Written task 1 (Rough draft)

Written Task 1 (Rough Draft)

Rationale:
Arnold Schwarzengger is an Austrian-American. He was born in Austria and later immigrated to the USA. He was a body builder then, who later went on to become a big movie star and the governor of the state of California. The chosen written task is an interview, in which Schwarzenegger talks about his experience as a newly immigrated citizen of America. I have chosen an interview so that it sounds more personal. Interviews also have a feel of legitimacy since the experiences are being recounted from first-hand experience.

This interview takes place in the December of 2003, just after he had been elected the Governor of California. It would be published in the New Yorker as it has a wide reach, and many people living in New York are immigrants. Such an interview will help them fit into society and also inspire them to keep on learning English. The interview will be progressive.  The questions will keep on getting more personal, so that the subject feels comfortable.

In this interview, he talks about how his ability to speak English when he had just moved were limited, and how he tried hard to learn the language, and become ‘American’. He also talks about his education in the university of Santa Barbara and how that influenced him as a person. He will also talk about a few of his political ambitions.

This connects to the course material since the impact of Arnold’s language on his culture will be examined. Also, this examines how his identity impacts his career and his personal life. It also implicitly shows the effect of his culture on the political reforms he wants to bring about.

An interview:
It is six in the evening. Arnold Schwarzenegger had just been working out, and his secretary just told me to wait here in his living room. Looking around, I couldn’t believe that all this wealth belongs to a body-builder from Austria, who is now the Governor of California. There are huge chandeliers dangling from the wall, and marble all over the place. As I admire this, the man himself, Arnold Schwarzenegger walks in. We exchange formalities, and get straight down to business, being the straightforward person he is.

Me: ”So Arnold, how does it feel becoming the Governor of California

Schwarzenegger: “It feels amazing! I could never imagine becoming the Governor of California until now! I had a dream like this since I was a child. Back in Austria when I was a child, I always used to dream about moving to America and becoming rich and famous. I think it has been done now, and I’m looking forward to the challenge it brings. Whenever I want to do something, I always work hard, I guess that’s the effect that the Austrian-German culture had on me.”

Me: “And how do you think your Austrian culture has had an effect on you? Has it been good or bad?”

Schwarzenegger: “Well, I really cannot give you a specific answer as there were two sides to this. My father used to keep me and my brother under strict supervision. He used to train us in soccer every Saturday, and would regularly check how we were doing in school. If we weren’t doing very well, let’s just say things would get very ugly. But still, this discipline is what drove me to come to America, learn English and contest the elections!

Me: “You were talking about how you came to America and learnt English. Can you please describe your experience in America as a new immigrant?”

Schwarzenegger: “In body-building I was the king of the mountain, but back in everyday Los Angeles I was still just another immigrant struggling to learn English and make a life. My mind was so fixed on what I was doing in America that I rarely gave a thought to Austria or Germany. Around that time, my brother passed away and I couldn’t attend his funeral due to legal difficulties. Hence I decided to throw myself into working. Going to school, training five hours a day at the gym, working in the construction and mail-order businesses, making appearances, and going to exhibitions—all of it was happening at the same time.”

Me:” How was learning English? Was it hard? Did you find it hard to get the grasp of the language?

Schwarzenegger: ““At the beginning, I’d try to translate everything literally: I would hear or read something, convert it in my head back into German, and then wonder, Why do they have to make English so complicated?” There were things that I seemed unable to grasp no matter who explained them to me. Like contractions. Why couldn’t you say “I have” or “I will” rather than “I’ve” and “I’ll”? Pronunciations were especially dangerous. As a treat, Artie took me to a Jewish-Hungarian restaurant where the dishes were the same as Austrian food. The owner came to take our order, and I said, “I saw this one thing here on the menu which I like. Give me some of your garbage.”

“What did you call my food?”

“Just bring me some of your garbage.”

Artie jumped in right away. “He’s from Austria,” he explained. “He means the cabbage. He’s used to the cabbage from Austria.” There were some other experiences like this as well.”

Me: “How did college classes help you? Did you find learning different in the universities over here? Or was it the same?

Schwarzenegger: “Going to the University of Santa Monica really fired me up to learn. On my very first day in English as a Second Language, all of us foreigners were sitting in the classroom, and the teacher, asked us if we wanted to study outside.

We all looked around trying to figure out what he meant.

He pointed out the window and explained how we could sit under the tree outside and study!

We went out and sat on the grass under the tree in front of the college building. I was so impressed. Compared to the way school worked in Europe, so formal and structured, this was unbelievable! signing up for another class!” I used to talk to Artie a lot then.”

Me: “ You talk about about close friends in America. Who else was really close to you and how did they help in the learning experience?”

Schwarzenegger: “I believe to learn something, you must fully immerse yourself in their culture. For instance, I started to only American girls, no Germans or Austrians. As a result, I found a steady girlfriend Barbara, who was an English teacher. She helped me a lot learning English.”

Me: “That was really nice, getting to know your early years in America. I’m sure it’ll provide the (immigrant) readers some tips and insight into learning English and becoming American! Now, lets get back to the present. What policies are you going to be looking at changing in your time as governor? “

Schwarzenegger: “Specifically, I want to fight for the right to immigrants to have drivers licenses, as they are good ID’s, and its really hard to get around the cities without a proper drivers license.”

Me: ”One last question, what are your plans for the future?”

Schwarzenegger: “I want to rebuild California from the ground up. I also would run for the President, but since I’m not a naturally born American,a provision keeps me from doing so, but I hope that’ll change.”

Me: “Best of luck Arnold! Thanks so much for your time.”

As the interview finishes, he tells a chauffeur to drive me home. Arnold Schwarzenegger: A gentleman, actor, body-builder and politician- what will he become next?