Advertisement

International Review of Education

, Volume 63, Issue 4, pp 583–604 | Cite as

“I want to speak like the other people”: Second language learning as a virtuous spiral for migrant women?

  • Johanna Ennser-Kananen
  • Nicole Pettitt
Original Paper
First Online:

Abstract

This article contributes to scholarship on migrant women’s second language (L2) education in North America and Europe. Questioning reductionist understandings of the relationship between female migrants, their receiving communities and L2 education, the authors consider existing literature as well as their own qualitative work to investigate the challenges, opportunities and agency of migrant women. Weaving together and thematically presenting previous scholarship and qualitative data from interviews, participant observations and classroom recordings from a mixed-gender L2 adult migrant classroom in Austria and an all-women L2 migrant classroom in the United States, they trouble conceptualisations which position women primarily as passive recipients of education and in need of emancipation, while simultaneously elevating communities as agentic providers of these. Specifically, the authors emphasise that (1) L2 proficiency is not a guarantee for migrant women’s social inclusion or socioeconomic advancement; (2) migrant women’s complex challenges and agency need to be recognised and addressed; and (3) all involved in L2 education of migrant women do well to become learners of their own experiences of oppression, including their complicity in it.

Keywords

Migrants Women L2 education Emancipation Gender Family literacy 

Résumé

« Je veux parler comme tout le monde » : l’apprentissage d’une seconde langue, cercle vertueux pour les femmes migrantes ? – Le présent article contribue aux connaissances scientifiques sur l’enseignement d’une seconde langue (L2) aux femmes ayant migré en Amérique du Nord et en Europe. Remettant en question les conceptions réductrices de la relation entre les femmes migrantes, leurs communautés d’accueil et leur apprentissage d’une seconde langue, les auteures examinent la documentation existante ainsi que leur propre travail qualitatif en vue d’explorer les défis, les opportunités et l’agentivité de ces femmes. Par le croisement et la présentation par thèmes de données scientifiques et qualitatives antérieures issues d’interviews, d’observations de participants et d’enregistrements dans un cours d’enseignement de la L2 pour adultes migrants des deux sexes en Autriche, ainsi que dans un autre uniquement pour femmes migrantes aux États-Unis, les auteures remettent en cause les conceptualisations qui positionnent les femmes essentiellement comme bénéficiaires passives de l’éducation et ayant besoin d’émancipation, et qui en même temps élèvent les communautés au rang de prestataires agentiques de ces biens. Concrètement, les auteures insistent sur les conclusions suivantes : 1) La maîtrise d’une seconde langue n’est pas une garantie d’inclusion sociale et de progression socio-économique pour les femmes migrantes. 2) Les défis complexes ainsi que l’agentivité des femmes migrantes doivent être reconnus et pris en compte. 3) Toutes les personnes impliquées dans l’enseignement d’une seconde langue aux femmes migrantes ont tout intérêt à devenir les apprenantes de leurs propres expériences d’oppression, y compris de leur complicité dans ce contexte.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in to check access.

References

  1. Ager, A. & Strang, A. (2004). Indicators of integration: Final report. Home Office Development and Practice Report, 28. London: Home Office. Retrieved 15 November 2016 from http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20110218135832/rds.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs04/dpr28.pdf.
  2. Alcorso, C. (1991). Non-English speaking background immigrant women in the workforce. Working papers on multiculturalism, 4. Wollongong: University of Wollongong, Centre for Multicultural Studies. Retrieved 26 May 2017 from http://ro.uow.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1004&context=cmsworkpapers.
  3. Bandura, A. (2008). Toward an agentic theory of the self. In H. W. Marsh, R. G. Craven, & D. M. McInerney (Eds.), Self-processes, learning, and enabling human potential: Dynamic new approaches (pp. 15–49). Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing & The Montana Council of Teachers of Mathematics.Google Scholar
  4. Blackledge, A. (2001). The wrong sort of capital? Bangladeshi women and their children’s schooling in Birmingham, UK. International Journal of Bilingualism, 5(3), 345–369.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  5. BMI (Bundesministerium für Inneres), (2015). Vorläufige Asylstatistik: Dezember 2015 [Provisional statistics on asylum seekers: December 2015]. Berlin: BMI (Federal German Ministry of the Interior). Retrieved 3 November 2016 from http://www.bmi.gv.at/cms/BMI_Asylwesen/statistik/files/Asylstatistik_Dezember_2015.pdf.
  6. Bown, J. (2009). Self-regulatory strategies and agency in self-instructed language learning: A situated view. The Modern Language Journal, 93(4), 570–583.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  7. Cameron, D. (2007). The myth of Mars and Venus. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
  8. Casimiro, S., Hancock, P., & Northcote, J. (2007). Isolation and insecurity: Resettlement issues among Muslim refugee women in Perth, Western Australia. Australian Journal of Social Issues, 42(1), 55–69.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  9. Cumming, A. & Gill, J. (1991a). Learning literacy and language among Indo-Canadian women. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Chicago, 3–7 April. Retrieved 8 November 2016 from http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED337050.pdf.
  10. Cumming, A., & Gill, J. (1991b). Learning ESL literacy among Indo-Canadian women. Language, Culture and Curriculum, 4(3), 181–200.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  11. Davis, K. A., & Skilton-Sylvester, E. (2004). Looking back, taking stock, moving forward: Investigating gender in TESOL. TESOL Quarterly, 38(3), 381–404.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  12. Elder, G. (1994). Time, human agency, and social change: Perspectives on the life course. Social Psychology Quarterly, 57(1), 4–15. Retrieved 4 January 2017 from http://www.jstor.org/stable/2786971.
  13. Ennser-Kananen, J. (2014). The right to be multilingual: How two trilingual students construct their linguistic legitimacy in a German classroom. Dissertation, University of Minnesota. Retrieved 20 November 2016 from http://conservancy.umn.edu/bitstream/handle/11299/164846/EnnserKananen_umn_0130E_14950.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y.
  14. Gal, S. (1978). Peasant men can’t get wives: Language change and sex roles in a bilingual community. Language in Society, 7(1), 1–16.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  15. Gao, X. (2010). Strategic language learning: The roles of agency and context. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.Google Scholar
  16. Goldstein, T. (1997). Two languages at work: Bilingual life on the production floor. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  17. Goldstein, T. (2001). Researching women’s language practices in multilingual workplaces. In A. Pavlenko, A. Blackledge, I. Piller, & M. Teutsch-Dwyer (Eds.), Multilingualism, second language learning, and gender (pp. 77–102). Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.Google Scholar
  18. Gordon, D. (2004). “I’m tired. You clean and cook”. Shifting gender identities and second language socialization. TESOL Quarterly, 38(3), 437–457.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  19. Higgins, C. (2010). Gender identities in language education. In N. H. Hornberger & S. L. McKay (Eds.), Sociolinguistics and language education (pp. 370–397). Bristol: Multilingual Matters.Google Scholar
  20. Holmes, J., & Meyerhoff, M. (Eds.). (2003). The handbook of language and gender. Malden, MA: Blackwell.Google Scholar
  21. Hondagneu-Sotelo, P. (2007). Doméstica: Immigrant workers cleaning and caring in the shadows of affluence. Berkeley: University of California Press.Google Scholar
  22. IOM (International Organization for Migration). (2016). Mixed migration flows in the Mediterranean and beyond: Compilation of available data and information [online resource]. Retrieved 7 November 2016 from https://www.iom.int/sites/default/files/situation_reports/file/Mixed-Flows-Mediterranean-and-Beyond-Compilation-Overview-2015.pdf.
  23. Kamalkhani, Z. (2001). Recently arrived Muslim refugee women coping with settlement. In A. Saaed & S. Akbarzadeh (Eds.), Muslim communities in Australia (pp. 97–115). Sydney: University of New South Wales Press.Google Scholar
  24. Kofman, E. (2003). Woman migrants and refugees in the European Union. Paper presented at the OECD conference “The economic and social aspects of migration”, Brussels, 21–22 January. Retrieved 2 November 2016 from http://www.oecd.org/migration/mig/15515792.pdf.
  25. Kouritzin, S. (2000). Immigrant mothers redefine access to ESL classes: Contradiction and ambivalence. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 21(1), 14–32.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  26. Krumm, H. J., & Plutzar, V. (2008). Tailoring language provision and requirements to the needs and capacities of adult migrants. Thematic Study V. Strasbourg: Council of Europe.Google Scholar
  27. McDonald, M. (1994). Women and linguistic innovation in Brittany. In P. Burton, K. Dyson, & S. Ardener (Eds.), Bilingual women: Anthropological approaches to second language use (pp. 85–110). Oxford: Berg.Google Scholar
  28. Menard-Warwick, J. (2004). “I always had the desire to progress a little”: Gendered narratives of immigrant language learners. Journal of Language, Identity, and Education, 3(4), 295–311.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  29. Mercer, S. (2011). Understanding learner agency as a complex dynamic system. System, 39(4), 427–436.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  30. Mills, S., & Mullany, L. (2011). Language, gender and feminism: Theory, methodology and practice. London/New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
  31. Morrice, L. (2016). Why non-formal language learning can be more effective for migrants. Electronic Platform for Adult Learning in Europe (EPALE) [online resource]. Retrieved 22 November 2016 from https://ec.europa.eu/epale/en/blog/wider-benefits-language-learning-migrants.
  32. NIF (National Immigration Forum). (2016). Immigrants and the importance of language learning for a global society. Washington, DC: NIF. Retrieved 18 November 2016 from http://immigrationforum.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Language-Learning-for-a-Global-Society.pdf.
  33. Norton, B. (1997). Language, identity, and the ownership of English. TESOL Quarterly, 31(3), 409–429.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  34. Norton, B. (2000). Identity and language learning: Gender, ethnicity and educational change. Essex: Pearson Education.Google Scholar
  35. Norton, B., & Pavlenko, A. (2004a). Addressing gender in the ESL/EFL classroom. TESOL Quarterly, 38(3), 504–514.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  36. Norton, B., & Pavlenko, A. (2004b). Gender and English language learners: Challenges and possibilities. In B. Norton & A. Pavlenko (Eds.), Gender and English language learners (pp. 1–14). Alexandria, VA: Teachers of English of Speakers of Other Languages.Google Scholar
  37. OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) (2012). The labour market integration of immigrants and their children in Austria. In Jobs for Immigrants (Vol. 3): Labour Market Integration in Austria, Norway and Switzerland, (pp. 45–134). Paris: OECD Publishing. doi:  10.1787/9789264167537-7-en.
  38. OECD (2017). Foreign-born unemployment (indicator) [online resource]. doi:  10.1787/ba5d2ce0-en. Retrieved 16 May 2017, from https://data.oecd.org/migration/foreign-born-unemployment.htm.
  39. Pavlenko, A., & Piller, I. (2001). New directions in the study of multilingualism, second language learning, and gender. In A. Pavlenko, A. Blackledge, I. Piller, & M. Teutsch-Dwyer (Eds.), multilingualism, second language learning, and gender (pp. 17–52). Berlin/New York: Mouton de Gruyter.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  40. Pessar, P. R. (1999). Engendering migration studies: The case of new immigrants in the United States. American Behavioral Scientist, 42(4), 577–600.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  41. Piller, I., & Pavlenko, A. (2001). Introduction: Multilingualism, second language learning, and gender. In A. Pavlenko, A. Blackledge, I. Piller, & M. Teutsch-Dwyer (Eds.), Multilingualism, second language learning, and gender (pp. 1–13). Berlin/New York: Mouton de Gruyter.Google Scholar
  42. Piller, I., & Pavlenko, A. (2007). Globalization, gender and multilingualism. In L. Volkmann & H. Decke-Cornill (Eds.), Gender studies and foreign language teaching (pp. 15–30). Tübingen: Narr.Google Scholar
  43. Pottie, K., Ng, E., Spitzer, D., Mohammed, A., & Glazier, R. (2008). Language proficiency, gender and self-reported health: An analysis of the first two waves of the longitudinal survey of immigrants to Canada. Canadian Journal of Public Health/Revue Canadienne de Santée Publique, 99(6), 505–510.Google Scholar
  44. Prins, E., Toso, B. W., & Schafft, K. A. (2009). “It feels like a little family to me”: Social interaction and support among women in adult education and family literacy. Adult Education Quarterly, 59(4), 335–352.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  45. Rida, A., & Milton, M. (2001). The non-joiners: Why migrant Muslim Women aren’t accessing English language classes. Prospect, 16(1), 35–48.Google Scholar
  46. Skilton-Sylvester, E. (2002). Should I stay or should I go? Investigating Cambodian women’s participation and investment in adult ESL programs. Adult Education Quarterly, 53(1), 9–26.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  47. Sunderland, J. (2000). New understandings of gender and language classroom research: Texts, teacher talk and student talk. Language Teaching Research, 4(2), 149–173.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  48. US Government (United States Government) (2014). Workforce innovation and opportunity act. Public law 113-128. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office. Retrieved 12 June 2017 from https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/PLAW-113publ128/html/PLAW-113publ128.htm.
  49. Warriner, D. (2004). “The days now is very hard for my family”: The negotiation and construction of gendered work identities among newly arrived women refugees. Journal of Language, Identity, and Education, 3(4), 279–294.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  50. Warriner, D. S. (2007). Language learning and the politics of belonging: Sudanese women refugees becoming and being “American”. Anthropology & Education Quarterly, 38(4), 343–359.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  51. Zeillinger, J. (2015). The brutal truth every white feminist needs to hear. Mic, 11 September [online article]. Retrieved 28 November 2016 from https://mic.com/articles/125084/the-brutal-truth-every-white-feminist-needs-to-hear#.ZOgRI25ma.
  52. Zentgraf, K. M. (2002). Immigration and women’s empowerment: Salvadorans in Los Angeles. Gender & Society, 16(5), 625–646.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media B.V. and UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning 2017

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.University of JyväskyläJyväskyläFinland
  2. 2.Youngstown State UniversityYoungstownUSA

Personalised recommendations

Cite article

Buy options