POSITION OF IMMIGRANTS IN THE USA.

Mikhail Nokhov Khasavyurt,Dagestan, Russian Federation

Lesson Plan TITLE OF A LESSON: Immigrants to the US Lesson Specifics

TARGET AGE: 15-16

FOCUS: Critical thinking, problem solving skills

THEME: Position of the immigrants to Hawaii, the USA.

 TIME REQUIRED: 90 minutes (2 Lessons)

OBJECTIVES:

- Students will be able to comment on the diversity of the population in the USA, position of immigrants, their rights and duties.

- Students will recognize the freedoms gained through the rights and appreciate the benefits gained from laws in their daily life.

Students will compare the position of the immigrants in the USA with the position of the involuntarily displaced people from Chechnya in the republics of Northern Caucasus.

MATERIALS REQUIRED: Handouts, poster, markers, Internet resources, and

video-films with the interviews of the immigrants to the USA.

PROCEDURE:

1. Engage the students in brainstorming the words “law, government, Constitution, fighters for Human rights, national minorities, discrimination, and apartheid, immigrants, terrorists, religious persecution”.

2. Conduct a brief exchange of their knowledge about the migration: who the immigrants are, can the migrants from one place to another within the boarders of one country called immigrants, who are the refugees, how there position differs from the position of the immigrants.

Use the following URL :

People who are making difference in the World –

Diversity of Civil rights in the USA - www.lclark.edu/~krauss/diversity98/

About immigration into Hawaii:

http://archives.starbulletin.com/1999/07/12/millennium/story4.html

A good summary of the various immigrant groups

http://www.hawaiian-roots.com/immigrants.htm

 A timeline

http://www.google.com/search?q=immigrants+in+Hawaii&hl=en&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&tbs=tl:1&tbo=1&ei=uHI5StuyH4nssQPWnaD-Bg&sa=X&oi=timeline_result&ct=title&resnum=14

 

Working with the interviews of the three immigrants .

The class is divided into three groups of five students.

 The students are given the interviews of two immigrants to Hawaii, the USA.

The students read the interviews silently.

 The students discuss what they’ve read in their groups, briefly.

Listening to the interview of Gaston Horacio Buschiazzo, immigrant from Argentina.

The students read the interviews again and prepare to talk in the name of the interviewed people

Involve the students in discussion of the position of the refugees from Chechnya in the collective camps in Khasavyurt (there are many children from these camps in our gymnasium) and compare it with the position of the immigrants to Hawaii which you have just discussed.

The students are asked to find in the Internet material concerning the Diversity of the population in the USA, position of the immigrants and prepare a short essays to the next lesson.

Q- What is your name? A- Stephanie Sandrelina. Nice to meet you Missis…. Call me Stephanie, please. OK, Stephanie, may I ask you some

questions? Yes, of course if my answers will help

you. Ok, thanks again. Where are you from? I am from a small town of Granada in

Nicaragua. Have you heard about this country?

Yes, I even know that the capital is Managua. As you have told me before you migrated to the USA. When and Why?

It is hard to remember now, because a lot of water has gone under the bridge since the time our family had to move here because of my father’s problems with the Nicaragua authorities in 1974.

What kind of problems did he have? Political. I was born in 1960. My father was a

farmer. He worked on the farm and my mother and elder brother helped him. The life was very hard. He worked all day but still couldn’t pay the debts to the bank. Finally the bank confiscated the farm and our family moved to town to look for work there. My father found a job of a mechanic on a shoe factory. But still he couldn’t earn our living though my brother worked together with him. At 6 I went to a junior school but at 13 I had to leave it and go to a factory. I worked on an assembly line. At that time I could hardly read and write.

What problems did your father have? He took part in the strike and the police was after

him. How did you manage to come here? One of my father’s friends was a seaman and he

brought us here illegally. Do you think that living in a mixed community

is easier than in any other? I suppose so. At first it was difficult for us to get

accustomed but some years later we found many new friends and feel very well today.

What do you do at present? I am a manager in a grocery shop. Was it difficult for you to become a manager? Yes, rather. When we came here I was 14 and

didn’t know a single word in English. All my friends remained in Nicaragua and I missed, them. I began attending the English language courses in the evening and soon found a job of a dish-washer in one of the restaurants. Some time later I became a shop assistant in a grocery shop in my neighborhood.

I think your good knowledge of English helped you to become a manager?

Not only this but my professional skills also counted.

What are your long term goals? Oh, it’s hard to say, but life is good here. I’m

married and have two nice daughters. They go to school. I am glad that I live in such a nice country as the USA.

Thank you for your frank answers, Stephanie. You are welcome. It was nice meeting you.

Interview with the Immigrant from Argentina My name is Mikhail Nokhov. I’m a Teacher of

English from Russia and I’m participating in the Summer Institute in the HPU. I’m supposed to interview some immigrants into Hawaii, Could your answer some of my questions:

Yes, willingly. What's your name? My name is Gaston Horacio Buschiazzo. What country are you from? Argentina What were the reasons for your migration to the

USA? To be with my wife. What are the advantages and challenges in your

settling in Hawaii? A difficult thing of being in Hawaii is having my

family so far away. Life in Hawaii is rather expensive. The advantages are the following – first of all it is a very beautiful place to live and I’ve learned a new Hawaiian culture. And being a chef in a restaurant I‘ve had an opportunity to learn new cuisine – Hawaiian and Pacific Rim.

Do you think that living in a mixed society easier than in any other?

It is just different, not necessarily easier or harder. I enjoy living in Hawaii with a mixed culture. Living here you learn many things.

What was your occupation in your country?

I was a cook at a local restaurant.

What do you do here?

I am a chef in a restaurant in a modern hotel.

Are you seeking for a better position?

Yes, I’m looking for a better position. I have a good job but because of the crises my position is not stable.

Did you have to attend English language courses before you got this job?

No, but I have taken English courses in Argentina since I was a child.

Do you think that good knowledge of English will permit you to occupy a better position?

Yes, definitely.

Do you feel any humiliation or violation of human rights here?

No, however I felt embarrassed here before because of my English.

What are your long-term goals?

To have my own restaurant, a vineyard and a hotel as in Argentina where I will cook local food after I have travelled around the world.