Interview with an Immigrant
Locate a person who was not born in the United States and who lived a significant part of his or her life outside the U.S, then immigrated to the U.S. (A person who came to the United States as an infant will not meet the requirement for the assignment.) Ask the person's permission to use his or her name and quotations in the paper, and ensure that their name is spelled correctly. Use the questions in *"Resource 1: Intercultural Communication Interview." Review the questions ahead of time and think about how well your words and your accent will communicate with the person, depending on his or her facility with English. Find out about the person's experience as an immigrant. Write an essay of 500-750 words about the experience. Do not write it as a verbatim account of the interview. Use quotes as needed, but write the paper as an essay. Where did you meet the person? How long did you visit? What did you learn? Reflect on how much this experience stretched your comfort zone and how this observation could affect your intercultural communication. If you were going to do this assignment over, what could you do that would make it more valuable to you and, perhaps, to the other person? Prepare this assignment according to the APA guidelines. An abstract is not required. ***Resource 1 Prepare for your interview ahead of time. Consider if the questions you plan to ask might be offensive in some way. Consider the discomfort you might feel if you were from a different culture and someone asked you these questions. Be sensitive as you do the interview to the other person’s discomfort. Are your questions clear and understandable to him or her? Is your accent easy for him or her to understand? Is your word choice appropriate? When you are ready to begin, start by introducing yourself and then very politely say something like… “Thank you for allowing me to interview you for my Intercultural Communication class. Please allow me to ask you some questions that will guide our discussion. Feel free to add any information you feel will help me understand your perspective as a person from a culture different than the one I have experienced, living here in the United States for most of my life.” First, may I have your permission to quote you in my paper? If so, please tell me how to spell your name correctly and tell me the correct title I should use for you. 1. Where did you live? 2. What is the dominant language? 3. What are the other languages spoken, if any? 4. What are some common gestures, sounds, or symbols that the students would need to know if they wanted to communicate in your home country? 5. What is the dominant religion in your home country? 6. What are important customs or celebrations? 7. Are these celebrations based on religion, or were they originally? 8. Do any of these celebrations cause a conflict within you because of your faith? Why? 9. How are families organized in your culture? 10. Does one person take the lead role in decision-making in your culture? 11. How are children, youth, and the elderly treated in your culture? 12. How are decisions made in your culture? 13. Is there a dress-code that you should follow in your culture?
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Interview with an immigrant
The interview was conducted with Miriam Khadija, an immigrant from Kuwait. I met Miriam Khadija at a popular Middle-Eastern restaurant, a Kuwaiti restaurant in particular, where she works as a clerk. I visited this immigrant from Kuwait 3 times as I went to the restaurant where she works to grab some snacks and drinks. From the interview with her, I got to learn that the dominant language of her country is Arabic considering that Kuwait is actually an Arab country, and it is the country’s official language. Nevertheless, English is extensively and commonly spoken and is used in business, and is also a mandatory second language in Kuwaiti schools. Other languages spoken in Kuwait include Urdu and Farsi, the official languages of Pakistan and Iran respectively, considering that Iranians and Pakistanis are a big group in Kuwait.
The gesture/sounds that the students would need to know if they wanted to communicate in Kuwait include Inshallah, which means if God wills, and using Mister in front of the first name, since as the interviewee stated, “the use of titles is very important.” In Kuwait, the dominant religion is Islam. The interviewee stated that “Islam is practiced by most Kuwaitis and it governs the legal, economic, political and personal lives of Kuwaitis”. It is of note that roughly 85% of the Kuwaiti population is Muslim. Khadija stated that “there are 2 major sub-sects of Islam in the country: 40% of the population is Shi’a Muslim whilst 45% is Sunni Muslim.” The rest 15% practices other religions including Parsi, Hinduism and Christianity.
Kuwait festivals form a vital part of the culture as well as lifestyle of Kuwaiti people. There are various kinds of significant festivals celebrated in the country. These all occupy a noteworthy place in the lives of the Kuwaitis. Miriam Khadija pointed out that “the major festivals of Kuwait and public holidays include (i) Eid al Fitr celebrated in marking the conclusion of the fasting month of Ramadan. (ii) Eid al Adha, a religious festival in the Kuwaiti calender celebrated either on the 12th or 10th day of Dhu al Hijjah or on the sacred month of pilgrimage. (iii) National Day is always marked every February 25th. (iv) Liberation Day is always marked on February 26th to celebrate the liberation of Kuwait from Iraq. (v) Hala February – Hala festival is an opportunity for children and adults to take part in this kaleidoscope of events that features shopping carnivals, cultural festivals, visiting tourist spots, and getting to win prizes at the several contests and raffles that are held during the period.”
Society in Kuwait is recognized for the strong ties between its members. Friends, ...