Type of Submission
Poster
Keywords
ESL, refugees, Native Language, Heritage Language, motivation
Proposal
We examine effects of ESL (English as a Second Language) learning on adult refugees' perceptions of language. Specifically, we explore whether and how motivations to learn English affect the way refugees use and view their native language. The population addressed in this study is adult refugees over the age of eighteen who are learning English as an additional language. All participants attend a grant-funded adult education ESL school in western Ohio. Whereas much research has explored themes such as the dynamics of ESL classrooms, motivations to learn English among learners of English, and the maintenance of a native or heritage language in English-dominant society (e.g., Bal, 2014; Bell, 2014; Duran, 2016; Fruja, 2017; Kanno & Varghese, 2010; Perry, 2013; Sadowski, 2004; Shiffman, 2019; Snell, 2018; Tadayon & Khodi, 2017; Warriner, 2004), only a handful of studies addresses these topics simultaneously (e.g., Duran, 2016). Since all of the participants in the study are learning English at the same site, this study has been framed as a case study. Surveys were administered by the first author to three of the five classes at the ESL school. Nineteen of the surveys will be used in this study. A majority of the data is drawn from five individual interviews and one class interview/discussion, all conducted by the first author. Because of the significance of the population being addressed, and the potential educational and social implications of this study, we wish to present this research as a way to start a conversation about the impact of ESL on the way refugees view and use their native language.
Start Date
4-8-2020 1:00 PM
End Date
4-22-2020 6:00 PM
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
The Effects of ESL on Refugees' Perception and Use of Native Language
We examine effects of ESL (English as a Second Language) learning on adult refugees' perceptions of language. Specifically, we explore whether and how motivations to learn English affect the way refugees use and view their native language. The population addressed in this study is adult refugees over the age of eighteen who are learning English as an additional language. All participants attend a grant-funded adult education ESL school in western Ohio. Whereas much research has explored themes such as the dynamics of ESL classrooms, motivations to learn English among learners of English, and the maintenance of a native or heritage language in English-dominant society (e.g., Bal, 2014; Bell, 2014; Duran, 2016; Fruja, 2017; Kanno & Varghese, 2010; Perry, 2013; Sadowski, 2004; Shiffman, 2019; Snell, 2018; Tadayon & Khodi, 2017; Warriner, 2004), only a handful of studies addresses these topics simultaneously (e.g., Duran, 2016). Since all of the participants in the study are learning English at the same site, this study has been framed as a case study. Surveys were administered by the first author to three of the five classes at the ESL school. Nineteen of the surveys will be used in this study. A majority of the data is drawn from five individual interviews and one class interview/discussion, all conducted by the first author. Because of the significance of the population being addressed, and the potential educational and social implications of this study, we wish to present this research as a way to start a conversation about the impact of ESL on the way refugees view and use their native language.
