(P.S. THE DEADLINE FOR THE ANSWERS TO THE READING QUESTIONS IS TUESDAY 19TH JAN)
* A) Look at the title and skim through the text quickly. What do you think this text is about?
Learning a second language.
Immigrants who become sick in the U.S.
Language and its effect on the identity of immigrants.
Schools attended by immigrants to the U.S.
* B) What type of text is this ?
*C) Scan the first paragraph to find out the following:
I) The name and nationality of the author.
* II) Which of these statements is NOT true according to the first paragraph of the article?
a) Second generation immigrants are usually eager to learn their parents' native language.
b) It is often hard for first and second generation family members to communicate with each other.
c) Because second generation immigrant children often speak only English, they may lose their ethnic identity.
d) Sometimes second generation immigrant children ignore their parents because of language differences.
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* III) Words in the first paragraph synonymous with the following:
people who leave their native country permanently
the sense of knowing who you are and where you belong
mother tongue
pity
* IV) The reason why people migrate to the United States of America and why they want their children to speak English both at school and home?
* V) The two causes of misunderstandings between the first and second generations of those immigrants.
Immigrants Suffer from Losing Their Identity By: Howard Kim
Language is a way to communicate with each other. We started to learn language when we were born. However, people are used to speaking their native language, so immigrants are having many problems between the first generation and the second generation because they don't have the same native language. Also, the second generation is losing their identity. Especially in America, there are many immigrants that came from different countries to succeed in the States. Because they suffer in lots of areas such as getting a job and trying to speak English, they want their children to speak English, not only at school, but also at home in order to be more successful. Because of this situation, their children are losing their ethnic identity and, even more, they are ignoring their parents whose English is not very good.
For example, my aunt, who has been living in Chicago for fifteen years, has three children and they were all born in the States. The eighteen year old daughter speaks English as a native language and she speaks Korean very well too. She has no problems talking with her parents, but she still doesn't understand Korean jokes, and there are sometimes misunderstandings. The second daughter is fourteen years old, and she doesn't want to speak Korean. My aunt often gets upset with her because she is very Americanized and they cannot understand each other. Even when my aunt punishes her, this daughter does not understand what my aunt is talking about.
I felt sympathy for my aunt whenever my fourteen year old cousin said, "Mom, what is your problem?" The third child is a twelve year old son. He speaks English to his parents and my aunt speaks Korean to him as she does to the second daughter. He also has a problem communicating with his parents. My aunt is trying to teach him to speak both languages very well, but it is very hard for him because he speaks English all day and does not understand why he should learn to speak Korean.
I think most immigrants are trying to preserve their native language in their new country, but this doesn't help very much in getting a good job. My aunt didn't teach Korean to her children in order to help them succeed in the U.S.; she did so, hopefully, to help them establish a Korean identity. Though the second generation is born in the new country, they often get confused about their identity because they look different from others, and also, if they visit their parent's country, they will probably feel different from other people there too. My cousins told me that when they visited Korea a few years ago, they felt different from other Koreans. They could even feel it just strolling around the street because they wore different clothing.
The Rest of the Questions:
D) Skim through the second paragraph and answer the question:
What about Kim’s cousins; why does each of them have a problem with Kim’s aunt?
E) * Tick the correct answer:
1- To whom does the mother speak Korean?
Her oldest daughter only.
All of her children.
Her two daughters only.
Only to her son.
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2- Why did the author's aunt try to teach her children to speak Korean?
To help them succeed in the U.S.
To help them find a good job.
To help them establish a Korean identity.
To help her improve her Korean language skills.
None of the above.
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3- Which of the following is closest to the main idea of this article?
Second generation Korean-Americans walk and dress differently than their parents.
Many immigrant families have problems with communication.
The language spoken in immigrant households is often a mixture of two languages.
Second generation Korean immigrants often speak only English.
Teaching immigrant children the parents' native language helps them establish their ethnic identity.
Post Reading:
Write an argumentative essay of not less than 200 words on EACH of the following topics) (Deadline WEDNESDAY)
1- Learning to speak a foreign language almost as well as our mother tongue is very important.
2- There is a generation gap between our parents and ourselves that can never be bridged. They don’t understand us and never will.
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