This handbook is intended to assist teachers involved in helping Southeast Asian refugees with little or no formal education to gain an understanding of U.S. culture. The guide is divided into the following four parts: an introduction describing the refugee training program that led to the development of the handbook, seven units of core curriculum materials and a simulation, five optional lessons, and a selection of teaching techniques. Each of the 30 lessons included in the 7 units contains a list of objectives, lesson rationale, skills to be taught, a list of materials, a language section (language structures, vocabulary, and literacy suggestions), activities (including pretest and assessment), and notes and variations. Covered in the lessons are the following topics: community services, education for children and adults, public assistance, law and legal services, safety in the city, directions and maps, geography and weather, transportation, length and height, volume and weight, shopping for food and clothing, consumerism, banking services, bill paying, budgeting, skills assessment, work attitudes, jobs in the United States, personal employment data, job search, job interviews, workplace rules and policies, on-the-job relationships, resettlement and sponsorship, the transit process, culture shock, and secondary migration. Driving a car, reading the newspaper, using restaurants, participating in sports and recreation, and celebrating U.S. holidays are examined in the five optional lessons. The techniques section covers pretest, presentation, class management, structural exercises, discussion starters, discussion, explanation, language reinforcement, literacy reinforcement, and assessment. Appendixes contain references to books, materials, and the Southeast Asian regional curriculum; handouts and worksheets; and teacher resources. Activity and topic indexes are provided. (MN)