The following Immigration & Refugee text set would be presented to English as a Second Language students at the high school level. Students would probably need to be at an English Language Proficiency (ELP) level 3 or above. I have not studied these levels thoroughly yet, so please provide feedback on this if you are more knowledgeable on it. Emergent bilingual students are often children of immigrant parents who have been born in the US, students themselves can be immigrants, and the other major group are refugee students. Given all of the political turmoil around immigration, recently enacted executive orders, and future action on border security, immigrant and refugee students may feel alienated and some may even be coping with the effects of increasing deportation orders.Through the combination of these texts, I hope to foster intergroup understanding of the injustices that migrants of all sorts face before and after arrival in the United States, and motivate students to act. Learning English is about more than just staying afloat in an academic setting, it is also about unraveling these difficult issues of identity and injustice as they relate to the immigrant and refugee experience.
Print Texts:
1. Epatko, L. (2017) You asked: How are refugees vetted today? PBS Newshour. Retrieved from: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/asked-refugees-vetted-today/
&
Park, H., Buchanan, L. (2017) Refugees Entering the US Already Face a Rigorous Vetting Proces. Retrieved from: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/01/29/us/refugee-vetting-process.html?_r=0
2. Gasson, K. (n.d.) Who is an
Undocumented Immigrant? Retrieved from: http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/who-is-undocumented-immigrant.html
Multimedia Texts:
1. Aljazera. (AJ+). (2015, March 20). Coming Out As An Undocumented Immigrant - Latino Voices. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0w-oFbq_rfo
2. Global Citizen. (Global Citizen). (2016, May 25). I Am A Refugee: Global Refugees Share Their Stories. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bEK6gytwec
Culturally Relevant Texts:
1. La Santa Cecilia. (LaSantaCeciliaVEVO). (2013, April 8). La Santa Cecilia- Ice El Hielo. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lNJviuYUEQ
2. Jal, Emmanuel. (Giant Step). (2008, April 29). Emmanuel Jal- War Child. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VT-0NG5_fhw
Text Descriptions
1. Print Text: Who are refugees?
& Refugees Entering the US Already Face a Rigorous Vetting Process
Summary: Who are Refugees? and Refugees
Entering the US Already Face a Rigorous Vetting Process are two brief
informational articles that I have combined into a single document.
Who are refugees provides five bullet points
indicating the categories of persecution that refugees must prove.
Refugees Entering the US Already
Face a Rigorous Vetting Process
is an article that outlines the 20 steps that a refugee seeking resettlement
must go through before entering the United States.
Quantitative
Analysis: The
average grade level that this text is quantitatively appropriate for is grade
10. StoryToolz scored this text at an average of 10.7, with the lowest score
being 8.1 and the highest being 13.9. The sentences are mostly short (12), but
there are four long sentences. I agree with this analysis and estimate that this text may be most
appropriate for students at levels 3-5 in their ESL classes. Vocabulary words
that should be reviewed beforehand are listed below, as well as English
cognates that students can use as cues from Spanish if that is their native
language.
Vocabulary: Persecution, LGBT, fingerprint
screening, barred, resettlement, United Nations, Homeland Security, State
Department
English Cognates: National, origin, religion,
political opinion, race, membership, social, group, community, suspended,
refugees, process, registration, terrorist, criminal, history, etc.
Qualitative
Analysis:
Text Structure: This text is slightly complex in
organization. It is organized by bullet points and broken up with five longer
sentences for further explanation of certain points. It does not contain any
graphics.
Language Features: The vocabulary is mostly
familiar. There are a lot of English cognates throughout the text that can function
as hints for English language learners. The language of the text is very
explicit, but because of the more technical vocabulary (listed above), I would
rate it as moderately complex.
Purpose: The purpose of the test is
explicitly stated and there is a narrow focus on understanding the basics of
the vetting process of refugees.
Knowledge Demands: The knowledge demands are
moderately complex. Since this is an informational text meant to introduce the
subject of refugee resettlement, there is some knowledge of the organizations
and branches of government needed to understand the text (listed under
Vocabulary), but it is otherwise simple.
Reader & Task: My
purpose for using this text is to address the misconception spread by
government officials and the media that refugees are dangerous and have
terroristic intentions, and that they are not thoroughly vetted before entering
the US. This text would be presented within the context of the immigration
debate and policy changes in the United States today as an introduction. It is
culturally relevant because there are often refugee students in ESL classes,
and it is a political and human rights issue in our history currently because
of the recent executive orders under President Trump. Students who are not
refugees will gain a better understanding of the lived experiences of refugees,
which may be their peers, increasing mutual respect and intergroup
understanding.
2. Culturally Relevant Text (Song): Ice El Hielo by La Santa Cecilia
Summary: Ice El Hielo is a song by a band called La Santa
Cecilia. This group is popular among young Latinxs because of their fusion of
traditional Mexican sound, surreal music videos, and representation of social
issues in their lyrics. This song rose to popularity among the undocumented
community because the it tells the stories of three undocumented people,
providing glimpses into their past and their aspirations for the future which
are threatened by deportation. Lyrics have been translated
into English.
Quantitative Analysis: The average grade level that the lyrics of this song are
quantitatively appropriate for is grade 6.4, with the lowest score being 5.1
and the highest being 7.7. The song contains four verses and a chorus, but it
is originally in Spanish so to conduct this analysis I translated it into
English. The lyrics translate nicely because there is not much figurative
language, nor are the lines very long. I agree with the quantitative analysis,
but due to the message of the song, it may be more appropriate to analyze it
with older students. I have listed a few vocabulary words that could present
difficulty, but since this document presents the English and Spanish versions
of the lyrics students can also refer to the original Spanish lyrics for
support.
Vocabulary: Accuses, Uncle Sam, ICE
Qualitative Analysis:
Text Structure: This text is slightly complex in organization. The song moves
along in an easy to predict manner: one verse tells the story of a person, and
it will be followed by the chorus. The music video directly supports the
interpretation of the lyrics by showing each person carrying out the actions
that the song describes.
Language Features: The language features are slightly
complex. There is some use of figurative language, but since the text is in
both English and Spanish, ESL students who have Spanish as their L1 should be
able to use the original lyrics to clarify confusion. For non-Spanish speaking
students, the vocabulary and structure are still easy to follow.
Meaning: For students who have
undocumented family or who are undocumented themselves, the meaning of the song
maybe easy to grasp, but for those who do not have any connection to this
experience, meaning may be more moderately complex. Other pieces of this text
set, as well as class discussion should support building this cultural
awareness.
Knowledge Demands: The life
experiences represented in this song will probably be common to many students
in ESL classes who are undocumented or know people who are. Students who do not
have this experience or do not know someone with this experience will be
supported in developing their understanding through other sources in the text
set and knowledge shared in class by their peers.
Reader & Task: My purpose for using this text is to challenge the criminalizing
and dehumanizing image that government officials and the media spread about
undocumented people; to humanize undocumented people. This text would be
presented within the context of the immigration debate and policy changes in
the United States today as an introduction, especially regarding the question
of mass deportation and the construction of a wall. It is culturally relevant
because there are often undocumented students or students who have undocumented
family members in ESL classes. It is historically relevant because of the
executive orders that have recently been signed affecting immigration policy.
Students who are not undocumented will gain a better understanding of the lived
experiences of those who are and will increase mutual respect and intergroup
understanding. Hopefully building these connections among migrant groups will
motivate students to act by helping them understand the consequences of policy
on people’s lives.
3. Multimedia
Text (Video): Coming Out As An Undocumented Immigrant by Aljazera
Summary: Coming
Out As An Undocumented Immigrant
captures the coming-out stories of seven young, undocumented immigrants who
have grown up in the United States. Each of them recalls different emotions as
they share with viewers what it was like to live in the shadows of an
immigration system that excludes them, while trying to build their lives as
normally as possible like their peers with status were. This video is 4 minutes
and 25 seconds long.
Quantitative
Analysis: In
order to quantitatively analyze this video I transcribed a portion of it into
the StoryTools text analyzer. The average grade level that this video is
quantitatively appropriate for is grade 6.7, with the lowest score being 4.2
and the highest being 8.7. Each individual in this video tells their story
casually, in a conversational tone. I agree with the quantitative analysis that
this video may be appropriate for middle school learners, and this also makes
it accessible to older ESL students of various ESL levels. I have listed a few
vocabulary words that could present difficulty:
Vocabulary: Court hearing, disclosed,
papers, queer, deported, “coming-out,” empowerment, liberating
Qualitative
Analysis:
Text
Structure: This
text is slightly complex in organization. The video is explicit and clear in
its purpose. It is organized organized, but does jump from one person to
another within each section of it. There are subtitles that could be used to
support students’ understanding of the speech.
Language
Features: The language features are slightly complex. There
is some reference to culturally unique ideas, such as the “boogey man,” and
some concepts (empowerment, liberation, queer) that may have to be explained
before/after, but the language is mostly conversational.
Purpose: The purpose is clearly stated: to
share the coming out stories of undocumented people. For students who have
undocumented family or who are undocumented themselves, the meaning of the song
maybe easy to grasp, but for those who do not have any connection to this
experience, meaning may be more moderately complex. Other pieces of this text
set, as well as class discussion should support building this cultural
awareness.
Knowledge Demands: The life experiences represented
in this song will probably be common to many students in ESL classes who are
undocumented or know people who are. Students who do not have this experience
or do not know someone with this experience will be supported in developing
their understanding through other sources in the text set and knowledge shared
in class by their peers.
Reader
& Task: This
text would be presented within the context of the immigration debate and policy
changes in the United States today as an introduction, especially regarding the
question of mass deportation and the construction of a wall. It is culturally relevant
because many undocumented students in high school are at the point in their
lives where they need to confront their immigration status because of job
prospects, the inability to get a driver’s license, and college
acceptance/funding. Many undocumented immigrants are refugees in their own
right, for example, many families flee domestic violence which is not heavily
criminalized in many countries, or cartel violence. It is historically relevant
because of the executive orders that have recently been signed affecting
immigration policy. Students who are not undocumented will gain a better
understanding of the lived experiences of those who are, the injustices they
face, enable them to become allies, and equip students to participate civically
to support undocumented peers. This video will also
promote a healthy self concept and exploration of identity for students who may
be undocumented and struggling to come to terms with their status.
Thank you for reviewing this long post!
I hope you have enjoyed browsing through the texts I have compiled for this blog post. Please share your feedback with me on this compilation, and also tell me something you have learned. I'm looking forward to see what you all have created as well!