Across the focus groups, participants also shared personal stories of help they received from others while navigating different situations and settings in which they faced language barriers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMedical words used at hospitals are too difficult and unfamiliar. It\u2019s so nice to be able to talk about my symptoms freely when I see second-generation Korean doctors who can speak Korean even a little bit.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2013Immigrant woman of Korean origin in early 40s<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cLanguage was indeed a great obstacle when I first came. I was living largely in Brooklyn in the beginning \u2026 there were many other Chinese people around. If there was any problem, I could always find someone to ask, so it was easier.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2013Immigrant man of Chinese origin in mid-50s<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI got in a car accident. \u2026 I didn\u2019t know English \u2026 I didn\u2019t know how to call the insurance \u2026 until I found a Cambodian person who knew English and helped me call.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2013Immigrant woman of Cambodian origin in mid-40s<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYes, I had knowledge [of English] but we were not used to speaking it. My instruction for education was in English, but we were not using it for conversation with each other. We talk with our friends and family members in Hindi in India. \u2026 [My boss] taught me many things. I used to make a list of 10 things every day that I had learned from my boss. He was living here for so many years.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2013Immigrant woman of Indian origin in early 50s<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Other participants described the support they received while learning or improving their English after arriving in the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAfter we came, we participated in a lot of the English learning classes sponsored by the U.S. government.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2013Immigrant man of Chinese origin in late 50s<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI really admired and appreciated [ESL] teachers \u2026 because they knew we were refugees, and that English was our second language. \u2026 The teacher tried to help us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2013Immigrant woman of Cambodian origin in mid-40s<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMy husband taught me [English] because I couldn\u2019t speak English. It was so hard. When I got a call, I didn\u2019t pick up. My husband kept teaching me. \u2026 In New York, [Koreans] need an interpreter when they have a car accident or get a checkup at a hospital. So now that\u2019s what I\u2019m doing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2013Immigrant woman of Korean origin in early 50s<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI used to search in Google for places where free [English] language courses were provided. The first was Columbia University and the next was a church that was providing free language classes to immigrants on the basis of a lottery system.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2013Immigrant man of Nepalese origin in late 30s<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When asked how he improved his English fluency and accent, an Indian man mentioned how he leaned to practice on other international students in his college:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI knew that if I wanted to do better, I had to step out of my comfort zone \u2026 I got an on-campus job. Many people from other countries were working on-campus jobs, so I received a lot of help [with my accent] from them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2013Immigrant man of Indian origin in early 30s<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Across the focus groups, participants also shared personal stories of help they received from others while navigating different situations and settings in which they faced language barriers. \u201cMedical words used at hospitals are too difficult and unfamiliar. It\u2019s so nice to be able to talk about my symptoms freely when I see second-generation Korean doctors […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":578,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"sub_headline":"","sub_title":"","_crdt_document":"","_prc_public_revisions":[],"_ppp_expiration_hours":0,"_ppp_enabled":false,"ai_generated_summary":"","relatedPosts":[],"reportMaterials":[],"multiSectionReport":[],"package_parts__enabled":false,"package_parts":[],"_prc_fork_parent":0,"_prc_fork_status":"","_prc_active_fork":0,"datacite_doi":"","datacite_doi_citation":"","_prc_seo_qr_attachment_id":0,"spoken_article_player_enabled":true,"bylines":[],"acknowledgements":[],"displayBylines":true,"footnotes":"","prc_watchers":[]},"categories":[],"tags":[],"bylines":[],"collection":[],"datasets":[],"level_of_effort":[],"primary_audience":[],"information_type":[],"_post_visibility":[],"formats":[458],"_fund_pool":[],"languages":[],"regions-countries":[],"research-teams":[],"workflow-status":[],"class_list":["post-109341","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","formats-report"],"label":false,"post_parent":109330,"word_count":518,"canonical_url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/2022\/12\/19\/how-asian-immigrants-receive-help-while-navigating-language-barriers\/","art_direction":{"A1":{"id":124130,"rawUrl":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/12\/RE_2022.12.19_Asian-Language-Barriers_featured-jpg.webp","url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/12\/RE_2022.12.19_Asian-Language-Barriers_featured-jpg.webp?w=564&h=317&crop=1","width":564,"height":317,"caption":"Foreign-born students practice English pronunciation as part of an ESL program through Intercambio: Uniting Communities in Boulder, Colorado, in 2013. 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