Notes from Archive - Southeast Asian

Notes on Documents

Image 1744 – 1745 Indochinese Refugee Education Guides – Scheduling and Organization
• This document comes in preparation for an influx of thousands of Vietnamese and Cambodian children into the schools.
• The entire refugee education guide from the National Indochinese Clearinghouse – Center for Applied Linguistics, uses Teaching English as a Second Language written by Muriel Saville-Troike
• The guide takes into consideration many cultural factors, differences in values and customs, and the first language of the student. The cultural components listed all deal with the relations of power one must confront when in a new social environment. (bottom of IMG 1744)

Image 1746-1749 Indochinese Refugee…Teaching Pronunciation and Grammer
• The guide then gives specific methodology as to how to schedule and organize and language learning program.
o Should be daily and cumulative, use objects within the classroom to enhance vocabulary, learning from peers therefore encouraging English communication with English-speaking students, allotting specific time and lessons for a specific group for instance – Vietnamese speaking students.
o The guide says children can’t really “catch” a language through exposure and that it is harder to learn a second language than the first. (Challenges the Free Schools) If many of these children spent 4 years in one language environment and then are placed in a kindergarten where they are expected to have had 4 years in an English environment it is harder for them. (IMG 1746). Since it’s harder, it’s more important to have efficiency and it lays out specific guidelines:
 Language is habit (habitualized), different levels of experience and interest, graded, contrastive style to child’s first language, opportunities for mistakes should be minimized. There are further guidelines IMG 1747-1749. Taking into consideration the language of the students and certain lessons that help them

Image 1750-1754 Indochinese Refugee.. – Testing
• Testing strategies – keep it simple (testing only the problems), keep it short (just the basic things that need to be known), keep it pleasant (interesting and attractive pictures, relaxed and happy classroom environment)
• Testing is used for evaluation nad to monitor growth as well as what needs to be worked on.

Image 1753 – 1755 Indochinese refugee… Vietnamese History, Literature, and Folklore
• This guide provides cultural and literary material about Vietnam
• A lot of books are about Vietnamese history and the country itself, and America’s involvement with Vietnam but from an American perspective
• Or they are telling stories/folklore from an outside perspective or about travelling to the US

Image 1756-1760 Indochinese Refugee ….-Language and Concept Development
• Naming objects and people and remembering them
• Following direction to make things or movement. Giving direction to each other as well. (Foucault – discipline)
• Describgin motion, describing postion,
• Riddles, making comparison and inferring why things are different, grouping and why things are in groups, telling stories and suggesting endings
• Basically this is all to get the student to start thinking about more than what he just sees and trying to use the second language to express these things
Meeting the Education Needs of Hmong in Wisconsin IMG1761 – 1764
• This report is a result of the Hmong Educational Needs Assessment Project
• It says that “Hmong citizens prefer hands-on learning in a traditional classroom setting with well-trained, enthusiastic, culturally-sensitive teachers, preferably from the Hmong community.”
• Language barriers and intergenerational issues were the dominant concerns affecting Hmong life in Wisconsin
• Hmogn were used as US allies during the Vietnam War. Displaced Hmong who were in Thai Refugee began immigrating to N. America
• Cultural Challenges
o Language barriers among family and with US – education, health care, transportation, child care and housing
o Intergenerational issues – older generation have more conservative views on gender roles while younger generation marry later, want careers, and share family responsibilities.
 There is a lack of respect from intergenerations expressed. Many older Hmong cant speak English while many younger cant speak ‘native’ language.
 Caught between two cultures – identity crisis
• Other issues
o Racism and discrimination, leadership abilities (want facilitation and negotiation skills within Hmong Community and with other Hmong clans. Are there issues?),
o Older Hmong having identity issues or loss of identity when they see younger generation lack respect, when they are confused about US social and Political systems, cultural and language barriers, plus worries about personal safety and health (link to the story in the document from the newsletter)
o General issues about this country such as business, child care, health care and elderly issues are conflicts for Hmong
o This document ends by stating that each Hmong community is different so each would have to be evaluated to understand their needs.

Hmong Early Childhood Education Needs Asssesment IMG 1765 – 1797
• Study done in 2005 by Ready4K – non profit focused ensuring that children are prepared to succeed when they enter kindergarten. (this is strange. Is schooling a game? Why should there be such things as success and failure in schools?)
• Over half of the Hmong population in US has less than 9th grade education
• Only 27% have completed high school degree
• Hmong are one of the least proficient in English immigrants in Minnesota
• This assessment tries to provide the issues of how Hmong parent are preparing their children pre-kindergarten for schooling (early-childhood education) and the issues thye face in doing so
• Methodology of study
o Using non-profits to announce the study as well as a local flea market where a booth was set up to conduct and announce the study
o 304 adults volunteered to participate (sample characteristics on IMG 1775
• Findings
o Who cares for Hmong children during the day?
 60% of interviewees were unemployed so 50% reported that they stay home and watch children
 As far as putting kids in formal child-care settings, Hmong are not that different from othe Minnestoa Parents
 Those who stayed at home were more likely to have less than a high school education and therefore unemployed. (the socialization and ability to get a job that society mandates from schools)
 Child day care facilities were mainly not used for cost purposes even among those who had a college degree and were employed
o Do Hmong parents take advantage of parent education classes?
 Only a quarter of participants enrolled in these classes offered by agencies in community
• Parents under age 36 and lived in us for more than 16 years were more likely to take these courses compared to their opposite
o How Do Hmong parents perceive early childhood education?
 Most parents felt their children should go into school with a certain exposure to the environment, and the ability to identify basic letters, numbers, shapes, take care of oneself, converse in simple English, social skills such as obeying parents and directions, cooperating with other students
o How do Hmong parents know if their child is ready for kindergarten?
 The majority, 46%, said when they could identify basic letters, shapes, colors, speak some English
 6% said when their children are curious, motivated, not afraid to learn, their children are ready. (hmmm. Isn’t this what free schools try to do. Vygotsky and BandL would say that we are always learning though and the idea to be ready to learn is elusive to the learning that we are always doing.)
o What do parents need to do to prepare their children for kindergarten?
 Participants felt spending more time with children so they could teach them some basic alphabets, colors, count up to ten, and be independent and have self care. This was the majority
 Second priority was to teach some basic English
 Some parents were reluctant to get involved in early childhood education because they felt that pre-k children are too young to learn. (again the theories of learning come into play when we realize that we are constantly learning from the time we exit the womb)
o To what extent are Hmong parents involved in their children’s early learning and literacy?
 The study says that Hmong usually use stories to teach their children moral lessons but only 27% reported telling stories more than 3 times a week. (cultural change within parents, stories lack context and relation to a different social environment in US?)
 The longer a parent has been in US and the more proficient in English they are the more involved they are in their children’s education (obvious?)
o What challenges do Hmong parents face when preparing their children for kindergarten?
 Many Hmong received government assistance, are unemployed, or have less than a high school education and of course the language barriers
 This document suggests that the Hmong people need more assistance which is good but also implies that they need to change in order to fit into and succeed in school. There is no analysis that the school system is designed for them to fail and therefore be unemployed and dependent on the government. Why do they need to have someone else, some agency to tell them how to raise their children. Why can’t they have their own schools where they won’t lose their parent’s language and they can also learn English in a way that is right for a group of students who don’t speak English at home?