Bodhee Prep-Online CAT Coaching | Online CAT Preparation | CAT Online Courses

Get 30% OFF on CAT Crash Course. Code: LASTLAP. Course starts from 18th Sept Enroll Now

Daily RC Article 68

South East Asian Immigrants


Paragraph 1

Most studies of recent Southeast Asian immigrants to the United States have focused on their adjustment to life in their adopted country and on the effects of leaving their homelands. James Tollefson's Alien Winds examines the resettlement process from a different perspective by investigating the educational programs offered in immigrant processing centers. Based on interviews, transcripts from classes, essays by immigrants, personal visits to a teacher-training unit, and official government documents, Tollefson relies on an impressive amount and variety of documentation in making his arguments about processing centers' educational programs.

Paragraph 2

Tollefson's main contention is that the emphasis placed on immediate employment and on teaching the values, attitudes, and behaviors that the training personnel think will help the immigrants adjust more easily to life in the United States is often counterproductive and demoralizing. Because of concerns that the immigrants be self-supporting as soon as possible, they are trained almost exclusively for low-level jobs that do not require English proficiency. In this respect, Tollefson claims, the processing centers suit the needs of employers more than they suit the long-term needs of the immigrant community. Tollefson also detects a fundamental flaw in the attempts by program educators to instill in the immigrants the traditionally Western principles of self-sufficiency and individual success. These efforts often have the effect of undermining the immigrants' sense of community and, in doing so, sometimes isolate them from the moral support and even from business opportunities afforded by the immigrant community. The programs also encourage the immigrants to shed their cultural traditions and ethnic identity and adopt the lifestyles, beliefs, and characteristics of their adopted country if they wish to enter fully into the national life.

Paragraph 3

Tollefson notes that the ideological nature of these educational programs has roots in the turn-of-the-century educational programs designed to assimilate European immigrants into United States society. Tollefson provides a concise history of the assimilationist movement in immigrant education, in which European immigrants were encouraged to leave behind the ways of the Old World and to adopt instead the principles and practices of the New World.

Paragraph 4

Tollefson ably shows that the issues demanding real attention in the educational programs for Southeast Asian immigrants are not merely employment rates and government funding, but also the assumptions underpinning the educational values in the programs. He recommends many improvements for the programs, including giving the immigrants a stronger voice in determining their needs and how to meet them, redesigning the curricula, and emphasizing long-term language education and job training over immediate employment and the avoiding of public assistance. Unfortunately, though, Tollefson does not offer enough concrete solutions as to how these reforms could be carried out, despite his own descriptions of the complicated bureaucratic nature of the programs.

Topic and Scope:  

Southeast Asian immigrants; specifically, educational programs in immigrant processing centers.

Purpose and Main Idea:

The author’s purpose is to describe and critique Tollefson’s views about educational programs in immigrant processing centers. Her main idea is that Tollefson is correct to argue that the philosophy of these centers has caused adjustment problems for immigrants.

Paragraph structure:

Paragraph 1 introduces Tollefson’s Alien Winds, describing how it’s different from earlier works that look at Southeast Asian immigrants. Instead of focusing on immigrants themselves, it focuses on immigrant processing centers. Predictably, Paragraph 2 takes up where Paragraph 1 leaves off: it goes into further detail about Tollefson’s views. Essentially, Tollefson argues that these centers do immigrants a long-term disservice by encouraging immediate employment and rapid adoption of Western ideals. Paragraph 3 notes that Tollefson traces the philosophy of today’s immigrant processing centers to programs initiated at the beginning of this century—programs that were intended to assimilate European immigrants into the American mainstream.

Up to this point, we’ve been given an extended discussion of Tollefson’s ideas. The author’s views of Tollefson’s work have yet to be made clear. Paragraph 4 provides the author’s views. While she approves of his critique of immigrant processing centers as well as his recommendations for changing their focus, she’s critical of his failure to furnish concrete proposals for implementing reform.

The Big Picture:

  • You’re likely to see a book review passage on Test Day. If it appears, this passage will be highly predictable. It will contain two basic elements: a description of a particular book and a critique of that book. In most cases, the description will precede the critique.
  • Because this type of passage is so predictable, it’s often a good place to begin work on the Reading Comp. section, especially if no other passage jumps out at you as extremely manageable.
  • In a book review passage, it’s crucial to be clear on the difference between the book’s views and the author’s views. Many of the questions will test to see that you can distinguish between them.

CAT Verbal Online Course



CAT Online Course @ INR 12999 only
CAT online Courses

CAT 2023 Mock Test Series

  • 400+ Topic Tests
  • 45 Sectional tests
  • 20 Mock Tests (Video Solutions)
  • Only at INR 2499

20% Discount Code: GET20

FREE CAT Prep Whatsapp Group

CAT 2023 Online Course at affordable price