Second language acquisition from Syrian refugees’ perspectives: Difficulties and solutions

Abstract

The current study explored the second language acquisition (SLA) difficulties that 45 Syrian refugees and asylum seekers encountered in nine countries (Germany, Turkey, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, France, Malay, Austria, and Romania) that they fled to away from the ongoing war in Syria. The study also sought to elicit the solutions for these difficulties from the participants’ views. This research employed interviews and an open-ended questionnaire utilizing the Facebook Messenger application to gather data. The study builds on and broadens the scope of language acquisition research and questions main SLA theoretical underpinnings. The study found a variety of difficulties pertinent to economic, personal, social, linguistic, temporal, and psychological factors. The participants’ recommendations were classified into refugee-based, community-based, and authority-based ones.

Accommodation, empowerment and disinvestment—Typical second‐language learning trajectories of Syrian refugees in Germany

“…In an ethnographic study, Perry and Moses (2011) point to TV consumption as an important informal channel for learning English among Sudanese refugees in the US. Al Masri and Abu‐Ayyash (2020) identify, among other things, obstacles to everyday encounters between refugees and residents, such as segregated housing, which restrict refugees' second‐language practice (ibid: 380). Studies also address gender‐related dynamics of second‐language learning within migrating families.…”

Supporting Adult Syrian Learners With Refugee Experience in Canada: Research-Based Insights for Practitioners

“…The use of "who," "that," and "which" can be challenging for learners because, in Arabic, there is no differentiation between relative pronouns with human ("who") and non-human ("that" or "which") references (Sabbah, 2015). Other identified differences not covered here include overuse of the coordinating conjunction ("and"; Al-Khresheh, 2011), punctuation (no capitalization or commas), text orientation (from right to left, though numbers are written from left to right), spelling (e.g., insertion, substitution, or omission of letters), pronunciation (e.g., /b/ and /p/ [e.g., park and bark], /f/ and /v/, and /I/ and /e/; silent letters; vowel insertions in consonant clusters [e.g., "months"; and word stress]), and coherence and rhetorical issues (e.g., redundancy; refer to Ababneh, 2018;Masri & Abu-Ayyash, 2020;Sabbah, 2015;Saigh & Schmitt, 2012;Salim, 2013;Swan & Smith 1995). LINC learners from this population are distinct, and the impact of their migration histories may variously manifest in their learning.…”

“…Research has shown that learning a language and attaining needed proficiency are key challenges for newcomers in gaining access to employment, pursuing further education, and integrating into the host community (Ghadi et al., 2019). As Masri and Abu-Ayyash (2020) stated: “The most important step in language acquisition is to understand the factors that lead to SLA [second language acquisition] and that lead to successful integration within a new society” (374). As noted above, refugees and immigrants are often combined when implementing language training for newcomers in Canada.…”

“…Yet while they do share common experiences (e.g., using a different language, working with identity issues, adjusting to a new host country), a whole host of nonlinguistic learner variables also deserve careful attention and holistic consideration. Refugees are a complex and distinctive group of learners because of the unique circumstances they have faced, including being forced to flee or migrate, loss of family and community, interrupted schooling and work, trauma, post-traumatic stress disorders, and resettlement in a place they did not choose (Brewer, 2016; Masri & Abu-Ayyash, 2020). Arriving in the host country with this migration history is vastly different from arriving as an economic, family class, or student immigrant; consequently, their life histories or premigration backgrounds (Bigelow et al., 2020) must be considered in developing linguistically and culturally sensitive approaches to instruction.…”

The Arabic Version of the Faces Pain Scale-Revised: Cultural Adaptation, Validity, and Reliability Properties When Used with Children and Adolescents

“…Thus, before it is recommended for general use and implementation, its psychometric properties should be subject to rigorous research. Indeed, research on the Arabic version of the FPS-R is important, as it could help improve how pain intensity is measured and assessed in Arabic-speaking children around the world [ 34 , 35 ], most of whom are monolingual or report difficulties when using a second language [ 36 , 37 ]. It would also help facilitate transcultural studies about the expression of pain.…”