Abstract
Framed by Bourdieu’s work, this article focuses on the intersections between language learning experiences, capital, and identities of Syrian refugees now living in Regina, Saskatchewan. In this qualitative study, data were collected during a series of focus groups with Syrian women and men. Based on the study findings, we contend that the participants’ multiple identities as hard-working, employed, independent, Muslim mothers or fathers, and wives or husbands developed in Syria were gradually eroded or altered by the realities they experienced in Canada, yet they had a strong desire to re-establish their identity constructions from back home in the new context. We assert that the loss of their linguistic capital from back home limited their employment prospects, impacted their abilities to form social relationships with native English speakers, and led to a shift in traditional gender roles. It is imperative to adapt language training programs in order to support refugees in re-establishing themselves in their professional fields and daily living activities.
Highlights
The recent arrival of comparatively large numbers of Syrian refugees fleeing war and persecution has necessitated resettlement in smaller urban centres, such as Saskatoon and Regina, which have not typically received large numbers of newcomers (CIC, 2016)
In 2016, for instance, Saskatchewan resettled a total of 1,320 Syrian refugees in a short period of time (CIC, 2017), many of whom came with a very limited ability to communicate in English or French, the dominant languages
Analyses of the data allowed for the identification of four key identities in relation to language learning—being “hard-working,” being a “worker,” being a parent, and being a Muslim—as well as ways in which these identities shifted in the new context
Summary
The recent arrival of comparatively large numbers of Syrian refugees fleeing war and persecution has necessitated resettlement in smaller urban centres, such as Saskatoon and Regina, which have not typically received large numbers of newcomers (CIC, 2016). According to numerous studies, learning a new language is one of the most challenging barriers for newcomers in terms of adapting to their new environment, finding employment, and integrating into the host society (Adamuti-Trache, 2012; Boyd & Cao, 2009; Ostrovsky, 2008; Plante, 2011; Rudenko, 2012; Weiner, 2008). Newcomers are still unable to access language training programs that meet their goals and expectations for accessing employment and education (Sutherland, Wheller, & Conrad, 2008) and allow them to experience one-on-one interactions with native speakers (Gotseva, 2015). We examine language as a form of social capital that provides its holders with significant economic and social opportunities and argue that learning the dominant language becomes a vital source for reshaping refugees’ lives and reconstructing their identities
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