A Suggested Model for Teaching EFL to Syrian Refugee Learners in Egypt

Mohamed Farrag Ahmed Badawi

doi:10.33422/ijsfle.v1i1.61

Abstract

Syrian refugee learners are allowed to join Egyptian governmental schools. However, some Egyptian teachers cannot meet Syrian refugee learners’ needs. Most of the teachers are unaware of refugee responsive teaching competencies (RRTCs). Accordingly, the present study attempted to identify Syrian refugee learners’ needs and refugee responsive teaching competencies to suggest a refugee responsive teaching competencies model (RRTCM). The study utilized a pre-post one-group design. The study recruited (n=76) EFL student teachers from October 6 University, (n=21) Syrian refugee learners, and 64 in-service teachers of refugees. For data collection, a refugee learners’ needs assessment questionnaire and a refugee responsive teaching competencies knowledge test (RRTCKT) were developed. Findings revealed that the Syrian refugee learners identified 21 needs involving safety, social, cultural, psychological, personal, and educational needs. The suggested refugee responsive teaching model was effective in developing EFL student teachers’ RRTCs knowledge.

Highlights

The influx of Syrian refugee has exceeded the capacities of many host countries
The current study developed a need assessment questionnaire for identifying Syrian refugee learners’ needs and an EFL student teachers’ refugee responsive teaching competencies test
This result reveals that the refugee responsive teaching competencies model (RRTCM) was effective in developing EFL students’ teachers’ refugee responsive teaching knowledge

Summary

Introduction

The influx of Syrian refugee has exceeded the capacities of many host countries. Egypt is one of the countries hosted refugees from different nationalities. Egypt encounters educational difficulties to host such growing numbers of Syrian refugees. Because of teaching refugees is an ethical commitment, Egypt deals with both Syrian refugee learners and Egyptian learners alike. They study the same curriculum of Egyptian learners, the educational situation is not so rosy. Both teachers of refugee and refugee learners are facing many difficulties. Refugee learners face numerous forms of discrimination and receive poor education (Watkins, Noble, and Wong 2018). Refugee teachers cannot have access to any professional development program in the host countries and employment in schools is rare. The great majority of refugee learners prefers refugee community centers to governmental public schools that offer inadequate education to refugee learners (Kostoulas-Makrakis and Makrakis, 2020)

Objectives

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion