How language can help refugees to settle into their new home

Put yourself in a refugee’s shoes. You’ve fled one country for political or religious reasons, landing somewhere temporary with different languages, customs and cultures. After a while, you’re uprooted again and resettled in your new host country and the whole process of assimilating starts again.

Charles Darwin University (CDU) Faculty of Arts and Society translingual and transcultural support PhD candidate Johnny Howard will explore this challenging path to a new life as he studies the language practices of refugees coming to Australia.

The former high school teacher says migrants and humanitarian entrants can often be overwhelmed by administrative and legal hurdles, often spelt out in English in lengthy clauses or statements, when seeking assistance. 

“Some have been left without a voice or lacking in some essential service, delaying their resettlement and putting them through incessant stress,” Howard says.

“But more roles are emerging as organisations respond to these issues. Multicultural support staff, bicultural workers and interpreters are increasingly employed to help out with the language and cultural barriers in these settings and make them feel safe and at home in Australia. 

“My research looks at how these contexts can employ a translanguaging approach to create safe environments and build a bottom-up communicative approach.”

Challenging circumstances

Howard has spent more than a decade working as an English as a Second Language teacher, often with people from all over the world who find themselves in “challenging and difficult” circumstances as they try and integrate.

He says it’s this experience of people attempting to maintain currency and literacy in a range of languages – a key factor for maintaining their prospects and aspirations – that drove him to look for new approaches to learning that “fit in within the context of the 21st century”.

“Throughout their journey to Australia and during the resettlement period, humanitarian entrants learn and use multiple languages to navigate their transition from their country of origin, host country to third country resettlement,” Howard says. 

“The study aims to capture how these communicative resources are deployed by humanitarian entrants and how they can assist in creating a safe environment and contribute to their well-being and belongingness.”

Howard says this area of research is becoming more important as more people cross borders to live in new countries where the language spoken is not their mother tongue.

Understanding how access to multiple language resources can enhance an increasingly multicultural society should help make resettlement easier, he says.

“Hopefully, the findings will inform how we perceive and interact with humanitarian entrants and migrants in order to create better educational, employment and resettlement pathways, as well as how, through translanguaging and multilingual practices, we can keep their hopes and aspirations alive,” Howard says. 

As well as helping others, his work so far has been personally rewarding, with a growing number of stakeholders helping migrants and refugees find their feet.

“This includes a new program launched recently in Australia called CRISP, which I was one of the first groups in Darwin to welcome," Howard says.

“We welcomed a family of eight from the Democratic Republic of the Congo in central Africa after preparing and fundraising for a year.” 

“Another benefit is the cross-cultural exchange that happens when people from different backgrounds share their cultural experiences. This will include two-way learning about specific languages and ethnic groups, which in turn may illuminate some of the difficulties and challenges they encounter during resettlement that were previously unknown.”

Howard’s study will be conducted through an internship with Darwin-based humanitarian resettlement advocate Melaleuca Australia, where he will observe and interact with humanitarian entrants and migrants in order to create better education, work and resettlement pathways. Importantly, he will also look at how translanguaging and multilingual practices can keep their hopes and aspirations alive.

Other refugee advocacy groups to benefit from his research include the Australian Red Cross, Anglicare, Services Australia, Legal Aid NT, the Multicultural Council of the Northern Territory, STEPS Group Australia, and the STEPS Adult Migrant English Program.

More learning will come from focus group discussions and interviews with humanitarian entrants and multicultural support staff about their experiences, attitudes and perceptions.

According to Howard, CDU is a “great place” to pursue higher-degree research.

“The university places a strong emphasis on taking ownership of your learning, and the range of opportunities and grants available is a huge advantage.”

Study education with CDU and use your curious mind to find solutions that improve the lives of others.