The Guide

WHAT IS THE GUIDE AND WHY WAS IT CREATED?

Immigrants often learn lessons the hard way about laws, finances, scams, insurance, housing, jobs, the education system and cultural norms in the United States. They are used to different sets of written and unwritten rules. There was no comprehensive and concise resource that was affordable in large quantities for agencies to provide immigrants with simple, practical and accurate integration information. Many agencies reinvented wheels and struggled to produce their own materials.

To fill this critical need to provide a consistent and accessible tool Intercambio created the guide in 2009 and a full-color illustrated version in English and Spanish 2011, as well as several other translated versions. Many people agree that the U.S. has needed a guide like this for a long time!

WHO IS THE GUIDE FOR?

The guide is being used by several hundred organizations that work with adult immigrants and refugees in 45 states. These include adult ESOL programs, Community Colleges, Libraries, Catholic Charities, Lutheran Family Services, Welcome Centers, YMCA’s, Goodwill, Churches, government agencies, legal clinics, and many others. The guide also impacts ESOL teachers, volunteers helping with refugee resettlement, and other receiving community members who see the guide and gain a new appreciation for how expansive these new rules can be for immigrants.

HOW CAN THE GUIDE BE USED IN CLASSES AND WORKSHOPS?

It’s good to distribute the guide, but it’s more effective to discuss these topics in classes and workshops. We offer the following two teaching materials free for purchases of 20+ guides:

1. The Conversation Booklet includes discussion starting scenarios and questions for each of the 131 topics in the guide. These practical exercises are useful for adult English language learners in intermediate, advanced, conversational or writing classes. This tool improves students’ pronunciation, vocabulary, reading abilities, and writing skills while expanding their knowledge of critical information. A Links page on the website provides information about local resources and can fuel conversations as well.

2. “Living in the U.S.” is an interactive workshop that can easily be customized for specific audiences of immigrants such as parents, health professionals or job seekers. The training outline includes user-friendly directions for the facilitator, handouts to reproduce for participants, and fun dialogues to model and discuss cultural differences. There are enough activities to spread out into a several-week course, or parts of the workshop can be squeezed in to a 2-hour session. If it is spread out you can bring in outsiders to lead the section in their area of expertise such as a housing expert, a banker, an attorney, etc. We also provide a Powerpoint presentation and customizable flyers to promote the workshop. All “Living in the U.S.” materials are offered in Spanish.