TEACHING ESL - REFLECTIONS

Interview with a Sudanese Refugee

For this interview I spoke with an eighteen-year-old Sudanese refugee who has been in the United States for six years.

What is your family's attitude about learning English?
He told me that his family is very supportive about him learning English. One of the reasons that they wanted to move to America was so that he and his siblings could become better educated. They know that learning English gives them more opportunities to succeed.

Did you feel welcomed when you began going to school in the United States?
He started school in the fifth grade. Overall, the children and faculty were supportive of his immersion into American culture. He said that he did have a problem with fighting his first few years. Some of the students were not sympathetic to his situation and they gave him a difficult time since he did not know the language or the customs. The language barrier frustrated him and fighting served as his release.

What were the most helpful phrases you learned in English?
The most important thing initially was learning the conventional greetings. He said it meant a lot to him when he was able to greet people and respond in a respectful manner. It opened the door for him to have meaningful relationships with teachers, students and people in the outside community.

What teaching strategies worked best for you? What materials worked best for your understanding?
The thing that he said helped his development the most was patience. The first teacher he had in the United States really had an impact on him. She did not rush the learning process. When he would become frustrated that he was not learning quickly enough, she would tell him that learning takes time. In her classroom, he was able to pace himself. This teacher also helped him settle into the school. She was someone he could go to with concerns about school or American culture. As far as strategies, he didn't find one method to be the best instructional tool for him in all situations. What he did note was that learning to read and write posed the greatest challenges for him and he liked doing activities geared toward developing those skills.

What was the most shocking American custom or experience that you encountered?
The thing that surprised him the most about American culture was people's public displays of affection. In his culture, people did not demonstrate intimacy in public. He told me that even married people did not interact in that way in his community. In Sudan, the home is separated; women and men have their own workspaces that do not overlap. If something was needed from the other gender's area, the children would get it. He said he has made many good friends through his time in the United States. These friends answered questions he had about the new culture that helped in his transition.

Does your family try to keep traditions like this in America?
He said they do not. How the homes are set up here, it would be difficult to keep this tradition alive. The new generations have grown up in America or in refugee camps; so many traditions like this have been lost in the journey.

Did you come straight to San Diego from Sudan?
He moved from Sudan to refugee camps in Ethiopia and Kenya. From there he arrived in the United States. He first arrived in Georgia, then moved to Minnesota, and finally came to San Diego.

Did you attend school at the refugee camps? Did you learn English there?
He did not attend school in Ethiopia, but did have some schooling in Kenya. He had the opportunity to learn some English at this school, but the school was eventually shut down so the English classes stopped. He continued to learn reading and writing in his native language, Nuer. He believes that this knowledge of his own language helped him transition to learning English.

Do your parents know English? What language do you speak at home?
His parents are picking up English. His mother is starting to read and write in English, but his father is still unable to read or write in English. His family speaks Nuer at home, but his siblings sometimes talk to each other in English.

What do you want to do in your life? Do you want to return to Sudan?
His father always told him that he was the future of the family and that education was the key to success. In his family, education comes first. He wants to go to school and study biology and then continue on to medical school. He thinks if the war stops, his father would like to go back permanently. He said he would like to go back to Sudan to help treat his people by working in a hospital, which is one of the reasons why he wants to be a doctor. He says he wants to be able to return to the United States, and not relocate permanently. He is confident that he is up to medical school and the challenges that stand ahead.

How important is it for you to hold on to your roots?
It is very important for him to hold on to his past. He thinks it is shameful when people do not keep the language of their native culture. His family still has ties in the Sudan and his family helps them out when they need it. He said that he was saving up money from his job to buy a car. He was getting close to his goal when his relatives in Sudan needed money. He wanted to help out with the family expenses so he gave some of his money to send overseas. He still does not have a car and wants to get a job soon so that he can start saving again.

How important is it to find a Sudanese girl? Is it important to keep old traditions while in America?
It does not matter to him if the girl he dates or marries is Sudanese. He feels that it would be difficult to maintain Sudanese household traditions and social customs in a different country.

So far, is America all that you and your family had hoped for? Have there been any disappointments?
He said America was all that he and his family had hoped for. They came to America mainly for educational opportunities and America has provided that for them. He wants to go to college and has turned in many applications to universities. This is very important to his family. He said continuously throughout the interview that he is the family's future and these goals will be reached through education.

He added that it is difficult to see his fellow refugees without any long-term goals. He said many of them do not know where they are going or what they want to do with their new lives and opportunities. He is involved in an outreach program for new immigrants called New American Youth Advocates. This group speaks to new immigrants about American customs and culture. They also educate the immigrant population about drugs, gangs and sexually transmitted diseases.