Current Trends in Language Learning with Refugees

Title: Exploring creativity and translanguaging for an effective language education with adult refugees

Abstract:

This paper presents some of the findings and outcomes of recent research and education projects, run by GLMLab of the University of Thessaly, that focused on language teaching and learning for adult refugees in Greece.  These projects constitute research-based and community-based efforts for providing alternative, quality language education for newly arrived immigrants and refugees in Greece, that is in a very challenging context of economic and social crisis for the society of reception.

Two common axes of the design and implementation of these projects, funded by European and national sources, were the exploration of translanguaging and creativity. The benefit of using linguistically diverse resources, and the multilingual repertoires of adult refugee students arouse from the very first stages of the needs-analysis process in the field. As a consequence, the teaching materials took a multilingual turn, and guidelines to teachers were given so that translanguaging techniques are used in the language learning settings.

Furthermore, in a framework of critical pedagogy and multiliteracies, the combination of linguistic and artistic expression was highlighted, and the potential of creativity was explored. In fact, recent GLML’s projects clearly displayed that communication boundaries in multilingual learning groups can more easily be crossed when learners’ creativity is protected and stimulated.

Title: Toward a better integration of newly arrived migrants. Case study of a linguistic and integrative support system in Lille (France)

Abstract:

This communication presents the results of an experiment done in Lille (France), in order to improve the teaching and learning of French to newly-arrived adults migrants and unaccompanied minors (project led by the University of Lille and supported by the local authorities, 2019-2020): during 16 weeks, 45 learners benefited from 160 hours of French lesson, 30 hours of professional workshop, and a possibility of social, legal and psychological support. The purpose of this integrative system is to address some key problems well known in the integration process of newly arrived migrants: language courses weakly focused on social and professional integration, a lack of intercultural approach of the language and the host society, the segmentation of integration pathways which undermines the learning capacities of migrants (see for example, Integration of young refugees in the EU : good practices and challenges, European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, 2019 ; Intégration linguistique des migrants adultes : politique et pratique. Enquête du Conseil de l’Europe, 2014). We present here an impact study of our experimental school by answering the following question: What is the impact of an integrated system on the linguistic skills and on the experience of integration into a new society?

Title: Refuteach: An action-research project exploring language learning and teaching in migratory contexts

Abstract:

Refuteach is an action-research interdisciplinary project that explores innovative language teaching for students from migratory contexts, with a focus on pedagogical practices and materials. We design tailored courses for this specific group of learners with the aim of (1) addressing the crises of meaning and pedagogical expectations that refugees feel with traditional materials, and (2) offering intercultural support tools and training for teachers to foster and strengthen spaces of empathywithin the classroom.

This paper will present the design, implementation, and assessment of an English A1 course for refugees and asylum seekers. Three research instruments were used: (1) a battery of pre-tests for the students, which evaluated their initial proficiency level and needs, and post-tests, which assessed their final proficiency level and experience; (2) a series of questionnaires and interviews for the volunteer teachers, which enquired about their experience delivering the course and suggestions to improve it; and (3) a classroom observation system, which focused on the teachers’ performance and the classroom dynamics and interactions. These instruments allowed us to assess quantitatively and qualitatively the effectiveness of the language course and the teachers’ training. The results presented will be relevant for language teachers and researchers working with this group of learners.

Title: Distance language teaching and learning among refugee students during COVID-19 in Greece: Practices, challenges and possibilities

Abstract:

This presentation outlines a small-scale qualitative research which aimed to investigate language teaching practices, experiences and challenges regarding distance language teaching and learning with refugee students in Greece during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. The study was conducted through open-ended online questionnaires, which were completed by 27 participant teachers, teaching students with a refugee/migrant background in their classes and implementing distance teaching during the first COVID-19 school closure (March-May 2020).  Through the teachers' perspectives, we attempt to initially map aspects of the context of distance teaching and learning among refugee students as it was implemented during the first lockdown and highlight the teaching practices employed, the challenges and changes involved both for the teachers and the students. The findings provide insights into the ways teachers and students responded to and experienced distance education, discussing the challenges as well as the possibilities involved. Implications are drawn for issues of access and inclusion in distance teaching and learning among refugees and about the ways learning 'lessons' from the pandemic could contribute to and inform the development of effective, equitable and inclusive language teaching/learning approaches and practices supporting refugees and migrants (Kollender & Nimer, 2020; OECD, 2020; UNESCO, 2020).

Title: Language “training” in language cafés for migrants

Abstract:

The present study discusses pedagogical practices that are enacted in language cafés for newcomers to Sweden. These cafés are promoted by non-profit organizations (e.g., churches, libraries and the Red Cross) to aid the social integration of migrants and to provide them with an arena for “language training”. The study is part of a larger project in which ethnography and conversation analysis have been adopted to explore the material and social ecology of the cafés, together with the emergent pedagogical practices and the language learning behaviors accomplished by the participants. The dataset consists of approximately 62 interviews with volunteers and organizers, 130 hours of video-recordings in 13 cafés, and fieldnotes from more than 80 visits in 14 cafés. Typically, each café has a Swedish-speaking coordinator and volunteers, who usually are not language teaching professionals; in some cases, there is also a facilitator whose task is that of solving understanding problems and acting as a cultural mediator. The cafés are quite heterogeneous in their organization, in their participation frameworks (e.g., with cafés working as whole groups versus cafés where small group work is privileged) and in the kind of activities that are implemented during each session. Although the language cafés analyzed in this study aim to provide informal meeting places, they are either organized as classrooms or have elements of classroom-like activities, such as form-focused exercises, reading and theme-based discussions, while informal conversations are less frequent. In this paper I will illustrate a sample of the activities conducted in the café sessions. I will then show video-clips displaying how the pedagogically-oriented interaction unfolds, with a specific focus on the affordances for participation for the visitors and on the treatment of the emergent objects of learning. The clips will thus illustrate the immanent pedagogies with which teaching and learning are actualized in the cafés. Overall, this study shows how participants implement “language training” in the informal setting of language cafés. More specifically, the study evidences the pervasiveness of vocabulary work across activities, a pervasiveness which we interpret as indicative of the participants’ orientation to the importance of common understanding in order to foster engagement and inclusive participation.

Title: Talking about Gender in the Refugee Language Classroom: Whys, Hows and Challenges

Abstract:

This paper seeks to present part of the author’s doctoral research on the use of feminist pedagogy in language learning for students of refugee background in Greece. In particular, it addresses the need of refugee language education to equip students not only with linguistic competence, but also with the critical skills to engage with cultural and political topics, such as gender. During my presentation, I will focus on three main points: why gender is an important issue to address in the refugee language classroom, how this can be achieved, and the challenges that may arise.

Firstly, the paper will examine the importance of including topics related to gender in the education of students with refugee backgrounds. As theories from feminist linguistics support, language teaching is a political act, which can serve to perpetuate gender hierarchies and sexist norms. Similarly, critical applied linguistics argues that language learning is not neutral, and that applied linguistics needs to more actively address political questions, such as gender and sexuality. This is especially crucial in the refugee classroom, in times of Islamophobia, femonationalism, and rising hate speech against refugees on the premises of gender equality. Drawing on elements of feminist pedagogy, the paper will then seek to explore how gender-related topics can be addressed in education for refugees. Practical examples will be provided from the author’s data collection in a school for refugees in Greece. Finally, the challenges that this process might entail will be discussed. These include the resistance that feminist practices are usually met with, and the ethics of teaching about highly political issues without insulting other cultures or considering as them as inferior. The importance of teacher reflexivity and awareness of teacher positionality will be stressed as feminist tools which can help overcome these challenges.