US Citizenship Podcast

Latest Episodes:

US Citizenship Interview with Min Zheng Aug 06, 2018

Show notes

Please forgive my sudden hiatus--my father has a series of stroke during Memorial Day and died in early in July. He was a master teacher, and although I am devastated my his loss, I continued to work with my students during this time.

Here is a recording with Min Zheng, a doctor from China. After her interview, the students ask her the civics questions. It may be a little difficult to hear and understand some of the questions. Use this opportunity to listen for key words and practice asking, "Excuse me, can you please repeat the question?" Let's get started.

A bit more a Min Zheng. One of the most interesting things about her is that she did not go to school to learn English. She learned English solely from mobile apps and an online community on We Chat that like to practice English. As she gained more confidence, she practiced speaking English with her grandchildren especially when she helped them with their homework.

I can recommend two mobile apps to learn English:

DuoLingo--This app is free. I am using it now to study German, but you can also download DuoLingo in Chinese, Spanish, Vietnamese, or many other languages to study English.

USALearns--The app costs 99 cents or you can study English for free at their website, USALearns.org which includes a intensive Citizenship course which includes difficult N-400 vocabulary.

Thanks to the students and staff of Milpitas Adult School. A special thanks goes out to Min Zheng. Please visit us on the web at uscitizenpod.com where you can find more resources for Citizenship. While you are there, click the link for USALearns Citizenship. You can also click the link to visit the uscitizenpod channel on YouTube, download our free apps, or buy our book, US Citizenship Bootcamp which is now available Amazon.

Guam! Jul 12, 2018

Show notes

Today we talk to Annie Marie Rivera Montes, who is a native of Guam and a teacher (retired) of the Chamorro culture.

Guam is a territory of the United States in the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point (in terms of jurisdiction) and territory of the United States, along with Northern Mariana Islands. The inhabitants of Guam are called Guamanians, and they are American citizens by birth. Indigenous Guamanians are the Chamorros, who are related to other Austronesian natives to the west in the Philippines and Taiwan. (source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guam)

USCIS 100:91. Name one U.S. territory. Puerto Rico U.S. Virgin Islands American Samoa Northern Mariana Islands Guam

Learn more about Guam, the Mariana Islands, and the Chamorro at Guampedia: Guam's Online Encyclopedia https://www.guampedia.com/

Although Guamanian serve in the military at a rate that is three times higher than the rest of the country, their vets' struggle to receive medical services WATCH: America By the Numbers: Island of Warriors https://www.pbs.org/video/america-numbers-island-warriors CONTACT: VA.gov or your U.S. congress members. Tell them that you support increased healthcare services for vets, especially those from Guam and the U.S. territories.

This interview was recorded in the Kaiser Vallejo Rehabilitation Center, where Annie Marie's husband and my father where recovering from their strokes. Unfortunately my father passed away the next day. PLEASE learn more about strokes at http://www.stroke.org/

Linda Chen talks about PASSING her US Citizenship Interview Jun 15, 2018

Show notes

Linda Chen talks about studying for, going to, and PASSING her US Citizenship Interview. At the end of the interview, she gives tips in Mandarin and Taiwanese.

Listen to all three of Linda's practice interviews:

A Casual Citizenship Interview with Linda Chen http://traffic.libsyn.com/uscitizenpod/2017-casual-interview.mp3

Linda Chen's Second Citizenship Interview http://traffic.libsyn.com/uscitizenpod/2017-october.mp3 https://youtu.be/Tl2CeCaNV2M

A "Regular" Citizenship Interview (plus N-400 Part 12 Vocabulary Questions) http://traffic.libsyn.com/uscitizenpod/november-interview-2017.mp3 https://youtu.be/_nvSEpNrD-w

Check our YouTube channel for our latest videos https://www.youtube.com/user/uscitizenpod/

Citizenship Interview with Osman Nejat (Kabul, Afghanistan) May 30, 2018

Show notes

A short citizenship interview with "examiner" with Osman Nejat (Kabul, Afghanistan), the Citizenship and GED/HiSET teacher from New Haven Adult School. After the interview, Teacher Osman reflects on being bi-lingual and bi-cultural in America.

This interview was recorded at the 2018 CCAEstate.org conference in Fresno,CA.

Read more about Teached Osman's journey from ESL student to ESL teacher https://adultedlearners.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=studentStory&sId=35

Citizenship Interview with Nahil Ireiqat (Jerusalem) May 24, 2018

Show notes

In honor of Ramadan, my fellow teacher, Nahil Ireiqat (Jerusalem), asks questions based N-400 Application for Naturalization and requests further explanation for Part 12 vocabulary. You can follow along at:

A "Regular" Citizenship Interview Based on the USCIS N-400r (6 pgs, 75 questions) (updated 10/01/2016) pdf: http://goo.gl/Q5BhXk ppt: https://goo.gl/GUfiKY vocab pdf: https://goo.gl/PsDrG9

N-400r Part 12 Overview pptx via Google Slides (30 vocabulary words) https://goo.gl/yWvD4Q

N-400r Part 12 Overview Vocabulary (pdf of pptx) (30 vocabulary words) https://goo.gl/402lzB

Introduction to the N-400r Part 12 Quiz (20 questions) http://goo.gl/0HdOVp

N-400r Part 12 Overview Quiz (27 questions) http://goo.gl/3m3t7K

N-400r Basic Interview Quiz Part 12 (20 vocabulary words) http://goo.gl/U0aGKQ

After the interview, Teacher Nahil talks about how she prepares for and observes the month of Ramadan.

This interview was recorded on the eve of Ramadan 2018.

You can find more citizenship resources in English, Arabic, Farsi, and Urdu at http://bit.ly/citz4ramadan

San Diego Citizenship Interview with Teacher Thu Ha Nguyen May 10, 2018

Show notes

In this interview, I interview Teacher Thu Ha Nguyen about her online citizenship course that she developed for the San Diego Continuing Education (SDCE) which is the adult education division of the San Diego Community College District (SDCCD).

This interview was recorded at the San Diego CATESOL Conference where we also recorded five quick citizenship videos with her fellow SDCE citizenship teachers, Mechelle Perrot and Rose-Elena Lopez. The first video is up now in which I, the examiner, doesn't think that Mechelle is ready for the interview because Mechelle doesn't understand one of the first interview questions about eligibility.

Mechelle insists (politely) that she has studied for the English and Civics test and asks the examiner to rephrase the question which has the key word "eligible."

Note: If you do not understand an examiner's question, DO NOT SAY YES OR NO. Request that the examiner to use different words to ask the question.

Check back for the rest of the San Diego citizenship Inteview in the upcoming week.

San Diego Citizenship Interviews Playlist on YouTube http://bit.ly/SDcitz-interviews

If you need help on N-400 vocabulary, go to our website N-400 PDFs http://bit.ly/N400-pdfs

Milpitas Adult School Open House Citizenship Interview with Chris Norwood May 01, 2018

Show notes

Part 1: Chris Norwood, Vice-President of the MUSD School Board of Trustees, conducts a mock Citizenship Interviews with Teacher Jennifer

Part 2: Chris Norwood, Vice-President of the MUSD School Board of Trustees, talks about the Milpitas Unified School District (www.musd.org). He describes our Parent University and an upcoming bond measure that will support the growth of the Ayer Adult Education Center (amongst other MUSD projects). Furthermore, he encourages adult students and citizens to make their voices heard by participating in campaigning and voting in support of schools.

This interview with Chris Norwood is also available as closed-captioned videos:

Milpitas Adult School Open House Citizenship Interview 5 https://youtu.be/66olSQErDZI

Milpitas Adult School Open House Citizenship Interview 6 https://youtu.be/RiSQWdsoEiA

Watch more interviews:

MAE Open House Citizenship Interviews Playlist https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtyN34w6H7y71_wBr3lo7Du-OMbJ5_KF-

Adult Education Matters Interview 1 with Principal Giuliana Brahim Listen: http://traffic.libsyn.com/uscitizenpod/g-podcast-01.mp3 Watch: https://youtu.be/ybbsB8CVw6Q

Adult Education Matters Interview 1 with Principal Giuliana Brahim Listen: http://traffic.libsyn.com/uscitizenpod/g-podcast-01.mp3 Watch: https://youtu.be/zuJgMq_s69k

#AdultEducationMatters Video Playlist https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtyN34w6H7y4p93yVyt-Q2hKDD5rbcONf

Adult Education Matters Interview Part 2 Apr 15, 2018

Show notes

An interview with Principal Giuliana Brahim of Milpitas Adult Education.

First, you will hear basic 25 question interview based on the USCIS N-400. Then, Principal Giuliana describes Milpitas Adult Education and Corrections programs and the future of Adult Education.

The mission of Milpitas Adult Education is to empower, strengthen, and grow our adult learners. Learn more at https://adulted.musd.org/

For our students' convenience, we have taken sound bites from this podcast and posted them to our YouTube channel.

MAE: Paying Attention to the Adult Learner https://youtu.be/OP16LZZiffs

Challenges for the Adult Learner https://youtu.be/cEqTHYINJhw

What is a 243-funded Class? https://youtu.be/cCcveWoMnT0

Adult Education: No Wrong Door https://youtu.be/LagvDhyTmm8

MAE: Future Challenges https://youtu.be/QVonmBv2eBE Gracias! https://youtu.be/hjc5vhbeohA

Adult Education Matters Interview Part 1 mp3: http://traffic.libsyn.com/uscitizenpod/g-podcast-01.mp3 mp4: https://youtu.be/ybbsB8CVw6Q

For more interviews, see uscitizenpod's YouTube channel-- #AdultEducationMatters Playlist https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtyN34w6H7y4p93yVyt-Q2hKDD5rbcONf

Adult Education Matters Interview Part 1 Apr 14, 2018

Show notes

An interview with Principal Giuliana Brahim of Milpitas Adult Education.

First, you will hear a simple, 10 question interview twice: once with single words answers, and the second time Principal Giuliana answers the questions in complete sentences. Although the vocabulary and grammar become more difficult, it is important to note that both the short and long answers provide complete information. Remember: the USCIS officer wants the truth and needs complete information.

Then, Principal Giuliana talks about how her life as an immigrant from Peru has informed her profession as an adult educator and administrator. Giuliana describes culture shock when she came to the US and the pain of "casual" racism that she felt when her fellow country men confused her ethnic identity and neglected to acknowledge her cultural heritage. This led to the heightened awareness and appreciation for the cultural diversity of parents and children in the Milpitas Unified School District.

For our students' convenience, we have taken sound bites from this podcast and posted them to our YouTube channel.

Two Simple Citizenship Interviews with Principal Giuliana https://youtu.be/qN5su5aOO0Y

My Immigration and Citizenship Story by Principal Giuliana https://youtu.be/b7gyHLO_Uvc

I felt like an Immigrant in my own Home Country https://youtu.be/SHMPNLS3VaE

We Live in a Diverse Community! https://youtu.be/swyzvdka-z0

Struggle and Persistence in an Adult Learner's Life https://youtu.be/5TZO8F-OtHo

For more interviews, see uscitizenpod's YouTube channel-- #AdultEducationMatters Playlist https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtyN34w6H7y4p93yVyt-Q2hKDD5rbcONf

A U.S. Citizenship Quiz for Easter Apr 01, 2018

Show notes

Today's quiz pairs ten citizenship questions with ten American Christians from the western Catholic and Protestant traditions:

Bartolomé de las Casas Sojourner Truth Aimee Semple McPherson Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin Bishop Fulton Sheen Mother Angelica Billy Graham Huston Smith Watchman Nee

This quiz is a follow up to last year's quiz about American Christians from the Eastern Orthodox traditions.

Later, dig deeper into the lives of these saints.

For example, Bartolome de las Casas was once a slave owner himself, but changed. His failed mission in Puerto Rico compelled him to take holy orders as a Dominican friar. This change eventually led to his new job as the Bishop of Chiapas, Mexico where used his power to fight for civil rights. Reading his works today, it would be easy to imagine what he would say about the Black Lives Matter movement, Puerto Rico's economic woes, or the incresed militarization of U.S.-Mexico border.

Download the bonus quiz pdf!

Also see:

Happy Pascha! A Citizenship Quiz in Honor of Eastern Orthodox Christian Americans http://goo.gl/YE8yR8

GOOD FRIDAY Faith-Based Immigration and Refugee Resources http://www.uscitizenpod.com/2018/03/good-friday-faith-based-immigration-and.html

Three Passover Haggadahs Celebrating our Immigrant Nation and a POP Quiz http://www.uscitizenpod.com/2018/03/haggadahs-celebrating-our-immigrant.html

Cesar Chavez Day! http://www.uscitizenpod.com/2018/03/cesar-chavez-day.html

AND COMING UP IN APRIL

Fifteen Questions for April 15 Income Tax Day http://www.uscitizenpod.com/2017/04/income-tax-day.html Kahoot: Happy Tax Day with Kahoot! http://goo.gl/MmQgfx

Citizenship Resources for Earth Day http://goo.gl/iwygwv 10 Citizenship Questions in Honor of Earth Day http://goo.gl/SEkw48

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