Effective Communication with the
Immigrant Population –
Language and Beyond
Asian Language BETAC
Brooklyn/Queens BETAC
Haitian BETAC
Office of Adult and Continuing Education
June 5th, 2008
Workshop Agenda
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Overview of New York State Bilingual ESL
Technical Assistance Center (BETACs)
Overview of the need of effective communication
with immigrant population
Language and culture awareness panel
presentation
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Haitian
West African
East Asian
South Asian
Spanish
Q&A
Mission Statement of the
New York State BETACs
To enhance the development of
knowledge and competencies of
educators, parents and local
communities needed to support
academic excellence of limited
English proficient / English
language learners (LEP/ELLs)
in New York State.
3
Where the BETACs are…
4
Statewide Language BETACs
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ALBETAC (Asian Languages)
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HABETAC (Haitian Language)
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SBETAC
(Spanish Language)
ALBETAC
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Provide technical assistance to
schools and school districts with
 ELLs from Asian language
backgrounds and
 Students enrolling in Asian languages
programs
Focus on 6 top Asian language
groups:
(Arabic, Bengali, Chinese, Korean, Urdu
and Russian)
HABETAC
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Resource Center
Haitian Spelling Bee
Essay and Art Contest
Career Day for Haitian High School
Students
Haitian Studies Association
Haitian Media and CBO Collaborations
Annual Conference on the Education of the
Haitian Child
Haitian materials development and
translation support
SPANISH BETAC
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Spanish Spelling Bee
Annual Children’s and Young Adults’
Literature Symposium
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Spanish Language Literature Institute
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Plazas Comunitarias Network
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Collaborations with teacher preparation
programs
Language resources and translation support
Most Spoken Languages in New York State in 2000
• English is spoken by 72.04 % of people over 5 years of age in New York state.
• Languages other than English are spoken by 27.95%.
• Speakers of other languages are divided up as follows:
Source: Census 2000, Summary File 3, STP 258
LEP/ELLs in New York State
NYS LEP/ELLs Served: 198,425*
Language
Percentage
Spanish
Chinese
Haitian Creole
Russian
Korean
Other Languages (167)
68%
7%
4%
4%
2%
15%
10
Major Language Groups in NYC Schools
Source: BESIS, 2006-07
Total ELL Population: 139,842
ARABIC
2%
Others
7%
BENGALI
3%
CHINESE
11% KOREAN
1%
PUNJABI
1%
RUSSIAN
2%
URDU
2%
Haitian
2%
ARABIC
BENGALI
CHINESE
KOREAN
PUNJABI
RUSSIAN
URDU
French
1%
Haitian
French
Spanish
Spanish
68%
Others
What we learned from your responses
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Program participants reflect the linguistic
diversity of New York State.
Key areas of concerns identified in the
survey include:
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inconsistent participation,
information on public services and communitybased organizations (jobs, immigration,
housing, etc.),
multilingual on-line resources,
instruction strategies (special ed, ESL, literacy)
participants lacking literacy skills in their native
languages,
education systems in other countries, and
effective communication with people from
different cultures.
Do you know what language this is?
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There are 10 cards in white
indicating 10 different languages.
.
There
are 10 cards in green
providing a phrase in the 10
languages.
Your assignment
Match the sentence to its
corresponding language.
Do you know what language this is?
ARABIC
老師歡迎學生
CHINESE
POLISH
KOREAN
URDU
BENGALI
Pwofesè
a
HAITIAN
salye elèv yo.
El maestro Saluda a
SPANISH
los estudiantes
RUSSIAN
Panel Presentation –
Languages and Cultures
Moderator – Silvestre Wallace, Associate, NYS
Office of Bilingual Education)
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Haitian (Lily Cerat, HABETAC)
West African (Virginia Jama, B-Q BETAC)
East Asian (Pat Lo, ALBETAC)
South Asian (Tamo Chattopadhay, ALBETAC)
Spanish (Nancy Fernandez, OACE)
Making Cross-Cultural Connections:
Understanding the Haitian Immigrant Adult Learner
NYS HABETAC @ Brooklyn College
June 5, 2008
Brooklyn Adult Learning Center
Haïti
An Overview
History
Geography
The Haitian People
Who are we?
• Native Taïno (Arawak)
• African (Mainly from the Kingdom of
Dahomey – West Africa)
• European (colonists: Remnants of
Spaniard, English, French, Polish*, etc.)
• Economically poor, but culturally rich
The Languages of Haïti
• Haiti has two official languages:
French and Haitian Creole
• Haitian Creole is spoken by everybody
• French is spoken by individuals who have
had some schooling
• And more…
Religious Practices in Haïti
Christianity:
Catholicism
Protestantism
Vodoo: is a word from the Dahomean
language of West Africa that means
spirit, god, or the “sacred”
Others: (Jewish, Hindu, Mormon,
Muslim, etc.)
Holidays in Haïti
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Historical Dates
January 1 ( Independence Day & New Year)
May 18 (Haitian Flag Day)
November 18 (Batailles de Vertieres)
Cultural Dates
November 1 and 2 (All Saints’ Day)
December – Christmas
February ( Carnival)
April ( Lent – Rara)
Women in Haitian Society
• Patriarchal society (male dominated)
• Women in Haiti are the backbone of the
economy (ti machann) -- Of the 40% of
employed the majority is women
• Haiti is one country where there is a
Ministry on the Conditions of Women. It
was created under Aristide
• Women/girls and Educational Opportunity
Adaptation to Life in the U.S.
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Haitian Immigration into the US
1600 – 1803: St. Domingue & Louisiana
1772: Jean Baptiste Point du Sable
1779: 800 Haitian soldiers fought w/American
revolutionaries @ Savannah, Georgia
1787: Pierre Toussaint (Philanthropist)
Census Records Register 1820 - 1930 = (20 Haitians
each); 1961–1970 = 34,499; 1981-1990 = 138,379
Today there are 500,000 Haitians in New York
(documented and undocumented)
Health Care, Teaching, Human Services, Factory &
Maintenance work
Resources to help
• Haitian Historical & Cultural Legacy:
A Teachers’ Resource Guide
• Bilingual English-Haitian Creole
Glossaries
• Haitian Creole Library Lists
West African Cultural Notes
Looking at our adult students from West Africa
in New York City
Virginia Jama
Brooklyn Queens Regional BETAC
Long Island University
West Africa, continued
• There are over 20 countries in West
Africa. We are talking about subSaharan places.
• Personal notes—history—teaching
English in northern Nigeria.
• Also taught in Somalia for four years.
General Information
• Colonial history—countries were carved
out of vast areas without regard to cultural
groups or languages.
• Some languages spoken in West Africa:
Mandingo, Wolof, Bambara, Hausa (lingua
franca), Yoruba, Ibo.
• French, English, Arabic, Portuguese.
• Religious differences
Education and Adjustment
• Degrees of literacy
• Nomadic pastoralists versus agricultural
settled people. City-dwellers.
• Cultural adjustment here in the U.S.: need
English, need literacy. Constant worry
about how the family is doing “back
home.” Political concerns.
Gender Issues
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Women’s special cases
Been thru hardships.
Civil wars in Sierra Leone, Liberia
Married men travel a lot. Women left for
months with kids, relatives. Waiting for
money. Absent from your programs. Or
Late.
Considerations
• Teenage girls are forced to work in
braiding salons.
• No time off on weekends to study
• Staying with family members or not so
close relatives
Education systems
• More documentation is required now re.
graduation from schools in West Africa.
• However, it is hard to produce it.
• Considerations for classroom behaviors:
students don’t look you in eye.
• Students help each other. Whisper—allow
for this. Don’t have supplies.
• Different literacy experiences. Allow for
that.
End Piece
• Congratulations on the work you do.
• People are finally getting the opportunity to
continue their education. Even begin their
education…because of your programs.
CULTURAL NOTES
ON EAST ASIA
Presented
by
Pat Lo, Director
ALBETAC
Legend
Asian Languages
Chinese
Korean
Arabic
Russian
Bengali
Urdu
Japan
Burmese
Tibetan
Vietnamese
Punjabi
Hindi
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Some commonalities
Respect education.
Family comes before selves.
Celebrate the Lunar New Year.
Japanese and Korean also use
Chinese characters.
Chinese, Vietnamese, and Thai are
all tonal languages.
General Information
Languages
Where it’s
spoken
Chinese
(Mandarin and local
dialects)
Hong Kong, People’s
Republic of China,
Taiwan
Korean
Republic of Korea
Ethnic
Groups
Han People (91.5%) with
55 minority groups
including Korean,
Tibetan, and Mongolian
Korean and small
Chinese minority
Religion(s)
Confucianism, Taoism,
Buddhism, Christianity,
Islam
Confucianism,
Christianity, Buddhism,
Education
Nine years compulsory
education
Nine years compulsory
education
Family name first
Family name first
Name
Gender Issues
Then:
Men were head of household
Women were subservient to husbands
Women’s main role was to produce an heir/care
for home and family
Now:
Shared household responsibilities
Women now work outside of the home
Married women keep their maiden names
China’s one-child policy
Educational Considerations
Class size
Teaching approaches
School expectations for students
Parent involvement
Discipline
Special needs
Chinatown
Flushing
Brooklyn
Manhattan
Korea Town
Manhattan
Flushing, Queens
The Chinese and Korean Communities Celebrate the
Lunar New Year in Flushing, Queens
On-line Resources
ALBETAC
http://steinhardt.nyu.edu/metrocenter/A
LBETAC.html
Directory of Asian community Based
Organizations
http://steinhardt.nyu.edu/metrocenter/ALBE
TAC/Resources/newenglishversion.pdf
Translated Glossaries
http://steinhardt.nyu.edu/metrocenter/ALBE
TAC/Resources/translatedglossaries.html
Encountering the South Asian
Community
Dr. Tamo Chattopadhay
ALBETAC Consultant
Adjunct Assistant Professor at School of
International and Public Affairs
Columbia University in New York
43
Where in the World?
East Asia, South Asia, and South East Asia
Shared Historical and Cultural Legacy
• Colonial India – today’s India, Pakistan and
Bangladesh
• Gandhi and the independence movement
• The religion issue: Hindus and Muslims
• Division of the territory – birth of India and
Pakistan in 1947; Birth of Bangladesh 1971
• The word Bangladesh means literally the
country (desh) of the Bengali language
(Bangla)
Major South Asian Languages
in NYC Schools
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Bengali (2.7%)
Urdu (1.9%)
Punjabi (0.7%)
Hindi (0.2%)
Pashto (0.2%)
Gujarati (0.1%)
Bengali Language – Where
Is It Spoken?
West Bengal, India
Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Official name: People's Republic of Bangladesh
National flag:
Capital: Dhaka
Independence day: 26 march, 1971
Currency: Taka (BDT)
Bangladesh is a country bordering
The bay of Bengal, between Myanmar
And India, and size-wise it is slightly
Smaller than Iowa
Bangladesh – Quick Facts
Based Upon CIA Factbook https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-worldfactbook/geos/bg.html
• Population: 150 million (2007); Urban
Population: 26%
• Population below Poverty Line: 45%
(2004
• Adult Literacy: Males:54% Females:
32%
• Most of Bangladesh is situated on
deltas of large rivers and is prone to
severe floods in monsoons
Education System in Bangladesh
• The education system is divided into 4 levels-primary (from grades 1 to 5), secondary (from grades
6 to 10), higher secondary (from grades 11 to 12) and
tertiary
• Alongside national educating system in Bengali,
English medium education is also provided by some
private enterprises. They offer 'A' level and 'O' level
courses
• There are non-governmental schools (NGO) and
non-formal education centers (NFE) run by NGO-s;
Many of these are funded by the government. The
largest NFE program is the much reputed BRAC
program. These programs cater to the socioeconomically disadvantaged population not served by
the government schools. But rarely they extend
beyond the primary level
• There is also a Madrasa system which emphasizes
on Arabic medium Islam-based education
Perspectives on Bangladeshi Immigrants
Some (Gross) Generalizations
• Respect for ‘authority’ of the school
administration and teachers
• The stigma of “special education”
• Extended family support systems
• Gendered division of labor
• Gender dynamics in communication
(health)
• Issues with names and registration
documents
Did You Know?
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21st February – UN international mother
language day
Bengali becomes official language of
sierra Leone 2002
1913 first Nobel prize from Asia to
Bengali poet Rabindranath Tagore
2007 Nobel peace prize to dr.
Mohammed Yunus
Useful Resources to Refer To:
• Consulate General of India in New York
http://www.indiacgny.org/
• Consulate General of Bangladesh in New York
http://www.bdcgny.org/
• Asia Society: http://www.asiasociety.org/
• Southern Asian Institute at Columbia University
http://www.sipa.columbia.edu/REGIONAL/SAI/ind
ex.html
• South Asian Youth Action http://www.saya.org/
• Online Bengali Dictionaries
http://www.virtualbangladesh.com/dictionary.html
http://dsal.uchicago.edu/dictionaries/biswasbengali/
This Is No Flood, Just a Bit of
Rain
And There Is Always Time to
Play..
THANK YOU!
Spanish Speaking Groups &
Latin American Cultures
Nancy Fernandez
Assistant Principal
Office of Adult and Continuing Education
Residential Patterns of
NYC’s Latinos
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Puerto Ricans: Nearly two thirds live in
the Bronx and Brooklyn and then
Manhattan and Queens
Mexicans: High concentration in Queens
then Brooklyn and the Bronx
Ecuadorians: heavily concentrated in
Queens
Colombians: concentrated in Queens
Percentages of Largest Latino Groups
Living in Each Borough
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Bronx- 39.1%
Manhattan-15.7%
Staten Island 4.4%
Brooklyn- 26.8%
Queens- 14.0%
Gender Differences
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Culturally assigned roles to men and
women
e.g. Men work and women stay home
with the children; men may arrive late at
home, but woman must stay home.
More women in ESL classes than men
during the day- because women are home
with the children.
Decisions are generally made by the man
If women work, often they are expected
to bring home the money.
POVERTY LEVELS
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Of 100% immigrants at poverty
level, the breakdown is as follows:
Mexicans- 33%
Other Hispanics/ Latinos- 30%
All other ethnic groups- 37%
Linguistic Needs
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One Hispanic Language- different
vocabulary based on cultural diversity
ex: dialects within the home country of
the immigrant- Indigenous language in
Mexico, Peru
Varying dialects, e.g. tunica o vestido
same meaning different vocabulary
Regionalism- change the ending of some
of the vowels and consonants- ex. comer,
comi, comel
Educational Attainment
Of the total Latino population in NYC..
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Almost 15% of Central and South Americans
have less than a 6th grade education
Almost 29% of Mexicans- less than 6th grade
Almost 18% of Dominicans- less than 6th
grade
Almost 12% of Puerto Ricans- less than 6th
grade
Almost 8% of other Hispanic groups- less
than 6th grade
Trivia
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2008 Olympics will be held in this city…
These languages can be written from the
right to the left…
This country shares an island with the
Dominican Republic…
The largest immigrant group in the US
comes from this country…
This country was the former East Pakistan…
This country is the most populous Muslimmajority nation…
Your Turn
Comments
Questions?
謝
謝