International Arrivals » Education

Storytelling is the New English Teacher

First Person American — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 04:51:22 +0000

We Are New York is an Emmy-nominated half-hour TV show. You can watch the show on Saturdays at 4:00 pm and Sundays at 7:20 am on Channel 25 (or Channel 22 on Cablevision). You can also watch it on Tuesdays at 11:00 pm on Channel 34 (or RCN Channel 92 or Verizon Channel 33).

The show can make a difference in people’s lives. Each episode has a different story of immigrants living in New York City. They show how New Yorkers can work together to solve problems and create better lives for themselves. The stories capture the spirit of people who have come from all over the world to make the Big Apple their home.

We Are New York is intended to help people learn English that will be useful to them. Each week, a new story will show people speaking English in important and realistic situations, like going to the doctor or talking with a child’s teacher.

The characters speak the English of everyday life. But, they speak a little slower than the average English-language television show. The show also has subtitles in English, helping people to understand and learn the language.

18 Year Old Immigrant From Poland A Success Story In America

First Person American — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:31:29 +0000

I remember hearing about this story featured more than a year ago on the Today Show:

Lukasz Zbylut, a high school student in Brooklyn, who emigrated from Poland in 2003, applied to seven Ivy League schools — and was accepted by every one of them. He decided to enroll in his “dream school” of choice — Harvard.

Read MSNBC Full Story

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYVzBZNFqkA&w=525]

Borscht & Boardwalks at Brighton Beach

First Person American — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 22:34:22 +0000

One of my classmates kindly shared a link to a project called City of Memory, a web-based memory project covering New York City areas. Here, you can find stories that relate to the history and personality of NYC’s overall history; the stories are organized by an interactive map or themes. City of Memory is a project curated by City Lore New York Center for Urban Culture, a non-profit cultural institution whose mission is to document, preserve and present the living cultural heritage of New York City.

In this particular tour entitled, Brighton Beach Boardwalk, Rita Kagan and her husband, Jack, talk about the history of Brighton Beach and how it’s utilized by the Russian Jewish community today. Rita is joined by her friends Anna Malkim aand Vita Lisina. Anna sings a song she made up about Brighton Beach.

Good Magazine: Taking in the World's Huddled Masses

First Person American — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 23:44:47 +0000

Good Magazine produced a video on immigration:

“People have flocked to the melting pot we now know as America for the last 13,000 years. Since 2000, the U.S. has welcomed more than 10 million immigrants, who leave behind places like the Philippines, India, China, and Mexico. Our latest video, “Coming to America,” explores the history, politics, and challenges of taking in the world’s “huddled masses.”

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3JToii4Aq4&w=525]