Adult Migrant Experiences of Language Learning and Language Use in Host Societies (Nov. 13, 2023)

We're excited to welcome Dr. John Ippolito (Faculty of Education, York University) to give a talk for the 3rd event in our Jackman Humanities Institute (JHI) Seminar Series on Multilingualism!

The event will take place in MN 3230 (CDRS), and you can also join via Zoom.

The talk is entitled "Adult Migrant Experiences of Language Learning and Language Use in Host Societies"; please see below for the abstract.

Abstract

This presentation reports on an international comparative research project examining the (in)formal language learning and social integration experiences of adult migrants.

It is set within a contemporary global migration context where language barriers can prevent full participation in host societies (Burns & Roberts, 2010). Conceptually, the project links transnationalism (Glick Schiller, Basch, & Szanton Blanc, 1995) to translanguaging (Lewis et al., 2012a, 2012b), thereby linking movement across migratory spaces to movement across communicative resources. 

Methodologically, the project draws on surveys of adult language learners (n=76); follow-up interviews with six migrants in each of three research sites (n=18); and surveys with adult education providers (n=11). The data were collected in 2021 from three transit or destination settings for newcomers: the Greater Toronto Area in Ontario, Canada; Erie County in Pennsylvania in the United States; and the province of Agrigento in Sicily, Italy.

In taking a “migrant-centric” (McAuliffe, Kitimbo, Goossens, & Ullah, 2017, p. 175) perspective, this presentation explores three core findings: firstly, the vast majority of migrants report acting agentively in their language choices for reasons including social integration; secondly, migrants prioritize speaking and listening skills in formal and informal learning contexts; thirdly, translanguaging among participants is not a uniform tendency.

November 13, 2023 @ 1:00-2:00pm

MN 3230 or via Zoom