How Connected Are You to the World?
2024-01-02
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1Saodat Sadikova is an English teacher in Jizzakh, Uzbekistan.
2As a young girl, she dreamed of becoming a flight attendant and traveling the world.
3Her parents told her she would have to learn at least three languages in order to reach that goal.
4Although she was not able to become a flight attendant, Sadikova did study languages.
5She speaks Uzbek, Russian, English and Turkish.
6Sadikova has never traveled outside Uzbekistan.
7Even so, she reports feeling connected to people around the world.
8"The whole world is for human beings," Sadikova said.
9She still dreams of visiting many countries.
10American Trina Bright worked in education for nearly 25 years.
11Today, she lives in the southern U.S. state of Arkansas.
12During her career, she traveled to many countries, including China and South Africa.
13Bright used stories from her travels to help her students in the U.S. understand their place in the world.
14She spent most of her career in a minority-serving school district.
15Sharing stories from her travels helped her students see value in their own cultures.
16"There's value in all experiences, not just typical American ones," Bright said.
17Bright has visited more than 20 countries.
18But Bright, unlike Sadikova, does not report feeling connected to people around the world.
19Bright is not alone.
20She is among the more than half of Americans who report they do not feel especially close to people around the world.
21That information comes from a new report by Pew Research Center, an organization that aims to inform the public about the issues, beliefs and trends shaping the world.
22The report, called Attitudes on an Interconnected World, was released on December 6.
23Pew recently asked people in 24 countries a series of questions about how connected they feel to their own communities and countries as well as to people around the world.
24Pew researchers looked at, among other things, how international travel experience relates to feelings of connectedness.
25About half of all respondents reported they feel at least somewhat close to people all over the world.
26Feeling close to others around the world is more common in Europe than in most other places, the study found.
27In the United States, only 35 percent of the respondents said they feel at least somewhat connected to those in other countries.
28The percentage was even lower in Argentina (28 percent) and Indonesia (22 percent).
29The study found that, in general, respondents who had traveled to at least one other country feel more connected to people around the world.
30Ninety-nine percent of respondents in the Netherlands reported having visited at least one other country and about half said they had visited 10 or more countries.
31The Pew researchers found that 77 percent of respondents from the Netherlands said they feel at least somewhat close to people all over the world.
32But international travel does not always mean a person feels a closeness to people around the world.
33Bright, the retired American schoolteacher, is one such exception.
34She said, "I don't know a bunch of people around the world, just some."
35And, she said, her connections to them are not especially deep.
36Pew researchers found a similar case in Sweden.
37Ninety-nine percent of Swedish respondents said they had visited at least one other country.
38Yet a much smaller share of Swedish respondents - 47 percent - report feeling close to people all over the world.
39In fact, a higher number of Indian respondents - 68 percent - report feeling at least somewhat close to people all over the world.
40Yet just 3 percent of respondents from India said they had traveled to another country.
41Such findings show that international connectedness can be formed in ways other than traveling overseas.
42Sadikova, the Uzbek English teacher, told VOA Learning English she feels connected to people all over the world even though she has never traveled outside Uzbekistan.
43She said, "Some years ago it was difficult for us to get information about people in the world, but currently, because of media, it is quite easy to get acquainted with events and news."
44I'm Gena Bennett.
1Saodat Sadikova is an English teacher in Jizzakh, Uzbekistan. As a young girl, she dreamed of becoming a flight attendant and traveling the world. Her parents told her she would have to learn at least three languages in order to reach that goal. 2Although she was not able to become a flight attendant, Sadikova did study languages. She speaks Uzbek, Russian, English and Turkish. 3Sadikova has never traveled outside Uzbekistan. Even so, she reports feeling connected to people around the world. "The whole world is for human beings," Sadikova said. She still dreams of visiting many countries. 4American Trina Bright worked in education for nearly 25 years. Today, she lives in the southern U.S. state of Arkansas. During her career, she traveled to many countries, including China and South Africa. 5Bright used stories from her travels to help her students in the U.S. understand their place in the world. She spent most of her career in a minority-serving school district. Sharing stories from her travels helped her students see value in their own cultures. "There's value in all experiences, not just typical American ones," Bright said. 6Bright has visited more than 20 countries. But Bright, unlike Sadikova, does not report feeling connected to people around the world. 7Bright is not alone. She is among the more than half of Americans who report they do not feel especially close to people around the world. 8That information comes from a new report by Pew Research Center, an organization that aims to inform the public about the issues, beliefs and trends shaping the world. The report, called Attitudes on an Interconnected World, was released on December 6. 9Pew recently asked people in 24 countries a series of questions about how connected they feel to their own communities and countries as well as to people around the world. Pew researchers looked at, among other things, how international travel experience relates to feelings of connectedness. 10About half of all respondents reported they feel at least somewhat close to people all over the world. 11Feeling close to others around the world is more common in Europe than in most other places, the study found. In the United States, only 35 percent of the respondents said they feel at least somewhat connected to those in other countries. The percentage was even lower in Argentina (28 percent) and Indonesia (22 percent). 12The study found that, in general, respondents who had traveled to at least one other country feel more connected to people around the world. 13Ninety-nine percent of respondents in the Netherlands reported having visited at least one other country and about half said they had visited 10 or more countries. The Pew researchers found that 77 percent of respondents from the Netherlands said they feel at least somewhat close to people all over the world. 14But international travel does not always mean a person feels a closeness to people around the world. Bright, the retired American schoolteacher, is one such exception. She said, "I don't know a bunch of people around the world, just some." And, she said, her connections to them are not especially deep. 15Pew researchers found a similar case in Sweden. Ninety-nine percent of Swedish respondents said they had visited at least one other country. Yet a much smaller share of Swedish respondents - 47 percent - report feeling close to people all over the world. 16In fact, a higher number of Indian respondents - 68 percent - report feeling at least somewhat close to people all over the world. Yet just 3 percent of respondents from India said they had traveled to another country. Such findings show that international connectedness can be formed in ways other than traveling overseas. 17Sadikova, the Uzbek English teacher, told VOA Learning English she feels connected to people all over the world even though she has never traveled outside Uzbekistan. She said, "Some years ago it was difficult for us to get information about people in the world, but currently, because of media, it is quite easy to get acquainted with events and news." 18I'm Gena Bennett. 19Gena Bennett wrote this story for Learning English with additional information from Pew Research Center. 20________________________________________________ 21Words in This Story 22typical-adj. normal 23respondent-n. a person who answers a question 24somewhat-adj. a moderate amount 25acquainted with-phrasal verb. to be informed about someone or something