of the language, my mom put me in an English after-school program while I was in high school,” Jimenez said. 

Jimenez said while English was taught at his high school, no one spoke it fluently, if at all during the English hour so he wasn’t really learning and practicing it in school. 

However, when he was enrolled in his after-school program, he was not allowed to speak Spanish. The only acceptable language was English. He was learning, and speaking the language more, and still, his speech wasn’t the best. 

“The beginning was a little bit tough,” Jimenez said. 

In his after-school program, he was learning what he describes as the “more technical stuff,” and it was challenging at first. In his first year, he passed with the minimum passing requirements and as he progressed his English got better. 

“At that moment I didn’t speak it how I speak it now,” Jimenez said. “I didn’t know all the words I know now and I didn’t have the lingo I have now… I still find that I have problems with speaking it because I have only been here [the United States of America] for a year.” 

Jimenez said he became fluent when he moved to the U.S. and had to speak the language every day to communicate and to “survive.”

“I was working in a Dunkin’ Donuts and I needed to communicate with the customers and coworkers in English,” Jimenez said. “I wasn’t going to speak Spanish because they probably wouldn’t understand.”

In his first semester at Kean Jimenez took English as a Second Language and passed. He is also enrolled in the Spanish-speaking program.   

JCole’s song had a ground-breaking impact on the music industry when it first debuted in 2014, and more importantly, the iconic hit changed a young man’s life.

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