{"id":7603,"date":"2017-11-03T18:55:30","date_gmt":"2017-11-04T00:55:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/?p=7603"},"modified":"2017-11-03T18:55:30","modified_gmt":"2017-11-04T00:55:30","slug":"literacy-matters-new-citizens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/2017\/11\/literacy-matters-new-citizens.html","title":{"rendered":"Literacy matters for new citizens, too"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File%3ANaturalization_Ceremony_Grand_Canyon_20100923mq_0555_(5021872334).jpg;<\/p>\n

Regular readers will know that my husband is German.\u00a0 As it happens, he\u2019s in the process of applying for citizenship, and brought home a prep booklet for the citizenship test after a preliminary appointment today.<\/p>\n

<\/del>You know those inspirational stories one reads occasionally about individuals working hard to pass the citizenship exam, and the cynical comments that a typical American couldn\u2019t pass the citizenship exam because it\u2019s so hard?\u00a0 Here\u2019s fun fact:\u00a0 there are 100 potential questions on the citizenship test \u2014 everything from \u201cwho was the first president?\u201d to \u201chow many U.S. Representatives are there?\u201d to \u201cwhat do we celebrate on the 4th of July?\u201d\u00a0 The full list is here<\/a>.\u00a0 \u00a0But in the actual test, you are asked 10 random questions from this list, and you must answer 6 of them correctly.\u00a0 That\u2019s a pretty low standard.\u00a0 \u00a0(Incidentally, if you\u2019re over 65, you\u2019re asked questions from a subset of only 20 of the easier questions.)<\/p>\n

What\u2019s more, the test is given orally; the examiner just asks you the questions, alongside other questions about your eligibility.\u00a0 This isn\u2019t like the DMV, where you go from one station to the next, then stop to take a scantron test.\u00a0 Which means that, on the one hand, the test is not multiple choice, but on the other hand, the test says nothing about your ability to read and write.<\/p>\n

Of course, you might say, there is a separate English part of the test that ensures that we only award naturalization to people who have learned English.\u00a0 And that\u2019s true \u2014 sort of.\u00a0 \u00a0Unless you are over age 50, with 20 years of permanent residence, or over age 55, with 15 years of permanent residence, you must take an English test.\u00a0 Over this age, and you may bring an interpreter with you.<\/p>\n

But what does this test consist of?\u00a0 Fundamentally, your ability to understand spoken English.\u00a0 The examiner will ask a few small talk-type questions before beginning the interview (e.g., \u201chow was your trip in?\u201d), then may give you some instruction such as \u201cput your purse on the middle chair,\u201d before asking for identification, asking questions from the application, and then asking the citizenship test questions.\u00a0 If you cannot demonstrate the basic command of spoken English necessary to manage these exchanges, you will fail the test.<\/p>\n

(This is similar to the test I didn\u2019t know I was receiving, when my husband and I had our appointment for me to get my work visa in Germany, going on 13 years ago; after the initial conversation primarily with my husband about certain technical details, she turned to me and asked me questions about living in Germany and what I would be up to.\u00a0 Only afterwards did I understand that the visa in my passport wouldn\u2019t have been forthcoming if I had been mute, or, at any rate, I would have been given a conditional visa and been sent off to German lessons.\u00a0 To be honest, though, I think my informal test was harder than what the citizenship interview youtube videos demonstrate.)<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=1uuKgawzlNI&t=732s<\/a><\/p>\n

What about reading and writing English?\u00a0 Folks, you will be shocked at how minimal a literacy level is required<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The reading test consists of three sentences, one of which the individual must be able to read.\u00a0 The writing test consists of a one-sentence dictation.\u00a0 And the vocabulary for these tests?<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the word list for the reading test:<\/p>\n

\"https:\/\/www.uscis.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/USCIS\/Office%20of%20Citizenship\/Citizenship%20Resource%20Center%20Site\/Publications\/PDFs\/reading_vocab.pdf;
https:\/\/www.uscis.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/USCIS\/Office%20of%20Citizenship\/Citizenship%20Resource%20Center%20Site\/Publications\/PDFs\/reading_vocab.pdf; linked to from https:\/\/www.uscis.gov\/citizenship\/see-all-section-items-title\/English%20Vocabulary%20for%20the%20Naturalization%20Test\/55252?destination=node\/41139<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

and here\u2019s the list from the writing test:<\/p>\n

\"https:\/\/www.uscis.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/USCIS\/Office%20of%20Citizenship\/Citizenship%20Resource%20Center%20Site\/Publications\/PDFs\/writing_vocab.pdf\"
https:\/\/www.uscis.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/USCIS\/Office%20of%20Citizenship\/Citizenship%20Resource%20Center%20Site\/Publications\/PDFs\/writing_vocab.pdf<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

These words are combined together to produce sentences such as \u201cThe president lives in the White House\u201d or \u201cWashington is on the dollar bill.\u201d<\/p>\n

Is memorizing a short reading list a demonstration of one\u2019s ability to read?\u00a0 Hardly.<\/p>\n

Not long ago, a story surfaced<\/a> about a woman who passed the citizenship exam and became a citizen despite not knowing English and not being able to read or write in any language.\u00a0 Because she had lived in the U.S. for over 20 years and was over 50 years old, she was exempt from any English-speaking requirement, and took the test in Spanish.\u00a0 Her determination to memorize all of the citizenship questions\u00a0was framed as inspirational.\u00a0 Honestly, I\u2019d find it much more inspiring if she had, at some point in those 20 years, learned to speak English and learned to read and write \u2014 or if her mentor had cared to teach her those skills rather than rote memorization of civics questions.<\/p>\n

But she\u2019s not the only one.\u00a0 Because the literacy test is so minimal, a recent study determined<\/a> that a third of all naturalized citizens are functionally illiterate.<\/p>\n

This falls in the category of Not OK.\u00a0 \u2018Kay?<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File%3ANaturalization_Ceremony_Grand_Canyon_20100923mq_0555_(5021872334).jpg; By Grand Canyon National Park [CC BY 2.0 (http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/2.0) or Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Regular readers will know that my husband is German.\u00a0 As it happens, he\u2019s in the process of applying for citizenship, and brought home a prep booklet for the citizenship test after a preliminary appointment today. You know those inspirational stories one reads occasionally about individuals working hard to pass the citizenship exam, and the cynical […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2209,"featured_media":7604,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[59,46,771],"class_list":["post-7603","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-citizenship","tag-immigration","tag-naturalization"],"yoast_head":"\nLiteracy matters for new citizens, too<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Regular readers will know that my husband is German.\u00a0 As it happens, he's in the process of applying for citizenship, and brought home a prep booklet for\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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