"Where are you from?" People always ask this question when they are making friends. However, this is an embarrassing question for the immigrants because they come from their own countries physically, but they are Americans on the inside. They are struggling to either be Americanized or keep their own cultures. Then, it brings a puzzle to the immigrant parents: should they Americanize their children? In my opinion, Americanizing their children is not a good choice because it’s difficult for them to find the sense of belonging in both culture and society. Instead, they should give their children the opportunities to learn about their own cultures and their native languages.
In the past, Americanization is assimilation in the United States. It …show more content…
On the other hand, being a bilingual could even give their children more advantages and opportunities. For instance, my language partner, called Mitchell, is a Chinese-Americans mixed-blood. She speaks English and Chinese, and she’s not Americanized because her parents are willing to let her access to different cultures. Mitchell is always proud of it, “It is always not a bad thing to learn more stuffs. The more immigrants that have been Americanized, the less diversity the world is. I’m a bilingual, as you know, but I am also planning to learn Japanese and Spanish… I found my internship in a transnational corporation because of my linguistic advantage.” Mitchell gets benefits from it because her parents did not Americanized her completely, but some immigrants neglect to teach their children about their native language and speak to them in English only even though their children are interested in learning their languages. James is one of my best friends, and his family immigrated to the United States before he was born. His parents are both Chinese, but they never speak Chinese to him. Once, I had a traditional Chinese dance performance at the Chinese Mid-autumn Festival Gala. We met backstage and chatted for a while, James said, “Your graceful Chinese traditional dance is excellent! I heard someone praise that the dance goes perfectly with the music and the lyrics, but it’s a pity that I don’t understand the lyrics. That’s why I admire people who are bilingual, like you guys.” His story reminded me of the author of the “Saying ‘Adios’ To Spanglish”, Leticia Salais. She refused to speak Spanish in any case in order to escape
In the past, Americanization is assimilation in the United States. It …show more content…
On the other hand, being a bilingual could even give their children more advantages and opportunities. For instance, my language partner, called Mitchell, is a Chinese-Americans mixed-blood. She speaks English and Chinese, and she’s not Americanized because her parents are willing to let her access to different cultures. Mitchell is always proud of it, “It is always not a bad thing to learn more stuffs. The more immigrants that have been Americanized, the less diversity the world is. I’m a bilingual, as you know, but I am also planning to learn Japanese and Spanish… I found my internship in a transnational corporation because of my linguistic advantage.” Mitchell gets benefits from it because her parents did not Americanized her completely, but some immigrants neglect to teach their children about their native language and speak to them in English only even though their children are interested in learning their languages. James is one of my best friends, and his family immigrated to the United States before he was born. His parents are both Chinese, but they never speak Chinese to him. Once, I had a traditional Chinese dance performance at the Chinese Mid-autumn Festival Gala. We met backstage and chatted for a while, James said, “Your graceful Chinese traditional dance is excellent! I heard someone praise that the dance goes perfectly with the music and the lyrics, but it’s a pity that I don’t understand the lyrics. That’s why I admire people who are bilingual, like you guys.” His story reminded me of the author of the “Saying ‘Adios’ To Spanglish”, Leticia Salais. She refused to speak Spanish in any case in order to escape