The Impact of Language Learning on Internally Displaced and Refugee Resilience

Year 2018, Volume: 7 Issue: 3, 529 - 538, 15.07.2018

Raid Faiq Ameen Emrah Cinkara

https://doi.org/10.12973/eu-jer.7.3.529

Abstract

One of
the central aspects of displacement and migration is resilience on behalf of
the affected individuals. UNHCR reports that the number of displaced people
around the world reached 65 million by the end of 2015. In another report UNHCR
states that the number of Syrian refugees in Iraq is 233,224. While IOM reports
that the number of the internally displaced persons in Iraq between 2014 and
2016 reached to 3.4 million. As it is crucial to communication and, thus,
survival, language is vital to promoting resilience of such people. Nowadays,
English language learning provides numerous opportunities for individuals to
succeed; hence, it is essential in building resilience among displaced
populations. The current study aimed to explore resilience level of the
displaced adolescents in Iraq, also to verify the impact of English language
learning on their lives. The study has been conducted in camp and non-camp
schools via the delivery of a CD-RISC-25 questionnaire as quantitative method,
followed by interviews as qualitative method. The results concluded that the
participants had medium resilience level, and learning English plays different
roles in building resilience of the participants.

Keywords

Displaced people, refugees, English as a foreign language, Iraq crisis, resilience

References

• Abdul, R., & Abid, S. (2012). Investigating EFL Iraqi learners: Beliefs about learning English as a foreign language abstract. Journal of the College of Arts, 46(60), 46–81.
• Ahmed, H. (1989). The Role of Attitudes and Motivation in Teaching and Learning Foreign languages. University of Stirling.
• Ajdukovic, M., & Ajdukovic, D. (1998). Impact of displacement on the psychological well-being of refugee children. International Review of Psychiatry, 10(3), 186–195.
• AlAkeeli, F. (2013). Examining Lexical and Grammatical Difficulties Encountered by Iraqi Students in Learning English as a Foreign Language. University of St. Clements.
• Bialystok, E., & Hakuta, K. (1994). In Other Words: The Science and Psychology of Second-Language Acquisition. Basic Books, 2307/329166.‏
• Bonanno, G. A. (2008). Loss, trauma, and human resilience: Have we underestimated the human capacity to thrive after extremely aversive events. Research, Practice, and Policy, 59(1), 20–28.
• Boss, P., Bryant, C. M., & Mancini, J. A. (2016). Family Stress Management: A Contextual Approach. Sage Publications.
• British Council. (2013). The shape of things to come. The evolution of transnational education: data, definitions, opportunities and impacts analysis. Retrieved from https://ihe.britishcouncil.org/sites/default/files/import-content/the_shape_of_things_to_come_2.pdf
• British Council. (2016). Language for resilience: Language in enhancing the resilience of Syrian refugees and host communities. Retrieved from https://www.britishcouncil.org/sites/default/files/language-for-resilience-report-en.pdf
• Stein, B., Campbell‐Sills, L., & Gelernter, J. (2009). Genetic variation in 5HTTLPR is associated with emotional resilience. American Journal of Medical Genetics Part B: Neuropsychiatric Genetics, 150B(7), 900-906.
• Carver, S., Pozo, C., Harris, D., Noriega, V., Scheier, F., Robinson, S., Clark, C. (1993). How coping mediates the effect of optimism on distress: A study of women with early stage breast cancer. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 65(2), 375–390.
• Cavanagh, S. (1997). Content analysis: concepts, methods and applications. Nurse Researcher, 4(3), 5–16.
• Cinkara, E. (2017). The role of L+ Turkish and English learning in resilience: A case of Syrian students at Gaziantep University. Journal of Language and Linguistic Studies, 13(2), 190-203.
• Connor, M., & Davidson, T. (2003). Development of a new resilience scale: The Connor-Davidson resilience scale (CD-RISC). Depression and Anxiety, 18(2), 76–82.
• Cummins, J. (1981). Bilingualism and Minority-Language Children: Language and Literacy Series. The Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, 252 Bloor Street West, Toronto, Ontario M5S 1V6.
• Davidson, (2016). JRT and Connor KM. Connor-Davidson resilience scale (CD-RISC) manual. Unpublished. 04-01-2016
• De Vries, J., & Van Heck, L. (1994). Quality of life and refugees. International Journal of Mental Health, 23(3), 57–75.‏
• Demirezen, M. (2004). Ingilizcenin peltek-d (eth) sesbiriminin T urkler icin cikardigi sesletim sorunlari ve cozumler. Cankaya University, Journal of Arts and Sciences, 1(1), 7-22.
• Dictionary, O. E. (2013). Oxford UP, 2013. Received from
• http://blog.oxforddictionaries.com/press.releases/oxford-dictionaries-word-of-the-year-2013/
• Dumas, S. (1999). Learning a second language: Exposing your child to a new world of words boosts her brainpower, vocabulary and self-esteem. Child, 72, 74-76.
• Friborg, O., Hjemdal, O., Rosenvinge, H., Martinussen, M., Aslaksen, M., & Flaten A. (2006). Resilience as a moderator of pain and stress. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 61(2), 213–219.‏
• Garfinkel, A., & Tabor, E. (1991). Elementary school foreign languages and English reading achievement: A new view of the relationship. Foreign Language Annals, 24(5), 375-382.
• Grinker, R., & Spiegel, P. (1945). Guilt and Depression: Men under Stress. Philadelphia, PA, US: Blakiston.
• Hakim, S. (1977). Learning and teaching foreign languages in Iraq: Mid-eighteenth century to 1950 with emphasis on English. Institute of Education, University of London.
• Hakuta, K. (1986). Mirror of Language: The Debate on Bilingualism. Basic Books, Inc., 10 East 53rd Street, New York.
• Horn, L., Kojaku, K., & Carroll, D. (2001). High school academic curriculum and the persistence path through college. National Center for Education Statistics, 163.
• International Organization for Migration (2017). Displacement Tracking Matrix. Retrieved from http://iraqdtm.iom.int/IDPsML.aspx
• Lavik, J., Hauff, E., Skrondal, A., & Solberg, O. (1996). Mental disorder among refugees and the impact of persecution and exile: some findings from an out patient population. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 169(6), 726-732.
• Leipold, B., & Greve, W. (2009). Resilience: A conceptual bridge between coping and development. European Psychologist, 14(1), 40-50.
• Luther, S. & Cicchetti, D., (2000). The construct of resilience: Implications for interventions and social policies. Development and Psychopathology, 12(4), S0954579400004156.‏
• Mackey, A. (2015). What happens in the brain when you learn a language? The guardian, 1–3. Retrieved from
• http://www.theguardian.com/education/2014/sep/04/what-happens-to-the-brain-language-learning.
• Masten, S. (2001). Ordinary magic: Resilience processes in development. American Psychologist, 56(3), 227–238.
• McCubbin, I., & Figley, C. R. (1983). Bridging normative and catastrophic family stress. Stress and the Family/Edited by Hamilton. National Agriculture library.
• Met, M., & Galloway, V. (1992). Research in foreign language curriculum. Handbook of research on curriculum, 852-890.
• Seligman, P. (2011). Flourish: A visionary new a understanding of happiness and well-being. Policy, 27(3), 60–61.
• Shaheen, R., Walsh, C., Power, T., & Burton, S. (2013). Assessing the impact of large-scale teacher professional development (TPD) in Bangladesh. English in Action (EIA). San Francisco, California. In: American Educational Research Association, 27 April-01 May 2013, San Francisco, California.
• The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. (2006). Kinship and Family Ties. Retrieved from http://www.unhcr.org/4c2355229.pdf
• The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. (2011). Kinship and Family Ties. Retrieved from http://www.unhcr.org/1951-refugee-convention.html
• The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. (2016). Kinship and Family Ties. Retrieved from http://www.unhcr.org/figures-at-a-glance.html
• The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. (2016). Kinship and Family Ties. Retrieved from http://www.unhcr.org/ph/wpcontent/uploads/sites/28/2017/03/UNHCR-3RP-Overview-2016.pdf
• The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. (2017). Kinship and Family Ties. Retrieved from http://reporting.unhcr.org/
• Tusaie, K., & Dyer, J. (2004). Resilience: a historical review of the construct. Holist Nurs Pract, 18(1), 3–10.
• United Nations International Children's Fund. (2016). Language education and social cohesion. Retrieved from https://www.unicef.org/eapro/Synthesis_Report_Language_Education_andSocialCohesion_Initiative.pdf.
• Villano, D. (1996). Heads up: Time to go bilingual?. Smartkid, 1(4), 45-49.
• Welsh Government. (2013). Refugee Inclusion Strategy. Cardiff: Welsh Government.
• Werner, E. E., & Smith, R. S. (2001). Journeys from Childhood to Midlife: Risk, Resilience, and Recovery. Cornell University Press.