Identity and BelongingThe beat of a different drum

The Beat of a Different Drum(P.42)

By Simon Tong

Key vocabulary• Illiterate(adj.): unable to read or write• Cafeteria(n.): canteen/cafe• Conspicuous(adj.): attracting notice or

attention• Reticence(n.): the quality or state of being quiet• Soap Operas(n.): continuing stories/daytime

dramas (e.g. Neighbours)

Summary1. Simon was raised up in Hong Kong when he

was young. He loved reading and played sports.

2. The Hong Kong education system awarded his good results, so he went to a top high school.

3. However, every subject except for Chinese was taught in English in that school. He didn't get used to study in English and did bad in the exams. So his whole family moved to Australia.

4. The first day at Simon’s new school in Australia was terrible because everyone was racist to him but he didn't know how to stop them.

5. At lunch, he wrote "meat pipe" instead of meat pie in his lunch order. He was upset about this because he thought that cafeteria lady must think he was dumb.

+ = ?

6. Later he made a friend called Stewart who thought it was cool that he could read Chinese.

7. He started to learn English from Soap Operas. He realised that speaking English was harder than what he had been told in Hong Kong.

8. English started to appeal to him more once he started to listen to the music.

Key Quotes

• ‘She(cafeteria lady) must think I’m an illiterate idiot.’

• ‘I was the new animal at the zoo.’• ‘My ethnicity made me conspicuous, but my

reticence made me invisible.’

Visuals link to the story

• From Hong Kong• Used to be the top

student in college• Moves to Australia

when he is a teenager • Struggles to speak in

English• Improves his English by

watching dramas and listening to music

• Lives in America• Born with an aging

disease • His behaviour is

childish even though he looks a lot older

• Finds it hard to fit into the new environment

• Has a sense of belonging when they bond with a friend group

• The group they belong to shapes their sense of identity

Story Jack

Relate to the identity and belonging• It is difficult to belong in an

unfamiliar society if your identity is distinct from the others.

• Friend group is important to build up your sense of belonging.

• There are always some costs involved with belonging.

The End