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Topic 37 of 60

Discussion picture Discussion questions Key words

Picture warm-up

1. What do you see in this picture?
2. Who are these people, and what are they doing?
3. Does this look like your life here, or in your home country? How is it the same or different?

Discussion questions

1. Why did you decide to move to the U.S.?
2. What was the hardest part of leaving your home country?
3. What did you bring with you when you moved?
4. Who helped you the most when you first arrived?
5. What was your first month in the U.S. like?
6. What are the biggest challenges immigrants face?
7. What organizations help newcomers in your city?
8. How did moving change your relationship with your family back home?
9. Do your children feel more American or more connected to your home country?
10. What skills are most important for someone starting over in a new country?
11. What do you wish you knew before you moved?
12. How do you keep your culture alive in a new place?
13. Would you ever move to another new country? Why or why not?
14. How do immigrants contribute to the U.S.?
15. What does “home” mean to you now?

Key words

Say the word, then read the example sentence out loud.

• immigrant
  My grandparents were immigrants from Italy.
• immigrate
  They immigrated to the U.S. in 2019.
• citizenship
  She is studying for her citizenship test.
• green card
  He received his green card after three years.
• visa
  I applied for a student visa.
• refugee
  The refugee family found a new home in Ohio.
• resettle
  The agency helps families resettle.
• start over
  Moving here meant starting over in a new job.
• newcomer
  Newcomers can get help at the community center.
• adjust
  The children adjusted quickly to the new school.
• documents
  Keep your important documents in a safe place.
• sponsor
  My uncle sponsored our family.
• belong
  I finally feel like I belong here.
• challenge
  Learning English was my biggest challenge.
• homeland
  She still visits her homeland every year.

Next topic: 38. Manners & Etiquette

Topic chosen by comparing popular ESL conversation resources (see How these topics were chosen). Questions and example sentences are original to this collection. Translations are a guide and should be reviewed by a fluent speaker.