"In this study I have researched English language practices among newly-arrived Congolese refugees in Norway," writes Ida Syvertsen to inn.no.
These refugees are multilingual, and have language resources from several Bantu languages in addition to the fact that they often know French and English.
"There has been some research on French language practices among this type of speakers in Norway, but hardly any on English language practices," says Syvertsen.
Ida has been associated with the PhD programme Teaching and Teacher Education (PROFF).
In her article-based thesis, Syvertsen examines English pronunciation among seven newly arrived Congolese refugees, and two newly arrived Congolese refugees' experiences of using English in the "Global South" and in the "Global North".
The main finding is that English acts as capital for these forced migrants.
"Having English in their repertoires contributes to giving them possibilities for work, education, friendships, learning Norwegian, etc. Their English is thus good enough to open the doors they want," says Ida Syvertsen.
- Read the thesis here: "Forced migration and English capital. A critical sociolinguistic analysis of English among Congolese refugees in Norway".
The main findings of the PhD:
- English is capital for the Congolese refugees in this study.
- The English pronunciation of these Congolese refugees reflect the language having been learnt and used in areas with great linguistic diversity, and thus is not affected by influences from a single “mother tongue”.
- These Congolese refugees view English linguistic resources as valuable since their can contribute to accessing different forms of help for more people than only themselves.
- These Congolese refugees also have some experiences with their English linguistic resources being devalued in specific conversations. In these cases, the reason has not been their English competence, but misunderstandings between the conversation partners. These misunderstandings are related to whether they oriented themselves towards the value and social meanings of English in the local situation there and then or oriented themselves more towards the value and social meanings of English more generally regardless of the local situation.
Here you'll find more information about Ida Syvertsen's public defence on 28 February 2024.
Contact information:
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