Get Your Transcripts Today!<\/strong><\/h2>\nMake sure you understand every word you hear on All Ears English.<\/strong><\/p>\nBring your English to the advanced level with new vocabulary and natural expressions.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.allearsenglish.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Compressed-JPG-All-Ears-English-Transcripts-1.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\nSubscribe and get the transcripts delivered by email.<\/strong><\/p>\nLearn to speak naturally with the American accent.<\/strong><\/p>\nClick here to subscribe and save 50%<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n <\/div>\nSome Background<\/strong><\/h3>\nThere are always things to learn in a new culture or with a new language.<\/p>\n
Sabreet has some very important messages, particularly if you are already living in an English speaking country or even if you want to live in this type of country.<\/p>\n
You will learn how to be more comfortable and to be yourself in this type of environment.<\/p>\n
Sabreet is an Indian American and her book talks about her experiences of living as an American if you want to be, and how to make this experience better.<\/p>\n
Generation Zero is a term she came up with because it was hard for her to understand what generation of American she was.<\/p>\n
So she created her own term to cover this, as this seems to cover this big trend.<\/p>\n
When you come to anther country, you come in as generation zero and create a new foundation and a new identity.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s some great resilience to this and to creating this foundation in a brand new country.<\/p>\n
A lot of people coming to live in an English speaking country have no real support network, and this can be very scary.<\/p>\n
Many students are willing to take this risk and it will pay off tremendously in the long run.<\/p>\n
It takes time to get there though, and so along the way you must find a way to feel comfort and to be confident as you are learning.<\/p>\n
This won\u2019t happen overnight, and you have to create your own journey.<\/p>\n
You have to think of what\u2019s important, why you are doing this, how to make this all work, and then ensure that this all comes together in the right way for you.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\nThree Things To Keep In Mind<\/strong> When In A New Culture<\/strong><\/h3>\nWe are focusing on the positives, that is to say the things that students can think about and really meditate on when they are trying to \u201cfit in\u201d in a completely new culture.<\/p>\n
Though it may seem overwhelming at first, if you can keep these things in mind then you can overcome any obstacles.<\/p>\n
1) Think of who you are as a person<\/em><\/strong>: There is beauty in who you are as an individual. Think of your story and background, and how this contributes to your choice. Don\u2019t let yourself think that you don\u2019t belong to anything, because we all belong to anything. Everyone has their own unique story. Make a choice to celebrate your uniqueness! This is something that you decide upon, and it\u2019s a beautiful and free state to live in. This is another reason why you don\u2019t have to be defined by or limited by your culture. Celebrate your opportunity to be free and be unique in a new country. You don\u2019t have to be defined, you can choose who you want to be in this new culture. Maybe you are in a hyphenated sort of identity where you are more than one thing.<\/p>\nYou may have multiple doors to your identity, and that\u2019s okay. Find comfort in this\u2014for Sabreet she likes so many different aspects of the American culture and she sort of \u201cshops\u201d that store. But then she also celebrates certain aspects of her Indian heritage, and she shops those things too. You have the freedom and choice to accept or reject certain aspects of each culture that you want to stand behind.<\/p>\n
You don\u2019t have to accept every aspect of a culture, because you have the freedom to choose in this situation! Make a list of what your hyphenated identity is, and then pick the aspects that you like of each culture within that. You will find a community of people in America that want to know you and all that you are about\u2014this is diversity of thought and freedom of differences and it\u2019s a beautiful thing.<\/p>\n
2) You can also make English your own<\/em><\/strong>: Think about English and as you are learning it, celebrate your differences here. You are learning English as a second language, and taking this on is big but a really great thing. It\u2019s not always easy but you can\u2019t let it hurt your confidence and set you back. This is a journey that is all your own! She was born here in the US and so she may have felt like English should have been native to her. Even though Sabreet was born here, her parents are from India and therefore this takes time to learn.<\/p>\nGrowing up bilingually can be helpful but in the end you have to go easy on yourself. You must recognize that you may make mistakes but that\u2019s part of the learning process. It\u2019s okay if you don\u2019t get something at first, and you must have realistic expectations for your learning. Taking on a new language is a wonderful and very rewarding thing, but you have to make it your own and recognize how difficult it may be at times. That doesn\u2019t mean that you give up, but rather that you push hard and work through this to get to the lessons and make this your own.<\/p>\n
3) Keep this in your children\u2019s lives<\/em><\/strong>: Give children a choice to learn about their native language, as this will be huge. You are almost taking away one of their rights if you don\u2019t speak the native language with them or at least give them the opportunity to learn. Don\u2019t take that away from them just because you want to focus on this new language. Diversity is a wonderful thing, particularly here with languages. There are so many different ways to express something, and you want to give your children the background and the choice. Give them the choice to become what they want to become!<\/p>\nDon\u2019t expect perfection from yourself or your children\u2014connection not perfection as we say on AEE! There are so many different types of English, as there are even full on dialects that are so different and may seem incorrect if you only focus on a textbook. It all depends on the community and the dialect, and this may vary. The important thing is to connect\u2014don\u2019t be so hard on yourself that you take this away before it even begins. You might miss out on some great connection if you are focused on perfection.<\/p>\n
If your children want to connect to you, it\u2019s important to remember that there are multiple ways to express something. Language gives you the expression to really talk about your culture. There is comfort in knowing that we are collectively the same and yet different! This helps to tie you together as a family, and helps your children to find comfort in this. Children will always catch up, and so you have to remember that.<\/p>\n
Don\u2019t try to overcompensate because something isn\u2019t going right according to one rule.<\/p>\n
Don\u2019t confine yourself to other people\u2019s rules.<\/p>\n
Don\u2019t let other people\u2019s expectations define your expectations of yourself!<\/p>\n
You can find Sabreets book \u201cGeneration Zero: Reclaiming My Parents American Dream\u201d anywhere you would find books such as Amazon and Barnes & Noble.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\nTakeaway<\/strong><\/h3>\nThere are so many great lessons to be learned here as you think about what it means to be generation zero.<\/p>\n
When you are in a new country, have realistic expectations and don\u2019t let other people define these for you.<\/p>\n
There is a lot to learn, and there are many different ways to feel comfortable and confident in this new country or in this new language.<\/p>\n
If you can remember these things and go easy on yourself, then you can make this a great experience and really take off in your learning of a new language.<\/p>\n
Sabreet Kang Rajeev is a first-generation Indian American of Sikh descent. Sabreet is a full-time social-science researcher and holds an MA in sociology from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and BA in sociology from the University of Maryland, College Park. She is currently completing her doctorate at the University of Baltimore.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\nThroughout her life, Sabreet experienced the beauty and struggle of being part of a blue-collar immigrant family, and she is driven to raise awareness and empathy for a minority group of Indian Americans who do not historically come from educational or economic privilege. Generation Zero is her first book.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\nSocial: <\/p>\n
LinkedIn<\/a><\/p>\nInstagram<\/a><\/p>\nFacebook<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Bring your English to the advanced level with new vocabulary and natural expressions.<\/strong><\/p>\n Subscribe and get the transcripts delivered by email.<\/strong><\/p>\n Learn to speak naturally with the American accent.<\/strong><\/p>\n Click here to subscribe and save 50%<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n There are always things to learn in a new culture or with a new language.<\/p>\n Sabreet has some very important messages, particularly if you are already living in an English speaking country or even if you want to live in this type of country.<\/p>\n You will learn how to be more comfortable and to be yourself in this type of environment.<\/p>\n Sabreet is an Indian American and her book talks about her experiences of living as an American if you want to be, and how to make this experience better.<\/p>\n Generation Zero is a term she came up with because it was hard for her to understand what generation of American she was.<\/p>\n So she created her own term to cover this, as this seems to cover this big trend.<\/p>\n When you come to anther country, you come in as generation zero and create a new foundation and a new identity.<\/p>\n There\u2019s some great resilience to this and to creating this foundation in a brand new country.<\/p>\n A lot of people coming to live in an English speaking country have no real support network, and this can be very scary.<\/p>\n Many students are willing to take this risk and it will pay off tremendously in the long run.<\/p>\n It takes time to get there though, and so along the way you must find a way to feel comfort and to be confident as you are learning.<\/p>\n This won\u2019t happen overnight, and you have to create your own journey.<\/p>\n You have to think of what\u2019s important, why you are doing this, how to make this all work, and then ensure that this all comes together in the right way for you.<\/p>\n We are focusing on the positives, that is to say the things that students can think about and really meditate on when they are trying to \u201cfit in\u201d in a completely new culture.<\/p>\n Though it may seem overwhelming at first, if you can keep these things in mind then you can overcome any obstacles.<\/p>\n 1) Think of who you are as a person<\/em><\/strong>: There is beauty in who you are as an individual. Think of your story and background, and how this contributes to your choice. Don\u2019t let yourself think that you don\u2019t belong to anything, because we all belong to anything. Everyone has their own unique story. Make a choice to celebrate your uniqueness! This is something that you decide upon, and it\u2019s a beautiful and free state to live in. This is another reason why you don\u2019t have to be defined by or limited by your culture. Celebrate your opportunity to be free and be unique in a new country. You don\u2019t have to be defined, you can choose who you want to be in this new culture. Maybe you are in a hyphenated sort of identity where you are more than one thing.<\/p>\n You may have multiple doors to your identity, and that\u2019s okay. Find comfort in this\u2014for Sabreet she likes so many different aspects of the American culture and she sort of \u201cshops\u201d that store. But then she also celebrates certain aspects of her Indian heritage, and she shops those things too. You have the freedom and choice to accept or reject certain aspects of each culture that you want to stand behind.<\/p>\n You don\u2019t have to accept every aspect of a culture, because you have the freedom to choose in this situation! Make a list of what your hyphenated identity is, and then pick the aspects that you like of each culture within that. You will find a community of people in America that want to know you and all that you are about\u2014this is diversity of thought and freedom of differences and it\u2019s a beautiful thing.<\/p>\n 2) You can also make English your own<\/em><\/strong>: Think about English and as you are learning it, celebrate your differences here. You are learning English as a second language, and taking this on is big but a really great thing. It\u2019s not always easy but you can\u2019t let it hurt your confidence and set you back. This is a journey that is all your own! She was born here in the US and so she may have felt like English should have been native to her. Even though Sabreet was born here, her parents are from India and therefore this takes time to learn.<\/p>\n Growing up bilingually can be helpful but in the end you have to go easy on yourself. You must recognize that you may make mistakes but that\u2019s part of the learning process. It\u2019s okay if you don\u2019t get something at first, and you must have realistic expectations for your learning. Taking on a new language is a wonderful and very rewarding thing, but you have to make it your own and recognize how difficult it may be at times. That doesn\u2019t mean that you give up, but rather that you push hard and work through this to get to the lessons and make this your own.<\/p>\n 3) Keep this in your children\u2019s lives<\/em><\/strong>: Give children a choice to learn about their native language, as this will be huge. You are almost taking away one of their rights if you don\u2019t speak the native language with them or at least give them the opportunity to learn. Don\u2019t take that away from them just because you want to focus on this new language. Diversity is a wonderful thing, particularly here with languages. There are so many different ways to express something, and you want to give your children the background and the choice. Give them the choice to become what they want to become!<\/p>\n Don\u2019t expect perfection from yourself or your children\u2014connection not perfection as we say on AEE! There are so many different types of English, as there are even full on dialects that are so different and may seem incorrect if you only focus on a textbook. It all depends on the community and the dialect, and this may vary. The important thing is to connect\u2014don\u2019t be so hard on yourself that you take this away before it even begins. You might miss out on some great connection if you are focused on perfection.<\/p>\n If your children want to connect to you, it\u2019s important to remember that there are multiple ways to express something. Language gives you the expression to really talk about your culture. There is comfort in knowing that we are collectively the same and yet different! This helps to tie you together as a family, and helps your children to find comfort in this. Children will always catch up, and so you have to remember that.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t try to overcompensate because something isn\u2019t going right according to one rule.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t confine yourself to other people\u2019s rules.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t let other people\u2019s expectations define your expectations of yourself!<\/p>\n You can find Sabreets book \u201cGeneration Zero: Reclaiming My Parents American Dream\u201d anywhere you would find books such as Amazon and Barnes & Noble.<\/p>\n There are so many great lessons to be learned here as you think about what it means to be generation zero.<\/p>\n When you are in a new country, have realistic expectations and don\u2019t let other people define these for you.<\/p>\n There is a lot to learn, and there are many different ways to feel comfortable and confident in this new country or in this new language.<\/p>\n If you can remember these things and go easy on yourself, then you can make this a great experience and really take off in your learning of a new language.<\/p>\n Sabreet Kang Rajeev is a first-generation Indian American of Sikh descent. Sabreet is a full-time social-science researcher and holds an MA in sociology from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and BA in sociology from the University of Maryland, College Park. She is currently completing her doctorate at the University of Baltimore.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Throughout her life, Sabreet experienced the beauty and struggle of being part of a blue-collar immigrant family, and she is driven to raise awareness and empathy for a minority group of Indian Americans who do not historically come from educational or economic privilege. Generation Zero is her first book.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Social: <\/p>\n LinkedIn<\/a><\/p>\n Instagram<\/a><\/p>\n Facebook<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\nSome Background<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Three Things To Keep In Mind<\/strong> When In A New Culture<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Takeaway<\/strong><\/h3>\n