Forced Migrant's Language Learning

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Understanding The UK

Who What
Ahmed He met English friends through other friends quite early on, and socialised with them, always asking questions:

"We were going out together to the pubs, actually they didn't teach me any English but I learnt from them the way of speak, the way act, the way of life in the UK. And, I ask them how the people live, what is lawful in the country what is forbidden. How is the rule in this country."
Ahmed Understanding cultural differences meant comparing his country with the UK - working out what is similar, what is different.

He gives an example of a family he met through other Afghan friends, who he used to visit. He would talk about his family, and they theirs: they were Irish.

"I continued to meet with them, to speak with them, from my culture, from my country, from my parents, from my brother, from my sister. What we like, what they like, what's our country, how is UK. They were Irish actually they wasn't English. Also I had some family movie my parents send me. I took the movie I showed them how we live, how is our wedding, how is our culture how is our party."
Ahmed Gardening played a part:

Ahmed:     There was an Indian family, living next to us, not the same culture but a bit close, a bit close, we were interested to meet each other. And, I was helping with their garden, sometimes. He had no son to help him. He had six daughters. He had one son actually and he was working late with the post and he needed our help. I was speaking to him and his wife, in English, not in Hindi.

Rebecca:   So you had cultural similarities with that family, but, they were very English in terms of language.

Ahmed:     That's where I learnt most of English, I learnt from College in the beginnings. But, the way of speaking continually, not broken, at work. I spoke a lot with people. For example, at a factory, there's lots of noises, different machines. If someone speaks to you from over 20 metre far, you should know what they say.
Ayaz She talks about how important the radio has been, and one particular radio station 97.3 LBC.

And it talks about everything that happen in daily life in London. From that time nearly two, three years now every night, one hour, two hour I listen to the radio. And it is very very helpful.

She explains that it was suggested by her teacher, and how it complemented her learning by helping her to hear words in a context that couldn't necessarily be created in class:

Some words you know what does it mean but you don't know how to use it, and different position of using that word. That's one and sometimes phrases... like 'put on', 'put out', 'put in'... if you hear them from the radio you know how to use them. She told us them in class but in one sentence you can't say everything. You have to read more, to listen more you know? And you know how to use it.
Ayaz She learned about culture first of all with subjects in class at the community college. She gives an example of a class about married life, which was necessary and interesting because the whole process of meeting someone, living with them etc was entirely new to her with her experience of arranged marriage.
Azad He sees it as necessary to understand your rights and obligations in this country. A lot of this came from talking to the people in the mosque, as explained earlier, and a lot also came from reading official documents:

"One thing actually. I don't learn from talking, verbally. There are words I hear 10 times but I don't pick it up. If I don't see the word, the spelling or the actual meanings, I can't learn much. But what helps me is using dictionary, translating letters. For example I receive a letter from solicitor, from the organisation that supported us in the beginning, the leaflets we ere given, the instructions, anything I came across I used to read. If I couldn't understand I used my dictionaries."

Rebecca:   So a lot of your understanding of the system has come from your reading skills? So you would say that your reading skills were enough that you could then find out about everything from reading a lot?

Azad:        Yes, that's right.
Azad He mentions that fellow students, teachers, people through the Mosque helped him learn. The people at the mosque were important in explaining culture, law, traditions in the UK and they didn't speak Kurdish so a lot of this had to be done in English.
Azad He talks about many friends, some Kurdish, who he learnt from. One particular Kurdish friend he gives him as an example, he knew him from university in Iraq and explained lots of things in Kurdish.

I have lots of friends which I learn from. I don't have one particular friend, that I go out with all the time."
Azad Azad obviously has study skills that he used to pick up language in this country, but another interesting thing is how he reviewed his language and also passed knowledge of culture and language on to others:

Rebecca:   So what you learned at ........ was useful for you to sort out problems? You found that it went together?

Azad:        Yes, definite yeah. It helps me in my work life and my own life, and helped other people. Because the house I used to live, there were 4 more Kurdish people living in the same house. It was a shared house. And always they brought their own papers, letters from their bank, home office, council, they brought to me and I translated.

Rebecca:   So you spoke the most English in that House?

Azad:        Yes

Azad:        It encourages you. You feel some way you are responsible for these people, you have to learn. They automatically pressurise you to learn. They think you know English very well - which you don't - they bring a letter for you, you don't understand, you try to learn... in order to...

Rebecca:   But you have the skills to learn? So you had study skills, education, you have the skills to add to it? So you were continuing learning and they were learning about the system?

Azad:        Of course. For example one of my friends, 2 days ago, he came to here and he had his bank account. He was charged by his bank because there was not enough credit in his account. He made a direct debit. Automatically the bank charged him. He was asking me for an explanation. I explained... (describes bank charges). Then he was happy, now at least he understood what is going on, he doesn't mistrust the bank. He didn't learn English but he learnt the system at least.
Azad He has had a number of jobs, often casual which didn't enable him to practice much as there wasn't much chance to speak or make friends. He gives an example of working in the petrol station very soon after his arrival - about 2 months - with very little understanding of the culture and therefore having no understanding of gambling:

A man came in when I was in the petrol station, and asked who won the lottery last night. I didn't have TV, and I was here only 3 months. I said what is the lottery? I don't know what you are talking about? He said how you manage a petrol station, you don't know what the lottery is?
Hardy He also talks about ............, who in the past has been his teacher and is now a friend, and how she still helps him with English problems and other cultural things.
Hardy He also talks about Spanish friends he has met from parties.

Hardy:        She is my friend now because she is not teaching me anymore. And she is great because sometime if I have a problem with the English, grammar, something like that, and she is exactly explain to me everything.

Rebecca:   Do you ask about other things?

Hardy:        Yes, of course, ask about how you live, how European people live, because I'm from Middle East, you have a different culture..And I have Spanish friends, we go outside together, go to parties together... Because I want to open my eyes, I wasn't to open my mind because if you live in Europe you have to.
Hardy He thinks that when you learn English, you understand the culture. So learning English comes first, and the cultural understanding comes second.

Hardy:        I think for myself...if I am learning English I can understand culture.

Rebecca:   Your Kurdish friend, has he been here longer than you?

Hardy:        Yes

Rebecca:   So did he tell you things before you had any English?

Hardy:        No, he didn't tell me nothing about culture, but...

Rebecca:   Practical things?

Hardy:        No, he didn't tell me anything, I pushed to myself hard, because I want to learn English - I have to live in England an if I have to live in England I want to learn English. I don't want every time when I go to some place, home office or something I need translator or interpreter for myself. But he told me If you want to learn English we have a different writing, And he told me write down everything in a notebook and if you don't understand you can ask the people.
Mary She is happy and grateful for teachers to decide lessons, and gives and example of how they learn more than just English, something she sees as positive. She describes a lesson where they compare countries of the world and the place of children, and how they had an opportunity to share information about their own countries too. Through this one lesson they covered a number of things:

Mary:        I follow what he says. For me it was important. Like, he took the China country and they compare the student. In this country, they don't have freedom, in this country the child have the freedom" and it's good, because in that time you know what happen in China, and what happen in England! And then they say And in your country is like that?" No, its not like that." And I said in my country the children have the freedom but not like in this country.

Rebecca:   So in this example you found that you learnt about other countries, and about England as well. So you were doing both?

Mary:        Yes. And they teach you how to use the map...how to ask everything, how you can make the friends in English, things like that.

Rebecca:   So just to check, you didn't feel you controlled what you learned, but you were happy with that because you felt they were teaching you the things that you needed?

Mary:        Yes. Maybe they can go outside they right, and you say teacher is this okay and they say Oh yes, if I am wrong what I am saying..."

Rebecca:   So you trusted them?

Mary:        Yes. At that time. Because we are many students here, asking the questions.
Mary She had a particular friend, from Burundi, who helped her to learn. She had known her before she came and describes how she found her and what she helped with:

Mary:        Because when I came here I found one friend and she was showing many things. Because in my country there is no train, there is no buses like double buses... and when I was coming here it was hard for me. I didn't know how to use the train, how to buy the tickets in English, and my friend was helping me, like Can I have one ticket please...!" When we go to a restaurant my friend is telling me go to command the food... I don't know how to command the food!

Rebecca:   So she's from Burundi?

Mary:        Yes. And this country is very nice because when you say English they hear what you are saying. In my country when they hear someone speaking the language they don't understand you.

Rebecca:   Did you know the friend before you came?

Mary:        Yes, because when I was in Africa she call me. I don't know which area she was. I have got the number phone and then I call her.

Rebecca:   So restaurant things, train things, she explained.

Mary:        She tell me if you don't know English you can't do anything here you have to learn, you have to have the effort to learn because if you don't learn you can't do anything here.
Sarah She also mentions that she has learnt a lot from the letters she has received, taking every opportunity to pick up language through what is happening.

And by my situation, every time when I get evicted, by those letters, I force myself to take some words which is very important for use. Like 'circumstances', which it was very difficult for me, it takes months and months to learn that word. But because my situation, I have to know this word. Every time I write in Kurdish on my hand... Like eviction, it was very important but for me it was very difficult."

“And every time when I am going to an interview about the houses, about my situation... homelessness I never ever heard, the first time when they kick me out, I understood what is the meaning of homelessness... and what is homeless, how there is centre to take your food free, to take your bag in... because all the situation every time you need a new word to use."
Sarah It wasn't easy to start volunteering; there was a form to fill in which her sister helped with, and an interview with the manager which she found very confusing:

He came down and took me into the office, and he shut the door, and I was surprised, I think what is he doing take me into the room and close the door? What was going through my mind was voluntary work without pay doesn't need all this... He just start speaking about .........., about what is the aims of ........, maybe during what he chat about one hour, I did understand 10 words!
Sarah She found learning about culture hard.

“It was very very difficult for me. I didn't understand nothing."

A particular woman at that time helped her, mainly just by being friendly and making jokes she was able to understand. She understood that Sarah was new and nervous, and was kind. So Sarah would go back to her and ask her things.
Sarah She didn't want to work on the till because of her language, but it was the only role they wanted her to take. Despite being very nervous she took it:

Sarah:       ...from the next day really for one month it was nightmare everyday when I am getting back home I am start crying.

Rebecca:   Why? Because you didn't understand anything?

Sarah:       No, I learned the till after 2, 3 times when they use it in the front of me. But my problem is, really... I look like frightened, scared, I didn't understand the environment, I didn't know what the people saying... sometime they just, you know, shouting. And sometime when I am looking the people they are very aggressive. And start shouting at me; “Who put you on here?" The first thing that I understand: “You are deaf you don't understand?" And really I am just looking.

Rebecca:   Why did you stay?

Sarah:       Look I told you why I stay. When I am going home no-one is in. And there is no communication for me. I can't use the phone because they ask me not to use the phone is very expensive in the morning. I got some friend, I have only one friend in Ealing Broadway, and I have to call her even now she never call me, I don't know she is weird! And even I didn't stay with the children, leaving my culture, leaving my job, because I am very keen on my job. I like my student. Even now I wish... I went back in Iraq the first thing I did was I went and met my students, the teachers, the school... really I was so keen.
Sarah Through talking about the network map and the timeline, we start to talk about how Sarah found (........). She had seen an advert asking for volunteers in the window of one of their shops, and had asked her sister what it meant. When she understood the meaning she thought it would be a good idea but her sister felt she didn't have enough English. However, after seeing some older people volunteering one day while out with her brother she decided to try:

“I went to the shop and I ask someone I say I want to do this on the window, which is fine I couldn't speak I just say I want this...(gestures) and a cashier she say okay wait, because I sometime if they speak clearly those kind of staff I can understand because I graduate in my country and the second language for us is English, but English there is not the same as English here, it's much different..."
Tania The difference in culture was “Way different. Way freaky"!

There was a guide for this - Irena, the woman who befriended them. She “explained a lot of things", then when their English got better Tania's mother felt that they couldn't just keep calling her and asking questions. She lived a long way away too.

So they decided to deal with their problems on their own. They learned about the culture by having problems to deal with and getting it wrong often. Her Mother couldn't speak English at all and took Tania with her because she understood more.

She gives an example of a visit to the housing office because the landlord hadn't been paid. A woman asked her about her language, and what her language was, but called no interpreter.

She mentions that they don't listen to you - in the housing office, the DSS, and the job centre. And that half the time they didn't understand what they wanted.

She saw that when other people were shouting in offices like this that they got help, so she learnt to shout! She thinks she learnt a lot from watching others.

If you want to find out about the design of the research, please download a copy of the full dissertation.

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