Refugee Education across the Lifespan: Mapping Experiences of Language Learning and Use (Educational Linguistics, 50)

✍ Scribed by Doris S. Warriner (editor)

• Publisher: Springer
• Year: 2021
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 439
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

This edited volume demonstrates how an educational linguistics approach to inquiry is well positioned to identify, examine, and theorize the language and literacy dimensions of refugee-background learners’ experiences. Contributions (from junior and senior scholars) explore and interrogate the policies, practices and ideologies of language and literacy in formal and informal educational settings as well as their implications for teaching and learning. Chapters in this collection will inform advances in the research base, future innovations in pedagogy, the professional development of teachers, and the educational opportunities that are made available to refugee-background children, youth and adults. The work showcased here will be of particular interest to teachers and teacher educators committed to inclusion, equity, and diversity; those developing curriculum and/or assessment; and researchers interested in the relationship between language practice, language policy andrefugee education.

✦ Table of Contents

Refugee Education across
the Lifespan
Contents
Introduction: An Educational Linguistics Perspective on Refugee Education: Bringing into Focus the Language and Literacy Dimensions of the Refugee Experience
1 The Scale and Scope of Displacement
2 Increased Precarity Amidst Shifting Commitments
3 The Need to Reprioritize and Re-commit to Resettlement
4 An Educational Linguistics Perspective on Refugee Education
5 Overview of Chapters
6 Conclusion
References
Part I: Language, Literacy and Learning Among Refugee-Background Children and Youth
Schools Alone Cannot Educate Refugees, It Takes a Community
1 Introduction
2 Problem Statement
3 Review of Literature
4 Guiding Framework: Educating Refugees by Building Community
5 Method
5.1 Research Context
5.2 Positionality
5.3 Data Collection
5.4 Data Analysis
6 Findings
6.1 Providing Stability
6.1.1 Meeting Basic Needs
6.1.2 Reducing Barriers to Learning
6.1.3 Assisting with Employment Needs
6.2 Developing Relationships
6.3 It Takes a Community to Educate Refugees
6.3.1 Family Connections
6.3.2 Trusted Sounding Board
7 Concluding Thoughts
7.1 Implications
References
Syrian Refugee Children’s Language Learning: A Multiple Case Study in the Turkish Context
1 Introduction
1.1 Schooling and the Experience of Refugee Children
1.2 Refugees in Turkey
2 Research Methodology
2.1 Qualitative Multiple Case Study
2.2 Study Context and Participants
2.2.1 Schools
2.2.2 Families
The Alghani Family
The Alnidawi Family
The Aljanabi Family
2.3 Data Collection Tools
2.4 Data Collection and Analysis
3 Findings
3.1 Literacy Competence
3.1.1 Abdullah
3.1.2 Anwer
3.1.3 Safaa
3.2 Oral Competence
3.2.1 Abdullah
3.2.2 Anwer
3.2.3 Safaa
4 Conclusion
References
Implications of Genre Pedagogy for Refugee Youth with Limited or Interrupted Formal Schooling
1 A Social Semiotic Framework for Understanding and Supporting SLIFE Refugee Students’ Literacy Practices in U.S. Schools
2 The Milltown Multimodal/Multiliteracies Collaborative: SFL in Action
3 Semiotic Mobility and Refugee Students’ Literacy Practices
3.1 Mobilizing Multilingual/Multimodal Resources to Construct Disciplinary Literacies
3.2 Expanding Disciplinary Englishes: The Case of Abad
3.3 Semiotic (Im)mobility and the Influence of Legal Immigration Status
4 Summary and Discussion
References
Mexican Migrant Parents’ Access to School Resources and Perceptions of U.S. Schools: The Interstice of Linguistic Structural Realities and Family Cultural Backgrounds
1 Introduction
2 Central’s County and School Context
3 Research Methods
4 Linguistic Accessibility at Apple Elementary and Emerald Elementary: School Observations and Employee Interviews
4.1 Translations of School-Home Correspondence
4.2 Interpreters at School
4.3 Infrastructure for Translation and Interpretation
5 Parent Interviews: School Communication and Views on Children’s Schools and Equity
5.1 Lack of Translations and Interpreters
5.2 Views on Schools and School Equity
6 Discussion: Ideological Underpinning of Linguistic Accessibility and Parent Views
7 Conclusion
References
From Preparación to Adaptación: Language and the Imagined Futures of Maya-Speaking Guatemalan Youth in Los Angeles
1 Indigenous Language Speakers from Latin America in U.S. Immigrant Communities
2 Research Context and Research Methods
3 The Place of Language in Preparación, Adaptación, and Maya Youth’s Imagined Futures
3.1 Employability and Easier Work
3.2 Family and Community Belonging
3.3 Long-Term Resettlement and Sobrevivencia
4 Discussion and Conclusions
References
“We Were Taught English Using Nepali”: Bhutanese-Nepali Youths Reflecting on Their Prior Literacy Experiences in Negotiating Academic Literacies in a US University
1 Introduction
2 Research Context and Participants
2.1 Research Context
2.2 Story of Bhutanese Refugees
2.3 Education in Refugee Camps
2.4 The Participants
2.4.1 Gyan
2.4.2 Lal
2.4.3 Raj
3 Methods
3.1 Data Collection and Analysis
4 My Positionality
5 From Refugee Camps to a US Research University: My Participants’ Literacy Challenges
5.1 “The High School Education Here Is More Positive Than There”
5.2 “Because the Teacher Used to Explain in Nepali, Even the Courses, Like Classes in English”
5.3 “They Should Like Explain in English Itself”
5.4 Overemphasis in Memorization and Formulaic Writing in Nepal
5.5 Negotiating Norms Across Contexts
6 Conclusion
References
Part II: Language, Literacy and Learning Among Refugee-Background Adults
Assessing Refugee-Background Adult Second Language Learners with Emerging Literacy: How a Social Semiotic Analysis Reveals Hidden Assumptions of Test Design
1 Introduction
1.1 Literacy
1.2 Adult Emergent Readers
2 Literature Review
2.1 Theoretical Framework
3 Methods
3.1 Site and Text
3.2 Procedure
4 Findings
4.1 Form
4.2 Multiple-Choice
4.3 Fill-in-the-Blank
5 Discussion
6 Conclusion
References
“Without English There Are No Rights”: Educating the Non(citizen) In and Out of Adult Education
1 Introduction
2 Citizenship as the Right to Have Rights
3 Educational Aspirations of Refugees
4 Methods
5 Samah’s Story: Caught Between Survival and Schooling
5.1 Pre-resettlement Life
5.2 Post-resettlement Life
6 Nadia’s Story: The Hope in Education as a Redemptive Force
6.1 Pre-resettlement Life
6.2 Post-resettlement Life
7 Discussion
8 Conclusion
References
“They Prefer You to Have a Conversation Like a Real American”: Contextualizing the Experiences of One Somali (Former) Refugee Student in Adult ESL
1 Introduction
2 Contextualizing Adult English as a Second Language Classroom
3 Deficit Perspectives and ESL Pedagogies
4 Study Context, Methodology, and Methods
5 Naima’s Story
6 Discussion
7 Toward Racial Literacy and Anti-racist Praxis in Teaching Adult ESL
8 Conclusion
References
Performing Neoliberalism: A Synecdochic Case of Kurdish Mothers’ English Learning in a Nebraska Family Literacy Program
1 Refugees in Chesterfield, Nebraska
2 Review of Literature: Refugee Literacy Education
2.1 English Learning in the Borderlands
2.2 English Learning in Family Literacy
3 Research Methods
4 Performance of Social Roles in Family Literacy
5 Performing Parenthood in Family Literacy
5.1 The Front of an Involved Parent
5.2 Subversive Teams
5.3 Performing Assimilation: Moral and Instrumental Standards
6 Conclusions
References
More than Maintaining Arabic: Language Ideologies of Syrian Refugees in a Bilingual City in Southern Texas
1 Introduction
2 Review of Literature
3 Methodology
3.1 Data Collection Methods
3.2 Participants
3.3 Data Analysis
4 Findings
4.1 Language Experiences in Bilingual Texas
4.2 Identity and Language
4.3 The Myth of Language Complexity
5 Conclusion
References
Writing the Story of Sabadullah: Transnational Literacies of Refugee-Background Parents
1 Introducing Sabadullah
2 Theoretical Framework: Language, Identity, and Transnationalism
3 Relevant Literature: Transnational Literacies, Narratives, and Identities
4 Methods
4.1 Setting and Participants
4.2 Researcher Positionality
4.3 Data Collection and Analysis
5 Findings
5.1 Negotiating Languages and Traditions: “I Wish They Would Learn Arabic and Maintain Certain Traditions”
5.2 Negotiating Two Sabadullahs: “This Is an American Sabadullah […] but the Syrian Sabadullah Is a Scary Monster”
6 Discussion and Implications
Appendix: The Story of Sabadullah
References
Identifying Language Needs in Community-Based Adult ELLs: Findings from an Ethnography of Four Salvadoran Immigrants in the Western United States
1 Introduction
2 Language Learning: From a Cognitivist to a Sociocultural Approach
3 Methods
3.1 Positionality
3.2 Data Collection and Analysis
4 Research Context and Participants
4.1 Luciana
4.2 Mariela
4.3 Julissa
4.4 Carmen
5 Findings
5.1 Enclave Participation and the Dominance of Spanish
6 English Language Needs and the Participants’ Stated Goals
7 English Language Needs
7.1 Strategies to Get By
7.1.1 Prefabricated Patterns and Deixis/Gesture
7.1.2 Short Responses
7.1.3 Translanguaging/Relying on Outside Resources
7.1.4 Improvised English
8 Discussion & Recommendations for ESL Programs for CBLs
8.1 Programs Must Facilitate Opportunities for CBLs to Practice English
8.2 Only a Finite Number of Immediate, Practical Situations Need to Be Addressed
8.3 CBLs Bring Assets of Many Kinds to the Table (Including L1 Assets)
9 Limitations and Suggestions for Additional Studies
References
A System of Erasure: State and Federal Education Policies Surrounding Adult L2 Learners with Emergent Literacy in California
1 Introduction
2 Literature Review
2.1 This Study
3 Methodological Approach
3.1 Textual Collection and Analysis
4 Research Context
5 Findings: State and Federal Policies Defining L2 Adults with Emergent Literacy
5.1 Funding and Assessment
5.2 College and Career Readiness Standards
5.3 English Language Proficiency Standards
5.4 Civics Curriculum and Assessments
6 Discussion
6.1 (Mis)Alignment of Policies
6.2 Unsupportive and/or Non-existent State and Federal Policies
6.2.1 Policy Area: Language Level
6.2.2 Intersecting Policy Areas: Standards and Levels
6.2.3 Intersecting Policy Areas: Leveled Assessments and (Subsequent) Funding
6.3 A Dominant Policy Framework of Erasure
7 Final Thoughts
References
Part III: Identifying Promising Practices, Policies and Pedagogies
Shifting the Interaction Order in a Kindergarten Classroom in a  Somali-Centric Charter School
1 Introduction
2 The Classroom Interaction Order and Disruptive Behavior
3 Studying Language Socialization in a Somali-Centric School
4 Quieting Practices
5 Reflecting on Quieting Practices
6 Conclusion
References
“Nos Somos Emigrantes Non Defraudadores”: Central American Immigrant Youth Exploring Linguistic and Political Borders in a U.S. High School Through Multimedia Narrativity
1 Introduction
2 Central American Immigrants in the United States
3 Boundaries as Relational
4 Narrativity as Space for Identity Construction
5 Participants and Context of the Study
6 Research Design
7 Creating and Breaking Down Borders; Pedagogical Spaces
8 Pivotal Decisions to Cross Borders
9 Linguistic and Emotional Barriers
10 Political Identities – Counternarratives
11 Discussion
12 Conclusion
References
Translanguaging as Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy: Transforming Traditional Practices in an ESOL Classroom for Older Adults from Refugee Backgrounds
1 Introduction
2 Conceptual Framework
2.1 Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy
2.2 Translanguaging Pedagogy as a Form of Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy
3 Setting the Stage
3.1 The Nepali-Speaking Bhutanese Students
3.2 The Classroom Translanguaging Pravaha (Corriente)
4 Methodology
4.1 Data Sources and Analysis
5 Findings
5.1 Teacher Positioning Herself as a Co-learner and Students as Co-teachers
5.1.1 Disrupting Traditional Power Relations Between Teacher and Students
5.1.2 Challenging the Linguistic Hierarchy Between Nepali and English
5.2 Disrupting Assimilationist and Monolingual Practices in the ESOL Classroom
5.2.1 Showing Respect and Validating Students’ Culture
5.2.2 Sustaining Students’ Multilingual Practices Through Building Background Knowledge
6 Conclusions and Implications
References
Learning Together: How Ethnography and Discourse Analysis as Practice Influence Citizenship Classes with Nepali-Speaking Bhutanese Refugee Elders Living in Superdiverse Central Ohio
1 Introduction
2 Relevant Prior Work and Theoretical Framings
3 Research Context and Methodology
4 Findings
5 Discussion
6 Conclusion
References
Partners in Resettlement and Adult Education: Former Refugees and Host Communities
1 Rationale for the Study: Research Questions
2 Literature Review and Theoretical Framing
3 Literacy Development
4 Influences on Health
5 Learning as Identity Work
6 Research Context
6.1 Te Tiriti Partnership
7 Hamilton Reception Centre
8 Partnership and Language Education Context
9 Research Design: Methods and Methodology
10 Findings and Discussion
10.1 Learning Gains
10.2 Support for Learning
10.3 Home Tutors as Assistants to Learning
10.4 Constraints on Learning: Issues of Health: Physical, Mental and Emotional
11 Learning as Identity Work
12 Strategies for Learning
13 Implications
14 Conclusion
References
“I feel like a human again:” Experiences of Kurdish Asylum Seekers Navigating the Legal and Education Systems in Canada
1 Introduction
2 Literature Review
2.1 Canadian Refugee Resettlement: Eligibility and Access
2.2 Asylum Claims from Turkey
2.3 Integration: A Highly Debatable Topic
2.4 Language and Integration
3 Conceptual Framework
4 Methodology
5 Findings
5.1 Seeking Educational Spaces as an Asylum Claimant
5.2 “I really felt like a beggar:” Seeking Support from Institutions While Transitioning from Asylum Claimant to Protected Person
5.3 “I feel like a human again:” Educational Experiences After Becoming a Protected Person
6 Discussion and Conclusion
References
“Es porque tienen ganas de aprender”: How a Non-profit Teacher Creates a Learning Environment to Help College-Aged Syrian Displaced Students Adapt and Learn Spanish in México
1 Introduction
2 Relevant Literature
3 Methodology
3.1 Focal Participants
4 Findings and Discussion
4.1 Practices That Create Collective Experiences
4.2 Practices to Elicit Knowledge
4.3 Practices to Promote Metalinguistic Awareness
4.4 Ideologies in the Language Classroom
4.4.1 Interview with Layla
4.4.2 Interview with Mr. Manrique
5 Conclusion
References
Speaking Rights: Translanguaging and Integration in a Language Course for Adult Refugees in Uganda
1 Theoretical Framework
2 Data and Methods
3 EFA Program Background
4 Findings
4.1 How Facilitators Act as Detectives
4.2 How Facilitators Engage in Co-learning
4.3 How Facilitators Act as Builders
4.4 How Facilitators Support Transformation
5 Conclusion
References