臺北市新住民專區網站英文版

Host of the New Immigrant Radio Program: Wu Chen-Nan 

Nationality: Malaysia

    New-immigrant families with children often discuss their children's future plans with fellow immigrants.

    Second-generation immigrant children often have experiences living abroad—not just traveling—due to their parents' backgrounds, which, in their parents' view, opens up overseas opportunities.

    Especially after the implementation of the 2019 Curriculum Guidelines by the K-12 Education Administration, which introduced languages of new immigrants into the curriculum, schools not only encourage these second-generation students to take up their native languages but also stress the importance of learning the language of their mother's homeland. Learning additional languages can provide advantages in future education and employment opportunities. This inadvertently creates a societal expectation for the second-generation immigrants to serve as a bridge between their parents' native countries and Taiwan.

    However, the expectation placed on second-generation immigrants by adults can sometimes lead to conflicts in parenting and upbringing.

    For instance, a child of a new immigrant, despite excelling academically, had to relocate far away from school due to family reasons. This relocation significantly affected her learning, resulting in less than ideal scores in the Comprehensive Assessment Program. Although her mother suggested moving back to her home country for better opportunities, the child strongly resisted, even refusing to leave her room at one point. Fortunately, through earnest communication, the mother realized that her child wished to retake the exams and finally provided the necessary support.

    Similarly, whenever I encourage my child to study various languages, especially English, with the intention of sending her back to Malaysia for further studies, she always appears nonchalant. It takes several rounds of discussion before she starts to take language learning more seriously, yet she remains uncertain about returning to Malaysia.

    This illustrates that even as parents, we must acknowledge that our children are growing up in an environment vastly different from ours. They have their own unique perspectives on their identity as part of the new generation of immigrants. Even if these perspectives differ from what adults might expect, they are personal choices that should be respected.