By Heram Amiri
This summer, I had the privilege of working with UIDN as a communications intern. My deep passion for community involvement, supporting immigrants, and being an immigrant myself drew me to this remarkable organization. UIDN extends assistance to immigrants in various ways, including tutoring, food pantries, legal consultations, and more, regardless of their legal status in the U.S.
Throughout the summer, I contributed by creating website content, updating social media, conducting research, and tutoring a family from my own country. I firmly believe that all these tasks address crucial needs within the community. Our mission revolves around facilitating a seamless transition for newly arrived immigrants in the country and providing them with a welcoming environment.
One of the most compelling experiences during my internship was tutoring an Afghan immigrant family, hailing from my own homeland. While tutoring this family, I became acutely aware of how a lack of language proficiency can create formidable barriers for individuals irrespective of their age. The two family members I worked with were the mother and daughter.
The mother aspired to find employment and contribute to her household’s finances, but her limited English proficiency presented a significant obstacle. Instead of seeking employment, she had to dedicate her time to learning the language. This made the process of acclimatizing to a new country even more challenging, as she had to invest all her efforts into language acquisition before eventually seeking job opportunities.
One of the books I used with my students.
Conversely, the daughter was a student at an elementary school in New Paltz. Despite her intelligence, her inadequate language skills hindered her from grasping mathematical concepts in the same way she did back in her home country. During our tutoring sessions, I taught her mathematics using both languages to convey solutions. This situation exemplified how a deficiency in language skills can serve as an impediment, irrespective of age.
What I learned while teaching
My tutoring experience taught me how to fluidly transition between languages without losing any meaning. There were moments during our lessons when I even momentarily forgot the meanings of words in my native tongue. Moreover, some phrases are difficult to directly translate between languages, while others lose their significance when rendered in another language. While learning a new language, we often overlook nuances such as words having different connotations in various contexts or how distinct pronunciations can convey different meanings. The focus primarily remains on acquiring proficiency at that point. However, when teaching someone else, these distinctions become more apparent, underscoring the power of language.
Looking ahead, my passion lies in assisting individuals facing struggles and aiding them in enhancing their careers and lives in any conceivable manner. I firmly believe that tutoring English language learners stands as one of the most profound forms of support one can offer.
Through tutoring, I realized that individuals grasp concepts better when explained in familiar words and language, as opposed to the language being learned. In essence, an Afghan can teach another Afghan more effectively than a native speaker, and this principle applies across all languages worldwide.
My aspiration is for UIDN to establish small tutoring circles or language exchange sessions on specific days, catering to various languages within the community. This would provide an exceptional platform for volunteers and learners to come together, fostering mutual learning. Such sessions would not only aid immigrants in integrating into the community, but also facilitate networking, serving as a valuable resource for all immigrants.
One of the most compelling experiences during my internship was tutoring an Afghan immigrant family, hailing from my own homeland. While tutoring this family, I became acutely aware of how a lack of language proficiency can create formidable barriers for individuals irrespective of their age.
Heram is a senior at Bard College. Thanks to the Bard Center for Civic Engagement she is working with UIDN again this fall.
Dave Loewenstein, JustSeeds