<p>first language "should" be the first language you learned, your mother tongue or your native language. </p>
<p>But its your choice. I would personally put down Serbian if I were you. But it depends on what you want to define as first language.</p>
<p>The best definition I've heard so far is:</p>
<p>The first/native language is the language you speak at home, with your parent's.</p>
<p>So I guess СРПСКИ is your first language.</p>
<p>What if -- as some people on this board have mentioned -- I speak English to my parents and they respond in another language and this is the completely natural way by which we always communicate?</p>
<p>I think that first language really means the language that you speak best and think in, not just the language you learned first. I know a kid who moved to my town as a child and only spoke Somali. Now she has forgotten every word and only speaks English. It would be silly for her to put down Somali as her first language just because she learned it first. First language really means the language you are most fluent in. What language do you think in and dream in?</p>
<p>So you should put the language in which you THINK regardless of whether it's your native tongue or not?</p>
<p>To confirm what others have probably said, they want your first language, even if the second language you learned is the one you speak better now.</p>
<p>The reason is if you learned a language besides English first, that means you then as a child had to pick up English and over time gradually master it; that's very different from people who grew up in an English-speaking country and have heard it their entire life. Stuff like this can affect Verbal and Writing SAT scores, as well as English grades and such. So, if that is a factor, they'll want to know!</p>
<p>what if i think in both? like i literally think in both and sometimes unmeaningly i'll speak english to my parents or chinese to my (mostly caucasian) friends. that's the trouble i have with learning french, i can translate pretty well and write well in it, but translating in my head takes too much time... although i was born in NYC, i learned mandarin chinese as a child, because my babysitters were chinese and my parents didn't speak much english, and i didn't learn english until i was 5. when it comes time, should i put english or chinese? i'm still completely fluent in chinese, speak chinese at home, and have graduated chinese school, second in my class, and i also assisstant-teach a CSL (ESL but chinese) class at the school. i'm confident in my abilities to take the TOEFL, unless it has random spelling questions (i think i spelled "assisstant" wrong)... would it be bad of me to put chinese as my first language? i mean, if they make me take the TOEFL, it doesn't mean i have to cram or anything, it would just be another 8 dollars...</p>
<p>One of the <em>major</em> criticisms of the TOEFL is that native speakers don't always score perfect on them.</p>
<p>If I had to make the choice, I would avoid the TOEFL.</p>
<p>Looks like there is so much confusion about what 'first language' means. According to disctionary the first language is one's native language; the language learned by children and passed from one generation to the next.<br>
However, since it helps to avoid taking TOEFL for the kids who are already fluent in English, I think it is best to put down English as the first language.</p>
<p>English because it is the language you know better. If you are going to an English school and conduct most of your daily life in Enlgish, it is your first language. I dont think you want to take the TOEFL so it may be best to say English and that you speak Serbian at home.</p>
<p>Put English.</p>
<p>o, i talked to this with someone i work with. she is chineese and says that if she wants to get her residency (she's an MD, but research scientist) she has to take the TOEFL every year. Also, she said she knew someone born in the US who put chinese as his first language because it was the first languge he learned, and now he has to take the TOEFL even tho he is fluent in english and functioning in america. you will mess yourself up if you dont put english as your first language.</p>
<p>I'd recommend putting Serbian. Looks more impressive</p>
<p>
[quote]
My parents speak Gujurati and I respond in English..its funny because I can't speak Gujurati much at all but I understand everything they tell me almost to a point that I don't even realize its Gujurati and not english. Its funny when they mix-match english/gujurati lol
[/quote]
hahaah thats what I used to do too except my parents would speak in Sindhi ( Indian/Pakistani dialect ). However, after a couple of years, I started speaking it myself and now thankfully, I converse with my family in Sindhi to the extent that I now unconcsiously think in either Sindhi, Hindi or English ( depending on my mood and what I'm doin :p )..</p>
<p>Personally, with 750 on Verbal I'd put down Serbian as a first language, makes the score look more impressive.
Most colleges have a provision that you can exempt TOEFL if you score high enough on SAT I, or simply spent a given number of years in american schools, so why not use it to your advantage?</p>