Young Immigrant Children

I have lived in two different worlds. The duality of the immigrant experience is a battle that every first-generation child has to wage. As I conquered my language barrier, a whole new world full of traditions and customs opened up. Seeking acceptance from my peers, it was hard not to adopt their culture and ignore my own in the process. However, abandonment was not an option in a family with a strong cultural identity. While there was nothing wrong with either culture, finding middle ground proved to be an ongoing journey.

Richard Rodriguez, author of “Aria: A Memoir of a Bilingual Childhood” grew up speaking Spanish at home for the beginning of his life, and having the great connection with family that most hope for during their lifetime. This all suddenly changed when he entered school. Starting at a young age, Richard was surrounded by all English-speaking people that he could not communicate well with. The only instances where English would be would have been during public outings, and interaction with others. At home, his parents also struggled to speak English making the situation even harder on Richard. Fortunately, Richard had encouraging teachers jumpstarted his English learning curriculum so he would be better equip to interact within his community. As he started becoming more and more fluent in English, his native Spanish language started to drift. Richard began to realize that the connection at home slowly dwindled away as he was increasing his English speaking at school. Richard began to sense a lack of safety in his own home. His involvement in public conversation; using his newly learned language, effected his life so much to the point where he had to choose between

In 2009, the U.S. Census gathered that there were over thirty-three million second-generation immigrants living in America. America is a melting pot, and in this melting pot, it isn’t uncommon for these children, myself included, to lose sight of what our lives could be–and the struggles that our parents faced to ensure that we have more opportunities than they had. As I write this essay, I’m stressing over the things any other American high school sophomore faces– grades, social drama and statuses, and my follower count on Twitter and Instagram. These “problems,” if even that, are minute to what others our age face around the world. Young adults in Sudan are starving, and young adults in Syria live in the middle of a war zone. As far away They raised two kids: my 19-year-old brother, who is currently a freshman at the University of Georgia, and myself. Thanks to their hard work, I’m able to worry about the things I do. Never have I worried about not having food on my plate, about being denied my education, or being forced to leave everything I know and abandon my dreams. It’s easy to forget what my parents have done for me, for the opportunities and doors they have opened for me. There’s no way to understand your life–the privileges you hold–without understanding the past. You must be thankful for all the things your loved ones have done for you, and I’m sure that I am. I can’t imagine my life if I were in my parents’ shoes, if I faced the struggles and hardships they did, and I know I wouldn’t have the courage to be as decisive as they were and are. Their perseverance and determination make me content with my life now, knowing that it could be much worse. Their experiences motivate me to capitalize on what they gave me–to become something. I want to be sure that my parents know I’m thankful and know that I will work hard to become what they didn’t have the opportunity to. 11th Grade Columbus High School Anjali Patel 5th

p. 187 “In 1999, a sister in Honduras disclosed the truth about Enrique: 'He's getting in trouble. He's changed.' He was smoking marijuana. The news made Lourdes sick.”

Children and adults from different backgrounds may speak a different language to the majority of

The film “Speaking in Tongues” (2010) obtained the students, parents, and communities perspective towards bilingual education. The students interviewed were all mainly towards learning how to speak a second language. The students felt they could benefit in learning a second language or in expanding their home language. In the film, Kelly Wong stated she loved speaking Chinese to her grandmother. Kelly could practice, learn, and get corrected by her grandmother while speaking Chinese. The parent’s perspective towards bilingual education was like the student’s opinions because both individuals felt immersion classrooms benefit the students and the parents. The father of Jason was proud his son was the first in his family to read, write, and speak in English. Jason’s father knew his son would have many career opportunities by learning English at school. Learning the English academic language was not the only proud language Jason’s father encouraged for Jason to learn but also the Spanish language as well. Jason’s father only speaks Spanish so if his son was to lose his home language, a language barrier would form between father and son. To prevent the language barrier Jason’s father encouraged a bilingual immersion

One of the toughest adjustments, having been born to Mexican parents, is migrating to an unknown country where traditions and languages differ from one 's own. Though many pursue an education and strive for a better life, the purpose behind an immigrant, like myself, differs from the typical American. Immigrants strive for a life that was once impossible, going to school is not only to attain an education, but to better prove that we can also become successful regardless of our traditions and skin color. I lived in a country for over fifteen years, fearing deportation, not only losing a home, but potentially saying goodbye to a bright future. Although many feel empathy for Mexican-Americans, it is undeniably difficult to truly comprehend the immense trauma children and even adults undergo  upon experiencing racism and prejudice. Attending a

Born and raised in Santa Barbra California, Peter Giovani Petatan have lived 21 years of his life in the U.S. along with his mother and father who were born and raised in Mexico. Although born and raised in California Peter and his family currently reside in Macon, GA. Now as a college student this has been the first time he has ever lived outside of home. Nevertheless, he feels as if he’s able to adapt to this new environment effortlessly in terms of the university and community.

home and school. In addition, another example of amplification can be shown in the following

In regards to the provisions of the bill if enacted, depending on the continuation of the court’s jurisdiction a child filing or intending to file for an application with an appropriate authority seeking special immigrant juvenile status (defined in section 101a27j) of the Federal Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. Section 1101a27j) after the child’s 18th birthday the court will have the opportunity to extend the court’s jurisdiction. The earliest the court can extend the jurisdiction is dependent upon a range of eligibility requirements such as the child’s 21st birthday and residential status. Also for quality assurance purposes, if a child having an undetermined immigration status is categorized, assigned caseworkers would then be

We believe that teachers and parents are struggling to make their students and children involved in a different community from their original community. Because these students have different cultures, languages and values from their teachers who are doing their best to meet the needs of all international students (Shurki & Richard, 2009). The schools across the country today are looking for ways to welcome and assist immigrant families because they become a big part of their communities. So how these effect on each of students, teachers and parent?

With nations becoming increasingly connected through mediums like the internet, the world has changed substantially within the last decade. It’s a time where Spanish songs such as Luis Fonsi’s Despacito can top the American music charts, where traveling to the other side of the world takes a few hours instead of weeks, and more importantly, where states like California and Utah are continuing to promote and provide for a growing demand for bilingual education through dual-immersion programs. Although the states have great strides in the right direction, bilingual education should not be encouraged but rather be required for K-12 students. Because bilingual education integrates languages into the student’s lifestyle through instruction, it enriches the lives of children, the adults they will become, and the community to which they will contribute to.

Learning languages is a treasure. This is a sentence that we know it holds some truth, however we can’t claim for sure that our bilingual kids are smarter than the kids who learn one language. Well, a study has shown that learning languages from a very early stage is extremely important in the brain development of the child, especially in the areas responsible for decision-making and problem-solving.

The children learning a second language for develop skills that will help create opportunities in the future and ability to communicate with others in different situations. It will most certainly In addition to the language skills of children with learning a second language, and learning the cultural differences helps. Includes a variety of educational and career opportunities as well. However, children learning a second language in the early teens It can learn faster and learn the lesson faster also. But it does not mean if passed, then a teenager. The ability to develop foreign language become reduces. Besides the age factor Experience and school environment as well as the teaching. They play an important role in the development of language skills. So the bilingual is necessary: using

A person who speaks more than one language is described as being bilingual. According to the United States Department of Education, “about 21% of school-age children speak a language other than English at home,” (Lowry, 2011). As Wayne Thomas and Virginia Collier describe in, “Two Languages are Better Than One,” children who come into school having a first language besides English, tend to struggle. Usually when a child struggles with a particular subject, they are taken out of the main classroom and brought somewhere for a remedial class. But according to Thomas and Collier, in order to help narrow the gap in comprehension, English learners and English speakers need to be kept together in order to be fully enriched in a successful learning