“They Don’t Hear my Tongue Dance in Arabic”

Teaching Adult Migrants: A Focus on the Languages They Speak

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Abstract

As language practitioners shift away from the view that migrants must privilege the majority language over their home language(s) for purposes of integration into their new country, we join them and argue for including research on bilingualism / multilingualism in training and professional development for teachers of adult migrants with little or no formal schooling or literacy in their home language. Our focus is on this population, who often lack the social capital and institutional access to organize formal bilingual programs and language maintenance initiatives that are common in middle-class communities. In the following article, we review current research on bilingualism / multilingualism and suggest approaches that will support and develop adult migrants’ home languages and learning of the majority language of the new country.   

How to Cite:

Haznedar, B., Peyton, J. & Young-Scholten, M., (2018) “Teaching Adult Migrants: A Focus on the Languages They Speak”, Critical Multilingualism Studies 6(1), 155–183.