Preparing for work with Russian-speaking immigrants and refugees in the US
This section of our OER resource is designed for those who are or will be working with Russian-speaking immigrants adapting to life in the United States. These chapters provide information on a range of topics that help you get background information about Russian culture.
Adjusting to life in a new country can be overwhelming. The chapter on Culture Shock in the United States offers a general discussion of the most common issues faced by Russian-speaking immigrants and includes highlights from several research studies that focused on the issues of stress experienced by this cohort during their adaptation to American culture.
The next chapter in this part is an essay written by one of our team members about his Experiences from Working with Russian-Speaking Immigrants. This essay offers first-hand insights about the most pressing problems that newcomers face.
The chapter on Ways to Help Russian-Speaking Immigrants discusses ways to support Russian-speaking people who face various challenges of new life in the United States. This chapter starts with a general discussion and then provides practical advice and links to additional information and practice available in this resource. The range of topics includes helping with language barriers, and information on adjusting to local systems such as education and healthcare.
The chapter on Mental Health Issues focuses specifically on topics related to the psychological impact of immigration. Turning one’s life around to adjust to life in a new country can lead to stress, anxiety, and isolation. The information in this chapter starts with a general discussion of possible stress factors and then provides a list of practical suggestions and practice on various topics.
Navigating the U.S. healthcare system can be a daunting experience for newcomers, especially if their health care system and expectations differ from the American system in many aspects. The chapter Culture Shock in the U.S.: Healthcare offers insights into the healthcare and expectations that contrast the Russian and American systems the most and includes practical advice to help make this transition smoother.
Finally, the last chapter in this section Culture Shock in the U.S.: realia and artifacts includes several categories of collections in Russian and English that cover various artifacts and realia of American life that can be foreign or somewhat unexpected to Russian-speaking immigrants. These collections can be shared with Russian-speaking immigrants to better understand and navigate daily life in the U.S.
