Adult Immigrant Learners Research Articles

What Does Linguistic Distance Predict When It Comes to L2 Writing of Adult Immigrant Learners of Spanish?

This study examined whether the linguistic distance between the first (L1) and second (L2) language is a significant determinant of L2 writing skills of 292 adult immigrants from 39 different source countries, who were beginner learners of Spanish L2. Gender, age, length of residence in Spain, education level as a proxy for literacy skills in L1, enrolment in Spanish language courses, and overall communicative competence in Spanish were also considered. Using both standard procedures for assessing L2 writing and performance-based psycholinguistic measures of accuracy and text-production fluency, the findings highlight the important role of linguistic proximity in achieving greater accuracy, text-production fluency, and overall L2 writing scores. Other significant predictors were age, enrolment in Spanish courses, and education level for accuracy; and length of residence in Spain and education level for text-production fluency. Although length of residence in Spain was negatively associated with text-production fluency in L2 writing, mediation analyses revealed that the effect of age on text-production fluency was mediated by length of residence in Spain and that L2 proficiency level mediated the link between linguistic distance and text-production fluency. Furthermore, most of the errors that these immigrants made were morphosyntactic and spelling errors, while vocabulary errors were rare.

‘The good English’: The ideological construction of the target language in adult ESOL

AbstractThis project problematizes hegemonic conceptions of language by looking at the construction of ‘English’ in a nonprofit, community-based adult ESOL program in New York. I use ethnographic observation and interviews to uncover the discursive and pedagogical practices that uphold these hegemonic conceptions in this context. I find that the structural conditions of the program perpetuate a conception of ‘English’ shaped by linguistic racism and classism, despite the program's progressive ideals. Linguistic authority is centralized through the presentation of a closed linguistic system and a focus on replication of templatic language. This allows for the drawing of linguistic borders by pathologizing forms traditionally associated with racialized varieties of English, pointing to the persistence of raciolinguistic ideologies. Nevertheless, students destabilize these dominant ideas, revealing a disconnect between mainstream understandings of language and the way adult immigrant learners actually use language, and pointing to possibilities for alternate conceptions and pedagogies. (Language ideology, raciolinguistics, Standard English, adult ESOL)

Empowering Adult Immigrant Learners Through Systematic Motivation Work in the Classroom

This is an action research study investigating how one can work systematically in adult learning centres to support adult immigrant learners to increase their intrinsic motivation and develop strategies to take responsibility for their own development and learning. We have applied what we call a five-step motivation method, where the adult students define and write down what is important to them, their success factors and their obstacles, and choose focus areas and strategies to apply to achieve what is important to them. As part of the process, the students also reflect on these elements in class discussions led by the teacher, which means that the students support each other to find solutions to their obstacles and to find strategies to work towards their goals. The student reflections from the sessions are part of the data collected in this study, and these are complemented by students’ self-reports on the usefulness of the approach. The project was carried out in several groups at three adult learning centres, and the findings show that the majority of the participants were satisfied with the approach. They report that they became better at planning and more motivated to work towards their goals. An element that was emphasised by the teachers was the importance of letting the students use their native language when needed. We conclude that the method we present here may be a useful tool to assist adult immigrant learners to experience intrinsic motivation and develop strategies for mastering learning and life.

Foreign-born TESOL Instructors Assisting Adult Immigrant Learners to Develop Civic Literacy Skills: A Pen Pal Project

This article discusses the contributions of foreign-born TESOL instructors helping adult language learners develop literacy skills through a pen pal project, which lasted 10 weeks and consisted of writing letters back and forth weekly. The project provided adult immigrant learners with an opportunity to practice meaningful writing to support their English literacy development. The research questions include how do foreign-born TESOL instructors support adult immigrant learners develop literacy through a pen pal project? and what components of the pen pal project promote the development of civic literacy skills? Data for this article come from 159 letters product of the writing exchange between instructors and learners, and individual conversational interviews with the instructors. Study findings are presented through four themes: teachers as cultural informants, emotional connection, life and learning advice, and adult ESL learners’ linguistic competence. Study findings add to the body of literature focusing on the powerful contributions of foreign-born TESOL instructors to the education and language-culture acquisition of adult immigrant English learners.

Profile of teachers of Spanish as Second Language for Adult (non Literate) Immigrants

This paper examines the profile of teachers of adult immigrant learners with low level of formal instruction. The data was collected in two on-line surveys filled out by teachers from Spain and from other countries; the analysis was conducted on the Spanish answers, followed by comparison with those of teachers from the other countries. The results reveal that among the Spanish teachers there are more volunteers, and that they have less experience than the rest of the respondents. In general, all respondents have received few hours of training and proportion of those surveyed are unaware of their students’ educational level. At the end the author argues that there is a need for training for teachers who work with this cohort of adult learners.

Using Profiles of Human and Social Capital to Understand Adult Immigrants’ Education Needs: A Latent Class Approach

With the U.S. adult education system providing education services to millions of immigrants annually, understanding the unique skills and assets among adult immigrant learners is important. Using data from the U.S. Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies, this study used data on immigrants ( n = 1,873) to identify latent classes along dimensions of human and social capital. Latent class analysis indicated five discrete profiles: High Opportunity, Upskill Ready, Satisfactorily Skilled, Motivated and Engaged, and Highly Skilled. The results provide support for using customized education approaches to capitalize on the collection of assets adult learners have while concurrently increasing education service providers’ capacity to serve.

The limits of pedagogy: diaculturalist pedagogy as paradigm shift in the education of adult immigrants

Pedagogy develops through the interventions of scholars who believe injustice should not be normalised. Such interventions nonetheless subsume monoculturalist assumptions constructed within the US social and academic narrative. The top-down paradigm of ‘designing pedagogy’ is inappropriate for educating adult immigrants, whose cultural ways of being and knowing differ from other learners. Even pedagogies comprising explicit political agendas emerge from the US academy’s ideological tradition, which invisible-ises adult immigrant learners. Using sociocultural theory, psychology and philosophy, I propose diaculturalist pedagogy, which prioritises the dialogic creation of pedagogy vis-à-vis adult immigrants’ cultural ways of being and knowing as a necessary ontological distinction. Diaculturalist pedagogy challenges the reification of monoculturalism, whose authority derives from US cultural categories and ‘pre-’/‘post-’ status distinctions. This new educational scholarship disrupts traditional perceptions of adult immigrant learners while interrogating the theoretical myopia and paternalism of pedagogical prescription, evoking new potential for education for, about and with adult immigrants.

The Development of L2 Oral Language Skills in Two L1 Groups: A 7‐Year Study

Researching the longitudinal development of second language (L2) learners is essential to understanding influences on their success. This 7‐year study of oral skills in adult immigrant learners of English as a second language evaluated comprehensibility, fluency, and accentedness in first‐language (L1) Mandarin and Slavic language speakers. The primary data were judgments at three times from two sets of listeners: native monolingual speakers of English and highly proficient English L2 speakers. The Mandarin L1 speakers showed no change over time on any of the dimensions, while the Slavic language L1 speakers improved significantly in comprehensibility and fluency. Improvement in accent was limited to the first 2 years in the Slavic language group. These outcomes appear to be due to the complex interplay of L1, age, the depth and breadth of learners’ conversations in English, and their willingness to communicate.

Access to Technology in Transnational Social Fields: Simultaneity and Digital Literacy Socialization of Adult Immigrants

Some studies of technology use by immigrants have explored the role of digital media in their maintenance of affiliations with their nations of origin. However, the potential for transnational social networks to serve as resources that facilitate digital literacy socialization for adult immigrant learners remains unexplored. In this study, I draw on the concepts of simultaneity and transnational social fields (Levitt & Glick Schiller, 2004) to analyze the relation between local and remote networks and the use of technology by immigrant learners. The findings reveal the configuration and exchange of resources across nation states, facilitated by family networks and by a local community center with the support of a Mexican institution. The findings also demonstrate the ways in which digital literacy practices were adopted by participants to maintain these transnational connections and to build new networks with local institutions. Implications for community-based technology programs for learners with transnational ties are discussed.

Curriculum Meta-orientations in the LINC Program

This article explores curriculum meta-orientations in the Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada (LINC) program, as reflected in its hidden curriculum, on three different levels: instruction, approaches to teaching Canadian culture to recent adult immigrant learners, and LINC instructors’ self-perceived teaching roles. The data collection process consisted of interviews and class observations. Most participants define themselves as facilitators, rather than teachers, embrace a transaction stance, and take a prescriptive approach to teaching Canadian culture to newcomers. We make the case that a participatory-transformation curriculum meta-orientation is more suited for adult English language learners than the prevalent transaction pedagogy, as it addresses the real issues and challenges that immigrants face in their first years in Canada.

Noncredit to credit transitioning matters for adult ESL learners in a California community college

AbstractThis chapter raises awareness of the role that educational and socioeconomic background plays in the perceived sense of marginality and the decision‐making process for adult immigrant learners who are preparing to transition from the highest levels of noncredit ESL to credit programs and postsecondary degree pathways.

Perceptions of settlement well-being, language proficiency, and employment: An investigation of immigrant adult language learners in Australia

Second language (L2) learning and settlement in a new country are inextricably intertwined. This relationship varies across individuals who go through differing experiences across times, contexts and circumstances. One of the indicators of this relationship is the progress/success or lack thereof in L2 learning and how it impacts on one's perception of settlement. This study explores the settlement experiences of 46 adult immigrant learners of English from three first language (L1) backgrounds: Mandarin, Arabic, and Vietnamese. All were undertaking English language study in the Adult Migrant English Program (AMEP) at the time of investigation. Data were collected at two stages over a 1-year period and consisted of audio-recordings, transcripts, and field notes of semi-structured interviews. There was a significant positive relationship between proficiency gains and change in perception of well-being, indicating that the greater the extent of progress in proficiency, the more likely the perception of well-being increases. Findings also suggest that learners’ employment status had no effect on their perceptions of either settlement satisfaction or progress in L2. Qualitative analysis of data revealed that immigrants’ perception of their own language skills and settlement well-being impacted on their perception and process of L2 learning. While employment per se was not necessarily conducive to settlement well-being, the attainment of a job played a role in settlement and the L2 learning process in two ways: (1) by helping identify the requirements of L2 skills for the particular job, and (2) by facilitating their plans to attain a better job.

ORIENTING TO “BEING ORDINARY”: THE (RE)CONSTRUCTION OF HEGEMONIC IDEOLOGIES IN INTERACTIONS AMONG ADULT IMMIGRANT LEARNERS OF ENGLISH

This article investigates the construction and maintenance of ideologies regarding the legitimacy of English as the dominant language in the United States in interactions involving adult immigrant learners of English. As both the researcher and these students' English as second language (ESL) instructor, I am a participant in the ESL classroom and interview conversations that are analyzed in this study. In my analysis, I consider how these adult ESL students and I take up positions and are positioned in ways that affiliate us with particular language identities, such as “Chinese speaker,” “non-native speaker of English,” or “English speaker,” among others. I argue that our subject positioning according to language affiliation provides one of the means by which normative beliefs about English in the United States are reconstituted.