For Learners Seeking Citizenship

The process of becoming a naturalized citizen is long and difficult for English language learners and a daunting test awaits them at the finish line. Officially known as the naturalization interview, it covers American history and government. Applicants must correctly answer six of ten questions from a list of 100.
Literacy Network tutors can help prepare their students to face the 100 questions and the interview. Here is a resource to make the process easier to understand. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) has put out a helpful video showing what to expect during their interview. Click the picture in this article to view or download the video on your own computer.

Citizenship Resource

Some of our learners have a test to pass for citizenship, and so they need to practice the conversational skills they will need to pass an oral exam. That means talking about U.S. history and civics, the constitution and some of the stuff you may have studied in junior high school social studies.

To find materials you can print out on your own, check the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service website. Above is a screen shot of the “Welcome” page. I painted in a tacky pink arrow to help point out the search field.

They used to be called Immigration and Naturalization Service, but they got a new name after their assimilation by Homeland Security. When you get there, find the search field in the upper right hand corner of the page. Type “civics and citizenship” in the field and you will find some links that contain documents like the Declaration of Independence, civics flashcards and a “Citizen’s Almanac.” There are PDF files that you can print and use in your lessons. Preprinted flashcards, books and workbooks are also available in the Literacy Network library.

Does anyone else have recommendations for free resources in this topic or others? Please in the comments section. Always nice to hear from you. Thanks for teaching someone.

The Preamble

Today’s brainwave comes from I know not where. It occurred to me that every tutor and many learners could benefit from an introduction or a reintroduction to the beginning of the U.S. Constitution. Why? Well, for one reason, some of our learners are working toward U.S. Citizenship, and knowledge of the constitution can only help. Some of the vocabulary is good to know for everyday life. The first three words make an extraordinary assertion about who wrote this document and whom it is for; even a beginning learner of English can understand them. Check it:

We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, ensure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

I am aware that the preamble is not written in simple English, but the message is, at the heart of it, simple, namely: we create government for the purpose of meeting people’s needs for liberty and security for now and for the generations to come. For some of the largish words, you may want to come up with a simple English-to-English translation.

Justice—this translates directly in many languages. In Spanish, justicia.

Tranquility: you could just say “peace.”

Blessings: the good things in life

Liberty: freedom or libertad in Spanish

Posterity: the people who come after us—our children and grandchildren

Ordain and establish: mean approximately “to create and to approve.”

The preamble is the most inspiring sentence I know. It states the reason for having a constitution and gives six purposes that it is supposed to guarantee. At the bottom of this post I have put a link to a YouTube video which has the preamble sung to a very catchy tune from “Schoolhouse Rock.” Because of this tune I learned the preamble, oh, about 30 years ago and could not forget it if I tried. I hope you like it, too. Click here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_TXJRZ4CFc

Go well, and please keep in touch.