Abstract
This study aimed to explore how English as a second language (ESL) teachers who teach refugees impact their students beyond language instruction. The main research questions were: (1) What unique challenges do adult refugees face within the realm of language and culture acquisition?; (2) What special needs do refugees have in learning a new language and culture?; and (3) How do teachers use language instruction to better address the broader challenges refugees face in the process of assimilation in their new home country? Interviews with refugees and ESL teachers provided the backbone of this research, which was grounded in the lived experience of the interviewees to ensure that the research was done with their interests at heart. The present study then attempted to derive lessons from those lived experiences to better serve future refugees and language teachers and inform ESL teachers on steps they can take to cater to refugees' needs more effectively.
TopIntroduction
Today, the world population of forcibly displaced people is over 84 million (UNHCR, 2021), and it is ever-expanding. Many of these people will never be able to return to their homes and must make a life for themselves in unfamiliar host countries. English as a second language (ESL) teachers are some of the first points of contact that those immigrants, or “refugees,” make with their new home culture in English-speaking countries such as the United States (U.S.). These teachers are far more than just language instructors. They understand how to simplify the language of complex topics such as health care or the law. They become role models for relating to new cultural contexts and help their students find a niche within society that they can genuinely love. There is, therefore, a need to document the many responsibilities ESL teachers have and find ways to help their refugee students empower themselves.
The present study explored several key questions to better understand how ESL teachers interact with their refugee students and how they can harness their unique relationship with students to help them achieve lasting happiness in their new home country. During the process, those refugees face challenges. This study was thus an attempt to understand what unique challenges adult refugees face within the realm of language learning and what special needs they have in learning a new language and culture. Most importantly, this study aimed to explore how language teachers use language instruction to better address their refugee students’ broader challenges of assimilation.
To understand the special relationship between refugees and their ESL teachers, this study’s first goal was to gather documentation of that relationship. Interviews with refugees and ESL teachers provided the backbone of this research, which was grounded in the lived experience of the interviewees to ensure that the research was done with their interests at heart. The present study then attempted to derive lessons from those lived experiences to better serve future refugees and language teachers and inform ESL teachers on steps they can take to cater to refugees’ needs more effectively.
“Refugee”—Definition
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) defines a refugee as “someone who is unable or unwilling to return to their country of origin owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion” (UNHCR, 1951, p. 3). Two unique types of refugees not covered by the UNHCR definition are climate and disease migrants. As rising global temperatures create more powerful storms and wildfires and rising sea levels threaten coastal communities, it is already possible to see waves of migrants fleeing extreme weather and flooding. Disease migrants, meanwhile, might soon flee countries with a poor epidemic response.
In the present study, a refugee is defined as “someone who has fled their home country out of necessity and cannot return home for fear of death, bodily harm, or persecution.” This operational definition covers the two types of migrants mentioned above and classifies them more accurately as refugees. Unlike the UNHCR definition, which assumes state-sponsored violence or political repression, this definition does not presuppose future reasons for migrants to flee their homes. It merely states what is at stake if migrants should return. This flexible definition should continue to be more helpful in the future when as-yet-unknown forces cause people to seek refuge in other nations—especially in a rapidly changing climate and global pandemic.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Age: One of the factors influencing language learning. It is generally believed that a negative correlation exists between age and ultimate achievement in second language acquisition—i.e., younger people acquire language faster and reproduce that language using grammar and pronunciation that is far more recognizable to a native speaker.
Trauma: A response to an intensely stressful event(s) or situation(s). It is typically associated with significant events such as natural disasters, terrorist acts, wars, physical or sexual assault, violence, or serious accidents.
Affective Filter: A term that originates from Krashen (1982) , who described it as affective variables that contribute to second language acquisition. He hypothesized that when emotions such as anxiety, fear, or embarrassment are elevated, i.e., when the affective filter is raised, it becomes difficult for language acquisition to occur.
Cultural Assimilation: The process in which a minority group or its culture becomes similar to society's majority group or its values, behaviors, and beliefs of another group.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): A psychiatric disorder that may occur in people who have experienced or witnessed a traumatic event (see Trauma below). It may affect the person’s mental, physical, social, and/or spiritual well-being.
Motivation: One of the key factors for explaining the success or failure of language learning and acquisition. According to Gardner (1985) , motivation is the combination of an attempt and a desire to learn a new language, resulting in favorable attitudes toward learning the language.
Refugee: Someone who has fled their home country out of necessity and cannot return home for fear of death, bodily harm, or persecution.