“I Need Child Care!”: Using Funds of Knowledge, Addressing Challenges, and Developing Literacies With a Classroom Community of Adult ESL Learners

Abstract

Many immigrants and refugees in the United States must confront different linguistic and cultural contexts in their everyday life. As part of a larger ethnographic study related to refugee families and literacy, this qualitative study explores how adult English as a second language (ESL) students help their classmate Htoo Eh find ways to deal with an everyday life challenge. This study utilized two supporting theoretical frameworks: funds of knowledge and literacy as a social practice. Data sources included field notes, transcripts of video recording, artifacts, as well as conservations with the teacher and welfare coordinators. Findings demonstrate that community members utilized two funds of knowledge in particular: social network and life experience to help the focal participant. Findings also showed that adult ESL students assisted their classmates in developing three types of literacies, which were finding and obtaining childcare, knowing how the system works, and communicating with the caseworker in order to deal with an everyday life challenge. These findings suggest that educators should recognize and value adult ESL learners’ funds of knowledge as well as incorporate the knowledge into instruction. Educators also should open up space for these learners to develop literacies together as a community.

Writing Storybooks as Storytelling: A Case Study of Two Families with Refugee Backgrounds

“…English is my additional language. I knew the participants, especially Ni Ni, through the data collection in an adult English as a second language (ESL) classroom (Cun et al, 2019). During the data collection, I shared my life experiences related to culture and literacy in two countries when having conversations with Ni Ni.…”

“…This study examines the ways in which two families of Burmese children and their parents told stories together. This study is embedded within a larger research project (Cun, 2020; Cun et al, 2019) that explores the language use and literacy practices of families with immigrant and refugee backgrounds. While my previous work focused on one family (Cun, 2021), I realized that analyzing conversations and the participants’ storybook-making process across two families helps me better understand the families’ stories.…”

Conceptual framework for teaching civic education in the adult English as a second language classroom

“…They wind around each other like a spiral staircase and are held together by five bonds: (1) valuing diversity and inclusion, (2) fostering critical reflection, (3) illuminating activism and social participation, (4) raising socio‐political awareness, and (5) encouraging inquiry and dialogue. The framework derives from acculturation, learners’ assets, problem‐solving, and reciprocal learning interactions between the instructors and the learners (Cun et al., 2019; Moll et al., 1992; Soto Huerta & Pérez, 2015). All in all, the framework suggests that ESL instruction and civic education are complementary and inextricably linked to each other.…”

Language and culture learning needs of adult refugees

“…Most refugees who attend ESL programs do not speak English fluently or have low literacy levels. Therefore, completing, submitting, or following governmental paperwork and necessary procedures are some of the challenges encountered by refugees (Cun et al., 2019). Refugee adult learners who lack literacy or have no formal education experiences have different instructional needs than those of learners with basic literacy and formal education (Perry, 2013).…”

“…A growing body of literature has been investigating refugee education to gain a better understanding of the refugee experience (Cun et al., 2019; Higgins & Misawa, 2022; Kisiara, 2021; Perry & Mallozi, 2017). The literature focuses on a variety of areas such as the effects of trauma on learning (Finn, 2010; Gordon, 2011), community engagement through English as a Second Language (ESL) programs (Chao & Kuntz, 2013; Chao & Mantero, 2014; Cun et al., 2019; Han, 2011), language and identity (Chao, 2020; Perlman, 2020), and teaching (Bousalis et al., 2021). However, as stated by UNESCO's Global Education Monitoring Report 2019 (UNESCO, 2019), the unique needs of adult migrants and refugees are often overlooked, and education alone is not adequate in itself either.…”