Citizenship Classes

This article focuses on citizenship classes for foreign-born adults, often for whom English is not the native language. Information about the citizenship process as well as some examples of instructional techniques and theories to help these adult students be successful and pass the naturalization test are also included.

Keywords Adult Education; Citizenship; Civics; Content-Based Instruction; English as a Second Language (ESL); Literacy; Methodology; Naturalized Citizens; Pedagogy

Adult Education > Citizenship Classes

Overview

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in the year 2010 there were nearly 40 million foreign-born people in the United States. Of that number, 17.5 million were naturalized citizens (Grieco et al., 2012). In 2000, the number of foreign-born was 31.1 million, with 12.5 million naturalized. The number of foreign-born people who were in the United States in 1990 was 19.8 million, 8.0 million of whom were naturalized (Malone, Baluja, Costanzo, & Davis, 2003). As the number of foreign-born people residing in the United States steadily increases, there is a need for more English as a Second Language (ESL) and citizenship skills classes to help adults who want to become United States citizens. Most citizenship applicants must meet certain requirements regarding English literacy, but some exemptions can be sought for those who are elderly or disabled. In order to become a naturalized citizen, applicants need to meet eligibility requirements, obtain and complete necessary forms, have their cases reviewed (including a background check), submit paperwork to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, obtain a fingerprinting appointment, receive their interview/examination notification, successfully pass their interview and examination, have their naturalization petition approved, and then attend a swearing-in ceremony.

The growing demand for citizenship classes can result in classes that are too large to be effective, and it is important that instructors present using a methodology that will meet the needs of the majority of students. In order to be effective, classes must be offered that vary in content, duration, and scheduling to accommodate the constraints that many adults are faced with in their lives. There are many different instructional approaches that can be used, and the content of instruction can vary significantly from one program to the next. Instruction can be in large or small groups or by one-on-one tutoring sessions. Citizenship courses can be a very distinct set of lessons focusing on a specific component of the process, or offered within an ESL class. However, not all citizenship classes include English instruction. Instead, they focus on the other aspects of the naturalization process and history/civics. These courses are appropriate for students who think they have sufficient command of the English language, but instructors may refer them to an English class if they think they require additional work in the area.

There are four basic skills and knowledge that successful naturalized citizens need: 1) understanding of the process; 2) command of the English language; 3) history and civics knowledge; and 4) the ability to understand and complete the N-400 form. The N-400 is a twenty-one-page application form that prospective citizens must submit to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), formerly the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), to start consideration of their request for citizenship. They must understand the form and be able to verify and clarify any information if asked. Potential citizens need to know the proceedings of the interview. This means everything from stating their name when called to receiving the results of the day's proceedings. They need to be prepared and know what will be expected of them, which includes proper English use, appropriate behavior and actions ("Please take a seat," "May I see your Green Card," "Do you have your passport with you," etc.), and having all the documents they should have with them and may need to produce. They will need a sound understanding of the English language, which includes being able to speak, listen, read, and write. They will need oral skills to understand what is being asked of them, answer questions appropriately, clarify the interviewer's questions or update the information they have already provided. They will also need to read aloud in English and write a sentence that is dictated to them. There are 100 history/civics questions from which interviewers may choose. Applicants will be asked ten questions and must answer at least six of them correctly (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, 2012). They must be able to show that they understand the questions beyond simple memorization. Therefore, citizenship instructors need to help their students learn all these competencies in order to successfully apply for citizenship.

Citizenship instructors should help their students with the entire process. First, they should have knowledge of how to teach adult learners, especially English as a Second Language students whose needs are different from native speakers. They must be able to speak clearly and communicate effectively. They must also exhibit cultural awareness and be sensitive to their students' differences. Instructors must also be cognizant of all areas of citizenship preparation. They need to be able to effectively instruct United States history and civics information; be able to prepare students for the writing and word-choice portion of the exam; cover the contents of the N-400 and make sure students understand the ramifications of not properly and honestly filling out the application; and ensure students understand the application and examination processes. Citizenship instructors need to use several methods of teaching in order to ensure that the individual needs and skill-levels of their students are being met. They need to plan lessons that include presentation, application, and review and know and adapt to the speed of the class, not going so fast that students feel lost or so slow that students lose interest. Instructors must also be able to manage a multilevel classroom effectively because they will invariably have students who are significantly more advanced than others in their English skills and knowledge of the process and history/civics. Before beginning instruction, citizenship instructors need to properly assess their students to identify their goals, strengths, and needs. Instructors should have sound knowledge of community resources and support services and be able to refer students when necessary. Instructors should also participate in professional development activities and make sure that they keep updated on any changes in naturalization procedures and testing requirements and implement them into the curriculum (Garcia & Porter, 2014).

Applications

There are two basic approaches used when teaching immigrants about citizenship. The first approach is to teach a civic education course so that students can learn about more American history and culture than may be included on the naturalization test. The other approach is to teach only the information that is sure to be on the exam. Although teaching students about civics can help produce better citizens and give learners a solid foundation in United States history and how the government works, it may not adequately prepare them to pass the naturalization exam. Teaching solely to the test may prepare students to pass the naturalization exam, but it doesn’t ensure that they will be good, informed, and culturally aware citizens.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services implemented a new oral examination in 2008. The goal of the updated test is to focus less on "redundant" and "trivial" questions based on rote memorization ('How many stars in the flag?' 'What color are the stars in the flag?' 'What do the stars in the flag represent?') and focus on more abstract concepts, such as the rights and responsibilities of citizenship. There are 100 questions that the applicant is expected to study for, and the examiner asks 10 questions from the list. A score of less than six correct answers will require the applicant to retake the test. Failing the test twice requires the applicant to begin the naturalization process all over. The reading and writing component of the test emphasizes civic learning, and the vocabulary list is civics based. Students need to know more about citizenship than they did for the old test (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, 2007).

Content-based instruction for students with English as their second language has become a widely used pedagogical approach. Research tracking the results of content-based ESL instruction discovered that students who completed a content-linked ESL program were likely to achieve better grades, pass the course are a higher rate, and perform better in other ESL and developmental English courses in comparison with those who were not taught any content-based instruction. The students also achieved more long-term academic success rates than those students who were not in content-linked ESL courses (Song, 2006).

Effective instructional strategies include designing classroom activities that cover reading, listening, speaking, and writing because students' English proficiency may not be equal in all four areas. By covering all four areas in instruction, students may use their strength in one area to support them in another (Vance, 2007). Other practices that have been found to be effective include assessing students' needs to determine instructional content that is relevant and can be immediately used by students, using different approaches to match the needs of students, providing opportunities for interaction and problem solving, using learners' prior knowledge and experiences to make instruction relevant and meaningful, and providing courses of differing intensity and duration with flexible scheduling to meet the needs of students (Center for Adult English Language Acquisition, n.d.). Instructors can also encourage their students to form study groups to practice outside of class to help increase their mastery of the subject matter presented in class.

Students will more than likely come to citizenship classes with varying degrees of competency, which is why a preliminary assessment is so useful for instructors. It is important to build on what students already know and what English skills they already have. Students who are fluent in English may only need to gain familiarity with United States history and civics. Other students may be able to read the history and civics material on their own, but they may not be able to converse about it. Others may have a limited knowledge of both United States history and English. If an instructor has a class of students who are conversant in English, the class may focus exclusively on the citizenship aspect of the naturalization exam. With a class of less fluent students, the instructor will design activities that integrate citizenship and English speaking, writing, and listening opportunities. However, most instructors will have a class with multilevel students, and it is important to try to meet the needs of everyone, which can be difficult to do. If the range of fluency is wide, it may mean that the students will have to be divided up into groups according to their level of fluency and remain in those groups for the entire class time with the exception of a warm-up or closing activity. If the range is not very wide, students will still need to be grouped together by their level of fluency for some activities; but there should be some things that everyone can do together as a group.

There are many activities that address different learning styles and are relevant to the naturalization exam (Nixon & Keenan, 1997). Below are a few of them:

• Instructors can divide the 96 questions provided by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, from which the bulk of the naturalization exam questions are drawn, into themes. There will be some overlap, but most of the questions can be broken into definitive themes such as the Constitution, Congress, the presidency, the Revolutionary War, and the American flag. This can help students make the connection between certain aspects of American history.

• Instructors can have periodic contests and provide low-cost, patriotic prizes to the winners. The instructor divides the class into teams. The teacher chooses the questioner, whether it be him/herself, a student, or the teams. The winner is the person who answers correctly the most questions without making a mistake, with the instructor determining beforehand an appropriate tie-breaking procedure or awarding all students with the most questions answered correctly a prize.

• To develop critical thinking skills, have a list of questions and an equal number of answers with the questions numbered and the answers lettered. Students are paired off and, using only English, they work together to match the letters with the numbers. As students' progress and gain more confidence, instructors can have an unequal number of answers with some answers applying to more than one question and some answers that do not go to any of the questions.

• To help students get comfortable with the interview process and used to listening and understanding peoples with different accents and dialects, instructors need to try to give their students opportunities to hear questions and conversations from other native English speakers. Not only will this exercise help students assimilate different accents, it will also help them become familiar with the test itself and what they can expect when they take the real naturalization exam.

• Instructors can also have their students each make themselves a set of flashcards with the 96 questions on the front and the answers on the back. This will give them a good practice tool for when they are not in class.

• To ensure that students are able to meet the dictation portion of the naturalization exam, it is important to practice this component until they are comfortable with the process and have mastered the competency. There are several ways to do this to keep the lesson engaging. The instructor can either state the questions exactly and have the students copy the answer to the question or else the instructor can dictate the answer and have the students jot the corresponding question.

• Role playing will help students get acclimated to what to expect on the day of their naturalization exam. The instructor portrays the test examiner and tries to set up the classroom so that it is similar to the actual testing environment. This includes calling the student in and making small talk about the weather or something equally trite. The instructor can also have students play both the interviewer and the interviewee. Another possibility is having students role play famous people from history: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham, Lincoln, Martin Luther King, Jr. They can also role play more generic people like a signer of the Declaration of Independence, a colonist, a slave before and after the Civil War, a member of Congress, or a Supreme Court justice and talk about the difficulties they face and what their jobs entail.

• Instructors can also prepare students to take the naturalization exam. This includes teaching students how to sign up for and take the written test and, if possible, taking a field trip to the local U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Office so students will know exactly what to expect on the day of their examination.

There are also general activities that can help students learn what they need in order to pass the naturalization exam and get more comfortable speaking in English (Garcia & Porter, 2014):

• An instructor can have the students get together and line up by distance to place of birth, family size, the number of years they have been in the United States, or anything else that can help them make comparisons. Before they begin, the instructor asks the students what questions they need to come up with in order to get the information necessary to select their place in line and then write them on the board. After everyone is lined up, the instructor asks the students to explain why they are where they are in line with respect to the students that surround them to the left and the right.

• It is important that students do not simply memorize the answers to the 100 questions that could be included on the naturalization exam. If the interviewer changes the wording even a little bit, sometimes the student cannot figure out what is being said. In order to help students hone their listening skills, instructors can explain that even native English speakers do not hear every word that is spoken and that by catching key words they can make reasonable estimates and not constantly ask speakers to repeat themselves. This can be done by having students guess a question by only giving them key words in the question, which helps applicants listen and attempt to answer to words they understand.

• Numbers can be difficult for some students and one way to work on them is to create a worksheet that has a variety of numbers and a box to the left of each of them. The instructor tells students to write the letter 'A' next to the number of Supreme Court justices, write the letter 'B' next to the number of stars in the flag, write the letter 'C' next to the number of years of a president's term, etc. This methodology will work with all levels of students because it is presented orally.

• Instructors can also alter the way they ask questions. Instead of asking yes/no questions or multiple-choice questions, instructors can have students summarize all they know about a particular subject or person by simply saying, "Tell me about..." To tie it in with the civics component of the naturalization exam, subjects can include Abraham Lincoln, the American flag, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, the Revolutionary and Civil Wars, the Supreme Court, and Congress.

As evidenced above, there are many ways for instructors to help their students attain citizenship status. The key to success is to understand the class's needs and plan lessons accordingly, keeping in mind that most students learn better if the information is presented in varying ways, is context related, and keeps them engaged and enthused.

Terms & Concepts

Citizenship: Citizenship is the state of being vested with the rights, privileges, and duties of a citizen.

Civics: Civics is the political science that deals with the obligations, rights, and duties of the citizens.

Content-based instruction: Content-based instruction uses task-oriented activities that focus on issues that are relevant and meaningful to students.

Critical thinking: Critical thinking is the active application of analysis and evaluation of information that can usually be gathered from reason, reflection, experience, and observation.

Literacy: Literacy is the ability to read, write, communicate, and comprehend.

Methodology: Methodology is practical ideas and proven practices for a given area of activity.

Naturalized citizens: Naturalized citizens are people who become citizens of a country other than that of their birth.

Pedagogy: The strategies, techniques, and approaches that instructors can use to facilitate learning.

Bibliography

Center for Adult English Language Acquisition. (n.d.). Program development tools: ESL methods & approaches. Retrieved April 27, 2007, from http://www.cal.org/caela/tools/program%5fdevelopment/esl%5fmethods.html

Doppen, F. H., Feinberg, J. R., O'Mahony, C., Lucas, A. G., Bohan, C., Lipscomb, G., & Ogawa, M. (2011). Social studies preservice teachers' citizenship knowledge and perceptions of the U.S. naturalization test. Action in Teacher Education, 33, 81–93. Retrieved December 15, 2013, from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=61907203&site=ehost-live

Garcia, C., & Porter, C. (2014, September). Citizenship educator orientation packet. Retrieved November 6, 2014, from http://www.thecenterweb.org/alrc/citizenship/citizenship-educator-orientation-packet.pdf

Grieco, E. M., Acosta, Y. D., de la Cruz, P., Gambino, C., Gryn, T., Larsen, L. J., . . . Walters, N. P. (2012, May). The foreign-born population in the United States: 2010. Retrieved November 6, 2014, from http://www.census.gov/library/publications/2012/acs/acs-19.html

Griswold, O. V. (2011). The English you need to know: Language ideology in a citizenship classroom. Linguistics & Education, 22, 406–418. Retrieved December 15, 2013, from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=66945608&site=ehost-live

Haworth, P. (2014). Tensions in prioritizing adult English language learners' literacy needs. Journal of Research & Practice for Adult Literacy, Secondary, & Basic Education, 3 , 8–20. Retrieved November 19, 2014, from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=96960656&site=ehost-live

Johnson, J., & Owen, L. (2013). Reaching a culturally diverse immigrant population of adult English language learners. MPAEA Journal of Adult Education, 42 , 23–29. Retrieved November 19, 2014, from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=97277794&site=ehost-live

Malone, N., Baluja, K. F., Costanzo, J. M., & Davis, C. J. (2003, December). The foreign-born population: 2000. Retrieved November 6, 2014, from http://www.census.gov/library/publications/2003/demo/c2kbr-34.html

Mitchell, E. (1998). Citizenship: A guide to good teaching. Retrieved April 27, 2007, from http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED445555.pdf

New citizenship test: Could your students pass? (2009). Social Science Docket, 9, 9. Retrieved December 15, 2013, from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=43220243&site=ehost-live

Nixon, T., & Keenan, F. (1997). Citizenship preparation for adult ESL learners: ERIC digest. Retrieved April 27, 2007, from http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED409747.pdf

Song, B. (2006). Content-based ESL instruction: Long-term effects and outcomes. English for Specific Purposes, 25 , 420–437. Retrieved April 27, 2007, from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=22634041&site=ehost-live

Tichenor, S. (1994). Community colleges and teaching English as a second language: Serving the limited English proficient. Community College Review, 22 , 55–66. Retrieved April 27, 2007, from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=9502141586&site=ehost-live

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. (2007). Fact sheet: USCIS naturalization test redesign. Retrieved April 29, 2007, from http://qa-env.www.uscis.gov/files/pressrelease/natztestfs.pdf

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. (2012, March). A guide to naturalization. Retrieved November 19, 2014, from http://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/files/article/M-476.pdf

Vance, K. (2007). Teaching tips and assignment ideas for ESL students. Business Communication Quarterly, 70 , 63–69. Retrieved April 27, 2007, from EBSCO Online Database Business Source Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=24319777&site=ehost-live

Suggested Reading

Becker, A. (1993). Building bridges: A resource guide on citizenship. Macomb, IL: Curriculum Publications Clearinghouse.

California Department of Education. (1990). ESL/CIVICS integration: A guide for curriculum development and lesson planning. Sacramento, CA: Author.

McKay, H. & Abigail, T. (1999). Teaching adult second language learners. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.

Perry, K. H., & Hart, S. J. (2012). 'I'm just kind of winging it': Preparing and supporting educators of adult refugee learners. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 56 , 110–122. Retrieved November 19, 2014, from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=82611496&site=ehost-live

Potenza, A. (2013). Could you pass the U.S. citizenship test?. New York Times Upfront, 146, 14–15. Retrieved December 15, 2013, from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=90622260&site=ehost-live