الام الكورية قطعة قراءة ستيب رقم 17

نص القطعة

1-Language is what distinguishes humans from animals. It is our way to communicate with each other. Humans start to learn their language when they are born. Language is not just spoken words; it is the carrier of our culture, thoughts, feelings and identity. We never face a problem when we are at our homeland. However, when people emigrate to another country, the conflict of language between the generations starts because the second generation is not interested in learning their native language and thus lose their identity. 2-The problem is so evident when people emigrate to America. Many immigrants that came from different countries to succeed in the States sufferin a lot of areas such as getting a job and trying to speak English. That’s why they want their children to speak English, not only at school, but also at home in order to become more successful. Because of this situation, their children lose their ethnic identity and even worse: they ignore their parents whose English is not very good. 3-For example, my aunt, who has been living in Chicago for fifteen years, has three children and they were all born in the States. The eighteen year old daughter speaks English as a native speaker and she speaks Korean very well too. She has no problem talking with her parents, but she still doesn’t understand Korean jokes, and some times there are some misunderstandings. The second daughter is fourteen years old, and she doesn’t want to speak Korean. My aunt often gets upset with her because she is very Americanized and theycannot understand each other. Even when my aunt punishes her, this daughter does not understand what my aunt is talking about. I felt sympathy for my aunt whenever my fourteen years old cousin said, “Mom, what is your problem?” The third child is a twelve year old son. He speaks English to his parents and My aunt can't speak Korean with him or with the second daughter. He also has a problem in communicating with his parents. My aunt is trying to teach him to speak both languages very well, but it is very hard for him because he speaks English all day and does not understand why he should learn to speak Korean. 4-I think most immigrants are trying to preserve their native language in their new country, but this doesn’t help very much in getting a good job. My aunt didn’t teach Korean to her children in order to help them succeed in the U.S. Though the second generation is born in the new country, they often get confused about their identity because they look different from others, and also if they visit their parent’s country, they will probably feel different from other people there too. My cousins told me that when they visited Korea a few years ago, they felt different from other Koreans. They could even feel it just strolling around the street because they wore different clothes and walked differently. 5-We must realize that language is important and valuable for many reasons. Immigrants should make an effort not to be ignored by their children and to make their children understand their heritage by teaching them the parents’ language. This is very important, not only for the harmony of the family, but also in helping the second generation establish their identity.