Malcolm X's "Literacy Behind Bars" is about the expansion of his world that provokes a burning passion within himself through the world of reading. While incarcerated, the author meets a man named Bimbi who leads the discussion with his stock of knowledge, prompting Malcolm X to further his skills in literacy. Taking small steps, he first broadens his vocabulary by reading alphabetically in the dictionary and copying pages. He reads aloud to himself until the words begin to stick with him. Not long after moves onto books, devouring them at a relentless pace, Malcolm X became so engrossed with reading that he begins breaking curfew rules just to continue reading by using the light outside of his cell. He has a thirst for information that only
Coming to America with my parents when I was about 11 years old was a new adventure for me. There were a lot of changes that needed to be made and experiencing new things. I would have to make some adjustment and getting used to the American culture and learning the language they speak. My parents had made a big sacrifice coming to America. Living their home country just so my siblings and I could get a better education and better life. As we all know, life in America is not that easy when you are newbies. As an 11 years old kid, I wouldn't know what to do or how to help my parents when they are going through a tough time. All I do was go to school, come home, and do some reading. Besides, school wasn't that easy for me because I didn't know English and I couldn't communicate with the people around me nor the teachers. I was the only kid who looks different in my class and has no ideas what the teacher is talking about. It was uncomfortable for me to be around my classmates, but everyone in the class seems to be nice to me because I was the new kid. They didn’t have problems with me and I didn’t have problems with them. As time goes on, I began to feel
Being born to parents who speak Chinese, my first language was Chinese. Growing up, I struggled learning the complex language of English. I had to be in ELD, English Literacy Development, class for years and only until I went to middle school, did I not go to ELD anymore. I was relentlessly made fun of for my grammar in school and I was always afraid to bring Chinese food for lunch because I was scared of people making fun of me. For every good grade I get on a test, I wonder if people will think about the stereotype society has placed on Asian people, all Asians always get good grades. Like me, essayists Richard Rodriguez and Martin Espada are bilingual. Their essays are about their stance on the term, bilingualism. To me, bilingualism is
One of the most popular dishes in El Salvador is sopa de pata. Sopa de pata is soup with cow’s feet, tripe, yuca, chayote, sweet corn, onions, and bananas. In El Salvador it is eaten most commonly as an appetizer, but some people eat it as a meal. A pupusa is a very common dish in El Salvador, made from a thick corn tortilla. It can be stuffed with cheese, pork, refried beans, loroco, and other vegetables. Pupusas are typically served with curtido. Curtido is like sauerkraut. It is traditionally made from onions, cabbage, carrots, and oregano. Sometimes lime juice is put in.
Voces Inocentes shares the lifestory of a young boy named Chava who lived through the Salvadoran Civil War. Chava was only 11 year old and lived with his mom and his two siblings. His father left to the US for a better life and never returned to El Salvador. Every night, Chava and his family had to hide under their beds due to the warfare that was occurring outside of their home. They were forced to see dead bodies every morning, sometimes from people they cared about. Chava also saw one of his closest friends leave to be trained in the military and fight in the war. Ever since then Chava was always cautious so that the government military wouldn't take him away. However, Chava and two of his friends went with Chava’s uncle so they could be
Raised all my life in Puerto Rico and then transferring to America was a great challenge. I had to overcome various difficulties in order to adapt to new ideas, cultures, and lifestyles. One of the obstacles I encountered was adapting to school. Since I was five my parents wanted me to imbibe the English language in order to have an exceptional future filled with opportunities, but when I arrived all my hard work in learning English did not seem to matter at my middle school. I arrived in this country thinking I was going to be in the most challenging classes and be at the top but reality smacked me in the face the first day I entered eighth grade. To my disadvantage the counselors did not care about my previous grades in Puerto Rico. Seeing that my parents were only able to speak Spanish, the school deduced my English was not well-developed enough and consequently I was placed in English-language learner (ELL) classes. After testing me in reading, writing, and hearing I was
What do El Salvador, Miami, and Los Angeles all have in common? They all have Spanish history that mixes in with their history. All though Miami and Los Angeles are both in the United States and far away from El Salvador, they have Spanish speaking residence within their areas. Each of the locations have their own form of culture that is not like each other.
Many kids do not realize how life is out of the United States. I have experienced a completely new aspect of life outside of an American life into a third world country. Being able to stay there for half of the summer each year as taught me valuable characteristics. The culture experience I had in El Salvador has made me a humble individual, who has become more generous and a thankful person.
I am an immigrant. The word that Donald Trump hates. The set of people that receives many blames for crimes or mischief. But after all, thats me. I am like any other person who gets blamed, I am an immigrant.
Being Hispanic to me is the strength the culture has given me to not give up. Hispanics in the United States face many struggles, not only when many decide to move to this country, but also the issues faced in the countries we come from. Being Hispanic has giving me values and responsibilities to represent who I am as individual; for my culture, my country, and my family.
My grandfather asked me “Which one?” I respond “Let’s get this one”. Little did I know that guinea pig was my dinner. Guinea pigs or cuy are not pets but food in Ecuador.When I arrived at the airport it looked like any typical airport, but it felt as if I was in a different world. I remember seeing a whole bunch of random people at the airport. And then this whole group of people is crowding around me and it took me a while to put all the pieces together and I see my brother saying hi to everyone and then I realized holy cow this is my family. On the way to the car I was counting how many people were actually here and I had 6 uncle 's, 6 aunt 's, more than 15 cousins and 4 grandparents. I could not believe my eyes for the first time in eleven years I was with family. The first two weeks living in Ecuador was a challenge.
El Salvador is one of the most well known countries in Central America. There are multiple cities that make up this country; but within these cities is what makes this country unique. The variety of food, tourist attractions, and cultural events are all different qualities of El Salvador.
“Bienvenidos a El Salvador,” the flight attendant announced over the intercom. I looked towards the windows and enjoyed the breathtaking scenery. I could see the long fields, the beautiful hills and valleys, and the volcanoes. The palm trees were bright green and the sky was filled with color.The land seemed to be filled with life. “Where were the empires, buildings, or roads?”, I pondered. The same flight attendant interrupted my thoughts once again. “ We have now arrived at the San Salvador Airport, please remember to get your belongings,” he said.
I am an international student from Vietnam who came to the United States to pursue higher education. I was brought up in a very unique culture and family traditions, and this has had a strong influence on my beliefs and mindsets. Together with all the experiences that I have been through so far in my life, I have formed some social and personal identities that I might or might be aware of. Such identifies are an important tool that can stay with me and remind me every day of who I am and my origin.
Language is an abstract concept which needed by people to communicate. Language has an intrinsic meaning which represents an image and it is also symbolic however not only symbolic. Language is also a complex system and it is creative and productive meaning that you can product many words. Language does not only include objects but also includes all the images and concepts of the world. There is an abstraction of a real world. So what is language for? Language exists for communication, to control people regarding to maintain their relationships, phatic communication, thoughts, expressing emotions etc. Language is for thought and this thought is related to language directly because people can not think without language and it is really significant.