BEFORE YOU READ

Preview Vocabulary
A. Every chapter of American Ways contains many words from the Academic
Word List (AWL). Notice the words in italics as you work with a partner to
discuss the following questions.
1. If a country has great ethnic diversity, would you expect to find many
people who speak different languages and have different customs?
yes
2. Could planning a Visit to another country motivate someone to learn a
foreign language? yes
3. Should immigrants be required to learn the language of their new country
before they become Citizens? I think it is a good idea for immigrants to
learn the language of the country they want to become citizens of however
it is easier to learn a language if you are Surrounded by it daily. They
should at least be familiar with basic communications in order to start the
citizenship process.
4. How could you learn about the customs and traditions for a holiday in
another country? On the internet.
5. If there are more people in the United States who speak English than
Spanish, which is the dominant language in the United States?
English
6. Is the climate of a country a significant factor in the daily lives of the
people? Why? Yes, the climate of a country is the significant factor in the
daily lives of people. Climate determines the things that people can do for a
living and the way that they live.
B. There are five AWL words in the quotation by Edward T, Hall at the beginning
of the chapter. Read the quotation and find the words with the fallowing
meanings. Write each word next to its meaning.

Convinced 1. Made someone think that something is true

Reveals 2. Shows something that was hidden
culture 3. Ideas, beliefs, and customs
job 4. Work
participants 5.People who are taking part in an activity
AFTER YOU READ
Understand Main Ideas
Academic English organizes information into main (or most important) ideas and
supporting details. That is, there are usually three or four major points
presented, and the rest of the information serves to explain or support these
main ideas:
First main idea
Supporting details
• Second main idea
Supporting details
• Third main idea
Supp Orting details

When reading academic English or listening to a lecture, it is important to

recognize the main points. The introduction focuses your attention on the topic,
Then the main points are presented, and the conclusion reminds you of one or
more central ideas. Noticing the headings in a text will help you figure out the
main points the writer is presenting.

Check the predictions that you made on page 3. Did the chapter include
any of the information you predicted? Then work with a partner and
answer these questions about the main ideas.
1. What are two important factors that affect life in the United States?
The immense size of the united states and ethnic diversity

2. What is the heading for the section that discusses the history of immigration
in the United States?
A Nation of immigrants

3. What is cultural pluralism?

Different cultures living together

4. What is the main idea of the section headed Making Generalizations About
American Beliefs?
The wisdom of a famous observer of the American scene, Alexis
Tocqueville.
5. What relationship is there between the quotation at the beginning of the
chapter, the introduction (first two paragraphs), and the conclusion
 (paragraphs 25 and 26) of the reading? American culture, American values
and the way in which studying another culture helps to understand our
own.

Understand Details
Write T if the statement is true and F if it is false according to the information in
the chapter.

T 1. One factor affecting lifestyles in the United States is the variety of climates.

F 2. American Indians all speak the same language.

F 3. The dominant American culture was established by immigrants who came

from southern Europe.

T 4. For the first time, in the 2010 census, there were more Asian than Hispanic
immigrants.

T 5. Zangwill believed that immigrants would lose their native Cultures and
become something different When they came to the United States.

T 6. Immigrants change American culture and are changed by it,

F 7. U.S. immigration policy has stayed the same for the last 100 years.

T 8. The English language has no adjective for United States

and therefore uses the term American to refer to its people,

F 9. It is not possible to make generalizations about what

Americans believe because they are so different.
T 10. Many of the characteristics of Americans that Alexis de
Tocqueville observed in the 1830s are still true today.
Talk About It
Work in small groups and choose one or more of the following
questions to discuss.
Do you think people all over the world are basically the
same or basically Very different? I think people in the
world are all the same because we are humans. However,
every person is very different. We are not the same
because each person has different customs and beliefs .

Not everyone thinks the same, everyone has their way of

being. Every person has emotions, feelings, the need for
relationships but see the world different based on how and
where we live.

SKILL BUILDING
Improve Your Reading Skills: Scanning
In order to become a good reader in English, your reading
speed and techniques should vary according to your
purpose. For example, you may look down a page (or over
several pages) to find a particular piece or information—a
number, a date, place, or the time movie begins. This type of
reading a specific fact is called scanning.

Read the questions below. Scan the reading to find the

specific information you need to answer each question.
1. Which states have the largest numbe.rs of immigrants?
California, New York and New Jersey

2. In what year did Alexis de Tocqueville come to visit the United States?
In 1831.

3. In 1910, what percentage of the U,S, population was foreign born?

Almost 15 percent.

4. What was the total U.S. population according to the 2010 census?
308,745,538
5. In what year did Israel Zangwill write a play in which he used the term melting

pot? in 1908.

6. What is Obama's family tie to Ireland? His ethic heritage includes an Irish

great, great, great grandfather who immigrated to the united states in 1850.

A. Use the context clues to figure out the meaning of the boldfaced words
in the sentences above. Then write the correct word next co its
definition.

quota 1. a limit on the number allowed

minority 2. a group of people whose race is different from that of most people in a
country
neutral observer 3. someone who makes decisions based on facts, not personal
feelings
identity 4. the qualities that a group of people have that make them different
from other people
distinct 5. Clearly different or separate

Now fill in the blanks with some of the boldfaced words above to
complete the paragraph.
What qualities give people a national identity ? Do they have to have
characteristics that are distinct from those of other countries?
The people who are part of a minority group may feel they have a
set of characteristics that differ from those of the majority in their country,

B. Test your knowledge of these AWL words by matching them with their
definitions.
d 1. aspect a. large organization, especially one dedicated to public
s service
f 2. category b. to start something that will continue
i 3. concept c. to be different
k 4. debate d. one part of an idea that has many parts
b 5. establish e. to continue in spite of difficulties
g 6. estimate f. group of things that all have the same qualities
j 7. hypothesis g. to judge by calculating and guessing
l 8. incidentally h. one of a kind
a 9. institution i. an idea
e 10. survive j. an explanation that is not yet proven
h 11. unique k. a discussion of different opinions
c 12. vary l. by the way

Understand Prefixes
Recognizing the meaning of a prefix, a group of letters added to the
beginning of a word (or its root), will also help you guess the meaning of
a new word, for example, the prefix mis-means ´´wrong,´´ so
misunderstand means ´´not understand correctly.´´

Each Of the boldfaced words in the sentences below has a prefix. Identify
the prefix and write its meaning. Use a dictionary, if necessary.

Example: Before the 1 9605, the majority of immigrants to the United

States were Europeans, but changes in immigration laws
resulted in large numbers of non-Europeans.
Prefix:non Meaning: not
1. Estimates were that' in addition to legal immigration, illegal immigration
was adding more than half a million more people per year.
Prefix: il Meaning: not

2. In some parts of the country with established communities that share a

common language or culture, bilingualism and biculturalism continue.
Cultural pluralism is more accepted now than it was in the first half of the
twentieth century, and many school systems have developed bilingual
programs and multicultural curricula.
Prefix: bi Meaning: two
Prefix: multi Meaning: many
 3. People may migrate to another location in order to find work. While
many people immigrate to the United States each year, very few
Americans choose to emigrate to another country to live.
Prefix: im Meaning: in
Prefix : em : Meaning: out

4. In the census of 2010, there were nineteen racial categories to

choose from. The number of interracial marriages is increasing …
and the majority of young people believe it does not matter which
race they marry.

Prefix: in Meaning: between

Word partners
Certain words and phrases tend to go together in English, for example, "ethnic
diversity" or ´´traditional values.´´ This is called collocation. Learning these
word partners will increase your ability to use new words correctly and help you
express yourself as native speakers do.

First read the sentences below. Then find the collocations to complete these
sentences by matching the adjectives on the left with their noun partners on the
right. use the collocations to complete the sentences.

c 1.Established a. immigrants
g 2. Significant b. culture

h 3. Neutral c.communities

f 4. Industrialized d. pluralism

a 5. Legal e. hypotheses
b 6. Dominant f. countries
d 7. Cultural g. factor
e 8. Working h. observer
1. In parts of the country with established communities that share a common
language, bilingualism continues.
2. Tocqueville was a neutral observer who saw both the good and bad sides
of the American character traits.
3. Ethnic diversity is a significant factor affecting American life.
4. Think of the traditional values in this book as working hypotheses that you
can test against your own observations.
5. The United States now takes in more legal immigrants each year than all
other industrialized countries combined.
6. When several cultures exist together successfully in a society, there is
cultural pluralism
7. The dominant culture in the United States is becoming less white in the
twenty-first century.