Multicultural stories informative article

Go to connect.alinea.dk and listen to the text. If you prefer, you can listen to the glossary.

Before reading

Ask: • Look at the title of the text. How do you think this text might connect with the title of this chapter?

Sca olding

Make the students aware that nationalities are capitalised in English, unlike in Danish.

During reading

Ask: • Why did Janet’s parents leave China? How does

Janet think of herself?

Sca olding

Ask the students to look up the word lead in a dictionary. Talk about what it means and how it translates in this particular sentence. The students can conjugate the verb to lead and write three sentences to show some of its di erent meanings, such as to control, to guide, to be winning, to carry out.

BEFORE READING  Multicultural stories

Think about where your parents or caregivers come from.

caregivers omsorgsgivere mother countries hjemlande earn a living tjene til livets ophold Mandarin mandarin, o cielt sprog i Kina Our stories start before we are born. Our parents make choices that not only affect their lives but, in turn, influence what our lives will be like. Meet three teenagers whose parents left their mother countries to find work, to seek safety or because they fell in love.

Janet

My parents came to Australia to find work. I was born in Melbourne and have only been to China once. It is strange to think that my parents have lived a life very different from the life we lead here in Australia. They grew up in a small village as children of farmers, but I am growing up in a city of more than four million people.

In China, children are expected to take care of their parents when they grow old. My grandparents live with my uncle, but my father is expected to help with money. My parents decided it was easier for them to earn a living in Australia, so they packed up and left. I know that was a difficult choice to make. Now, they send money home every month. My mum misses her Chinese village a lot and insists on speaking Mandarin at home, although her English is fine. I realise that my background is different from many of my friends’. At school, I feel Australian. At home, where my parents speak a different language and cook different food, I feel more Chinese.

Hassan

Coming to England was not really a choice for my family. We had to leave our home in Afghanistan, as it became dangerous to stay. We lost everything: our home, our belongings, our family and friends. I am happy I managed to stay with my family, though. Many of the other Afghanis I know had to flee alone.

Life for me here is bittersweet. I like Manchester. I like going to school, learning new things and making new friends. I like not having to be afraid. But I miss the rest of my family; most of them live in a refugee camp in Pakistan. There are things I do not understand here yet. It takes time to learn the language and understand the way of life. I look forward to settling in more, but, to be honest, I really hope to go back to Afghanistan one day.

ee ygte bittersweet både godt og skidt refugee camp ygtningelejr settle in nde sig til rette

During reading

Ask: • Why did Hassan and his family come to England?

What does he like about living in England and what does he nd di cult?

Background

Over the last decades, millions of Afghans have been driven out of their homes and their country by con ict, violence and poverty. The Islamic fundamentalist organisation called the Taliban has played a major role in this.

Background

Diwali is the festival of light and one of the most important festivals in India. It is celebrated over ve days in the months of October and November and symbolises the victory of light over darkness and good over evil.

During reading

Ask: • Where does Arun live?

Why does he wish that his dad had spoken Hindi to him when he was growing up?

Ask: • What do you think are the advantages of knowing more than one culture? Let the students freewrite for a couple of minutes and ask them to share in pairs.

After reading

Talk with the students about di erent type of family constellations. Ask: • Do you live in a nuclear or an extended family?

What about most of your friends?

compensate for kompensere for Diwali indisk lysfest glori ed forskønnet pull one's leg drille settle bosætte sig

Arun

My dad worked for an IT company when he met my mum here in New Jersey. He was about to go back to India when they fell in love and he decided to stay. My dad tries hard to compensate for not living in India. He celebrates Diwali harder than any Indian I know! Good for me, though. I get to enjoy both the American and the Indian celebrations.

I wish my dad had spoken Hindi to me when I was growing up. I think it could have made me feel more connected to India. My dad has a glorified view of his homeland, but when we go there, he finds it chaotic. I guess he is too used to life in the US now.

My uncles keep teasing me about arranging a marriage for me with an Indian girl, although arranged marriage is not a tradition in my family. I know they’re just pulling my leg, but it reminds me that traditions in India are quite different to what I’m used to in the US. It is strange to think about what my life would have been like if my parents had settled in India instead.

UNDERSTANDING

9 Find information

Work in groups of three. First, make your own mind map with information about either Janet, Hassan or Arun. Then present your person to the rest of the group.

10 Make a quiz

Choose to work with either Janet, Hassan or Arun. Write down four questions about the person based on the text.

parents

traditions Janet

nationality

language

Example: In which Australian city did Janet’s parents settle?

Put the text away. Take turns asking each other a question. The person who answers the question correctly gets a point. Continue asking each other questions. The person with most points wins the quiz.

Did you know?

Many Indians work for American tech companies, because the Indian education system produces individuals with high mathematical and technical skills. Furthermore, English is an o cial language in India which means that Indians in general speak uent English.

Suggestion Task 10

Let the students produce ash cards with a question about Janet, Hassan or Arun on one side and the correct answer on the other. Ask them to stand up and nd a partner. Have the pairs ask each other the questions on their ash cards. Then, ask them to swap ash cards, thank each other and nd another partner to ask. Let them continue in the same way for three to ve minutes.

Suggestion

The students can write a short text about how they and their family came to live where they live. Are both their parents (or caretakers) from the same place? What about their grandparents? Let them share in groups or in class.

Suggestion Task 11

Ask the students to go online and nd information about European emigration over the last centuries. Why have Europeans emigrated and where have they gone? Let the students produce a timeline to be displayed in class.

Suggestion Task 12

Ask the students what their favourite food is and where it originally comes from. Make a list of the favourite food on the board to see how multicultural the class is in its eating. The students can also check the labels on their clothes and write a list of the countries where they were made.

Example

My jeans were made in China. If you or your family have moved to Denmark from another country, you can freewrite about your own experience. TALKING

11Talk about people on the move

Work with a partner. Discuss and answer the following questions:

a) Why might people move from one country to another? Write a shared list of the reasons you come up with.

b) Do you know anyone who has moved from his or her home country? What are some of the things a person or a family might have to do before moving to a new country?

c) What do you think would be challenging about moving to a new country? Freewrite alone for a couple of minutes.

Then share your thoughts with your partner.

12 Re ect on cultures

We experience di erent cultures through di erent things – the food we eat, the music we listen to, the lms we watch or the traditions we celebrate. Work with a partner and tell each other how you are surrounded by di erent cultures in your everyday life.

Examples:

– I often eat the Indian dish Tikka Masala. – I celebrate Halloween as they do in the USA. – I love Japanese culture.

WRITING

13Write a letter

Imagine you have just moved to Denmark from another country. Write a letter home to share your thoughts. Describe the things you nd challenging or strange and the things that you nd surprising and positive.

Remember to include: A greeting, place and date.

Discussing images

Let the students re ect on the woman in the picture. Ask: • Who do you think the woman in the picture is?

What do you think she does for a living?

Did you know?

Geisha are Japanese women who are trained in traditional Japanese arts such as dance, music and singing as well as in the art of conversation. They entertain during dinners, banquets and the like. Their role is to make guests feel comfortable.