Learning the Language

Unfortunately, many Asian-Americans failed to completely learn the English language despite their prolonged stay in America. The reasons for not fully acquiring the language may vary in various cases but largely, many elders did not have the luxury to attend classes or schools for learning English. In one research that studied Korean immigrants in New York, researchers found that:

"Korean War experiences and the sociocultural milieu of South Korea created a personality profile strong in survival instincts, opportunity seeking, and materialistic ambitions.

In addition, Koreans adhere to family-centered Confucian ethics and adapt the ethics of self-discipline and dedication to work. Long work hours and sacrifices for the sake of family unity and well-being characterize many immigrants' lives."

 Such circumstances hindered the Korean-American immigrants from learning the language, which could have helped them significantly in both financial and cultural ways. As a result of this, many Korean-American elders tend to have broken pieces of the English language that they picked up from working and include only a limited number of adults who are fully fluent.

Interestingly, many Korean elders in the United States emphasize education as the main avenue for social mobility according to Evelyn Lee in her book, Working with Asian Americans: A Guide for Clincians. This mindset may be a byproduct of their griefs and regrets toward learning, which affected them to stress the importance of education to their children and the younger generation. For them,

"Education is thus a viable means of success."

 

Introduction

Coming from a Korean background and culture, I have always had an interest for the Asian-Americans living in the United States. Having experienced both of the two worlds, I wanted to observe the differences in the two cultures and how Asian-Americans adapt to these cultural differences as they make their living in the states. Generally, Asia is restricted and conformed by laws and rules of society. Few changes may have occurred in the previous years by studying American and European values, yet the differences between the West and the East continue to remain embedded in society.

The curiosity starts here, where people start to question how Asian-Americans, more specifically Korean-American elders, react to the changes in the United States as well as the advancing modern world, which is filled with new technologies and ideas. After being educated and raised in Korea where many conservative views circulate, the elders must face some difficulties adjusting to such differences. These changes are not only cultural differences, but also the quickly advancing technologies and societal transitions. By studying new researches and articles on these matters, this blog aims to discover how and what the elders respond or refuse to do in modern America.