Symposium: Language Learning & Wellbeing in Newcomers and Refugees

Would you like to attend the symposium? Please register here . Registration is possible until October 1st 2023

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Program Symposium: Language Learning & Wellbeing in Newcomers and Refugees

This event is organized within the Agricola theme Democracy and Governance , and made possible by a Agricola Small Grant 2022

9.30 - arrivals, coffee & tea

10.00 - opening by Marije Michel

10.05 - A sense of wellbeing: narratives of migration, language and the body (Jeanette den Toonder, RUG)

10.45 - Young refugee students in primary education: well-being and language learning (Marijn van Dijk, Hanneke Leeuwestein, Elisa Kupers & Marieke Boelhouwer, RUG)

11.30 - Refugee (civic) integration: between policy and practice (Kinan Alajak, Utrecht University & Refugee Wellbeing and Integration Initiative)

12.00 Language playfulness of contextual navigators: Young refugees’ language strategies for inclusion in the Netherlands (Moos Pozzo, VU Amsterdam)

12.45 - lunch

13.30 - Experiencing positive intergroup contact in an online language buddy program promotes newcomer integration (Eline Heikamp, Nina Hansen, Sabine Otten & Liesbet Heyse, RUG)

14.15  Trauma and second language acquisition (Mirjam Broersma, Radboud Universiteit)

15.00 - Coffee/Tea to go - Walk to Harmonie Building

15.30 - The dynamics of well-being of highly-educated newcomers learning English in the Netherlands (Marije Michel, Jelle Brouwer & Rawan Altakriti, RUG) 

16.15 - General discussion

17.00 - Closing and drinks - Weber Foyer

18.00 - End

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Abstracts of the Lectures

Young refugee students in primary education: well-being and language learning

• Marijn van Dijk (Department of Inclusive and Special Needs Education, Faculty of Behavioral and Social Sciences, Groningen)

• Hanneke Leeuwestein (Department of Inclusive and Special Needs Education, Faculty of Behavioral and Social Sciences, Groningen)

• Elisa Kupers (Department of Developmental Psychology, Faculty of Behavioral and Social Sciences, Groningen)

• Marieke Boelhouwer (Molendrift, Groningen)

Abstract: 

Young refugee students are a vulnerable group in primary education and teachers have difficulties to meet these children’s educational needs. They observe that there are more conflicts, less task-directed behavior and less optimal learning behavior, and often suspect underlying psychological trauma. Young children deserve special attention because they generally lack the skills to verbalize and reflect upon their traumatic experiences. In our project, we developed an observation tool for teachers (called RaPTOSS) that assesses trauma-related wellbeing, in terms of specific behaviors in the classroom and protective factors. We used this instrument to investigate the wellbeing of 4-8 years old refugee students, in comparison to same-age students without a refugee background (n = 406). The results show that teachers observe more trauma-indicators (small effect) and fewer protective factors (large effect) in refugee children. We also studied whether trauma-related wellbeing is associated with learning Dutch as a second language in the sample of refugee students. The results show that students with lower wellbeing are less skilled in Dutch, particularly in their productive language. At the symposium, we will present our results in greater detail and discuss their meaning for the educational practice.

Refugee (civic) integration: between policy and practice

• Kinan Alajak (Utrecht University, Department of Media and Culture Studies / Refugee Wellbeing and Integration Research Initiative, the Netherlands)

Abstract

A sense of wellbeing: narratives of migration, language and the body

Jeanette den Toonder (University of Groningen, European Languages and Cultures, Faculty of Arts)

Abstract: 

In narratives of migration, the act of storytelling grants the immigrant subject agency and allows for a reflection on and a possible reconciliation of conflicting identities caused by physical and emotional displacement. By positioning the displaced self in the fictional story-world, the immigrant narrator recreates painful experiences and reopens old wounds by digging up personal and collective memories. Feelings of difference, suffering and loss are translated into language, they are expressed and shared through narrative. In this paper I will argue that storytelling presents the opportunity to give shape to such complex feelings in order to ultimately find a balance between the heritage culture and the new culture, between two different identities, allowing for a sense of wellbeing.

I will focus on two case studies, the novels Marx et la poupée [Marx and the Doll] and Désorientale [Disoriental] by Franco-Iranian authors Maryam Madjidi and Négar Djavadi, published in 2016, in which the relation between bodily experiences of displacement and the role of language is of particular interest for understanding the interconnectedness between storytelling and wellbeing.

Experiencing positive intergroup contact in an online language buddy program promotes newcomer integration

• Eline Heikamp, University of Groningen, Social Psychology, PhD-student

• Nina Hansen, University of Groningen, Social Psychology

• Sabine Otten, University of Groningen, Social Psychology

• Liesbet Heyse, University of Groningen, Sociology

Abstract: 

Speaking the local language and building social connections with host society members are considered key facilitators of successful integration of migrant newcomers. In the context of an online language buddy program, the current research focused on newcomers experiences of their interactions with a language buddy volunteer. We investigated to what extent newcomer experience the contact as positive, and its effect on newcomers’ psychological integration (sense of belonging) and cultural learning. Our sample comprised of 119 newcomers from diverse cultural backgrounds who participated in a Dutch nation-wide online buddy program called Kletsmaatjes (“chat buddies”). Our findings suggest that aspects of positive intergroup interactions (e.g. respect, enjoyment, self-disclosure) relate to newcomers’ sense of belonging to Dutch society and their expansion of cultural knowledge. More specifically, we found that experiencing mutual respect is significantly linked to a sense of belonging, while enjoyment and self-disclosure are most strongly linked to cultural learning. Additional thematic coding of open answers showed that newcomers talked about their personal lives, their hobbies and interests, and discussed cultural differences with their language buddy. These qualitative results indicate what newcomers disclose about themselves and what newcomers specifically learn about the host society culture. We conclude that close, enjoyable and respectful contact may lay the foundation for newcomer integration.

The Dynamics of Well-Being of Highly-Educated Newcomers learning English in the Netherlands

• Marije Michel (Groningen University, European Languages and Cultures, Faculty of Arts)

  Jelle Brouwer (Groningen University, European Languages and Cultures, Faculty of Arts)

• Rawan Altakriti (Groningen University, European Languages and Cultures, Faculty of Arts)

Abstract

Due to world-wide crises, the Netherlands sees many refugees, asylum seekers and other newcomers arriving. Much effort is put into Dutch language courses but given that English is an important gateway into Dutch higher education and work at an academic level, its role for newcomers in the Netherlands remains poorly understood (Pozzo, 2021). Earlier work suggests that improving language proficiency might serve newcomers’ well-being (Tip et al., 2019) and we are interested, whether English might fulfill this role for newcomers in the Netherlands. 

We present data of 44 highly-educated newcomers who were enrolled in English courses at a Dutch volunteer organisation. During the language course, participants and a control group (no language course) filled in a weekly survey on the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS: Watson et al., 1988). Including multiple measurements over time enables us to model trends per group (or per individual) during the entire course. Questionnaire data are complemented by semi-structured interviews with a subset of the participants (N=7), tapping into their well-being (cf. Sulis et al., 2023). Our findings show intricate dynamics over time and small but positive trends of well-being in relationship to attending English courses.

Language playfulness of contextual navigators: Young refugees’ language strategies for inclusion in the Netherlands

Moos Pozzo (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam)

Abstract 

Last year Moos Pozzo finalized her PhD-research focusing on the (language) strategies developed and adapted by young refugees (aged 12-23) from their stay in Dutch asylum seekers centres until living in the Dutch society for several years. Although over the last two decades the Dutch integration policy has been putting increasing importance on Dutch language learning for participation and integration in Dutch society and for building connections with Dutch natives, the language strategies of young refugees in the Netherlands – their (Dutch) language learning, language choices, and multilingual (co-)creations – have so far remained unexamined. One of the key findings is that learning Dutch is not sufficient to overcome the negative images of refugees hampering the young people’s integration with the Dutch and in the Dutch society. The research also shows that the liminality and super-diversity of the asylum seekers centres were a breeding ground for their multilingual practices and innovations with the Dutch language. Finally, the research reveals that after having passed their Dutch language tests, the young people shift from Dutch to English to escape from being identified as refugees, and to imagine their future participation in more inclusive international environments. These findings show that the young refugees’ multilingual practices are important skills in increasingly super-diverse societies as the Netherlands, which are however completely overlooked in research and policy.

Trauma and Second Language Acquisition

Mirjam Broersma (Centre for Language Studies, Radboud University Nijmegen)

For refugees and other immigrants, acquiring the language of their new environment is vital. Psychological trauma might make that difficult.

In this talk I will present our newly started NWO-Vici project ‘Second language acquisition in refugees: Effects of psychological trauma on linguistic and communicative skills’.

This project will investigate how psychological trauma affects second language acquisition (SLA) in Ukrainian refugees. I will introduce the model of Trauma and Second Language Acquisition (TSLA), which proposes an indirect relation between trauma and target language proficiency, mediated by declarative memory, socio-emotional wellbeing, language learning skills, and social participation. Testing the TSLA’s predictions will shed light on the mechanisms underlying the relation between trauma and SLA.

We will explore the full scope of that relation by investigating six major linguistic and communicative skills in children and adults. Experiments will test participants’ pre-existing Dutch knowledge and novel acquisition of words, morpho-syntax, and sounds (linguistic skills), and of vocal emotion recognition and expression, theory of mind, and pragmatic competence (communicative skills). This project aims to provide insights in the complex interplay between cognitive and socio-emotional variables and SLA.

Finally, it aims to develop recommendations for educational application.