The role of L+ Turkish and English learning in resilience: A case of Syrian students at Gaziantep University

Emrah Cinkara

Abstract


Resilience is used to refer to the ability to bounce back from some form of disaster, disruption, stress, or change. The situation in Syria caused thousands of deaths and millions of refugees, which is the main source of disaster and Syrian students need to recover from this. According to UNHCR, Turkey welcomed around 2.523.554 refugees, 314.917 of whom are located in Gaziantep, which constitutes about 20 % of total population of the city. In this study, we aimed to investigate the role of L+ (Turkish and/or English) learning in resilience of Syrian students studying at Gaziantep University intensive Turkish and English language programs. Both quantitative and qualitative data was collected through the Connor–Davidson Resilience Scale and interviews. The results suggested that our participants had medium level of resilience and L+ Turkish and English have different roles in building resilience among Syrian refugee students.


Keywords


Language education, language for resilience, refugee integration

Full Text:

PDF

References


Benard, B. (1991). Fostering Resiliency in Kids: Protective Factors in the Family, School, and Community. Bibliolife DBA of Bibilio Bazaar, Retrieved February 28, 2016, from http://crahd.phi.org/papers/Fostering.pdf

Blommaert, J., Collins, J., & Slembrouck, S. (2005). Spaces of Multilingualism. Language & Communication, 25, 197–216.

British Council and Tepav. (2013). Turkey National Needs Assessment of State School English Language Teaching. Ankara: British Council and TEPAV. Retrieved from http://www.britishcouncil.org.tr/sites/default/files/turkey_national_needs_assessment_of_state_school_english_language_teaching.pdf

Campbell-Sills, L., Forde, D., & Stein, M. (2009). Demographic and Childhood Environmental Predictors of Resilience in a Community Sample. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 43, 1007-1012. doi:10:106/j.psychires.2009.01.013

Connor, K. M., & Davidson, J. R. (2003). Development of a New Resilience Scale: the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC). Depression and Anxiety, 18, 71-82.

Davidson, J., & Connor, K. M. (2015). Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC) Manual. Unpublished.

Esquivel, G. B., Doll, B., & Oades-Sese, G. V. (2011). Introduction to the Special Issue: Resilience in Schools. Psychology in the Schools, 48(7), 649–765. doi:10.1002/pits.20585

Gaziantep City Council, E. B. (2014). Gaziantep'te Yaşayan Suriyeli Misafirlere İlişkin Rapor Sorunlar ve Çözüm Önerileri. Gaziantep: Gaziantep Kent Konseyi Yürütme Kurulu.

Gitterman, A. (2001). Social Work Practice with Vulnerable and Resilient Populations. In A. Gitterman, Handbook of Social Work Practice with Vulnerable and Resilient Populations (pp. 1-35). New York: NY: Columbia University Press.

Hoge, E. A., Austin, E. D., & Pollack, M. H. (2007). Resilience: Research Evidence and Conceptual Considerations for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. Depression and Anxiety, 24(2), 139-152. doi:10.1002/da.20175

Horwath Consulting Ireland in association with RAMBOLL Management and Matrix. (2008). Final Report to Office of the Minister for Integration and the Department of Department of Education & Science, Development of a national English Language Police and Framework for Legally-Resident Adult Immigrations. Dublin. Retrieved March 10, 2016, from https://www.education.ie/en/Publications/Policy-Reports/horwath_final_report.pdf

Joseph, J. (1993). The Resilient Child. New York, NY: Insight Books.

Knight, C. (2007). A Resilience Framework: Perspectives for Educators. Health Education, 107(6), 543 - 555. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/09654280710827939

Krashen, S. D., & Terrell, T. D. (1983). The Natural Approach. Oxford [Oxfordshire]: Pergamon Press.

Morales, E. E., & Trotman, F. K. (2011). A Focus on Hope Fifty Resilient Students Speak. Plymouth, UK: University Press of America.

Padrón, Y. P., Waxman, H., Brown, A. P., & Powers, R. A. (2000). Improving Classroom Instruction and Student Learning for Resilient and Non-resilient English Language Learners. Santa Cruz, CA: Center for Research on Education, Diversity, and Excellence.

Pickren, W. E. (2014). What Is Resilience and How Does It Relate to the Refugee Experience? Historical and Theoretical Perspectives. In L. Simich, & L. Andermann, Refuge and Resilience Promoting Resilience and Mental Health among Resettled Refugees and Forced Migrants (pp. 7-26). New York: Springer.

Resnick, B., Galik, E., Dorsey, S., Scheve, A., & Gutkin, S. (2011). Reliability and Validity Testing of the Physical Resilience Measure. The Gerontologist, 51(5), 643-652. doi:10.1093/geront/gnr016

Rose, L. (2015). A Case Study of English Language Acquisition by Chechen Programme Refugees in Roscommon, Ireland. Irish Journal of Academic Practice, 4(1), 1-18.

Rutter, M. (1987). Psychosocial Resilience and Protective Mechanisms. Risk and Protective Factors in the Development of Psychopathology, 181-214. doi:10.1017/cbo9780511752872.013

Savignon, S. J. (1997). Communicative Competence: Theory and Classroom Practice 2nd Edition. New York: McGraw-Hill.

The UN Refugee Agency. (2016). Regional Refugee & Resilience Plan 2016-2017. The UN Refugee Agency.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. (1951). Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees.

Toros, A. (2016). Commission of Human Rights, Turkish Great National Assembly. Retrieved from http://www.meclishaber.gov.tr/develop/owa/haber_portal.aciklama?p1=135365

Trudell, B. (2016). The impact of language policy and practice on children’s learning: Evidence from Eastern and Southern Africa. Retrieved from https://www.unicef.org/esaro/UNICEF(2016)LanguageandLearning-FullReport(SingleView).pdf

Weine, S., Ware, N., Hakizimana, L., Tugenberg, T., Currie, M., Dahnweih, G., & Wulu, J. (2014). Fostering Resilience: Protective Agents, Resources, and Mechanisms for Adolescent Refugees’ Psychosocial Well-Being. Adolescent Psychiatry, 4(3), 164-176. doi:10.2174/221067660403140912162410

Welsh Government. (2013). Refugee Inclusion Strategy. Cardiff: Welsh Government.

Windle, G., Bennett, K. M., & Noyes, J. (2011). A Methodological Review of Resilience Measurement Scales. Health and Quality of Life Outcomes, 9, 11-18. doi:10.1186/1477-7525-9-8

Yu, X., Stewart, S. M., Liu, I. K., & Lam, T. H. (2013). Resilience and Depressive Symptoms in Mainland Chinese Immigrants to Hong Kong. Social Psychiatry And Psychiatric Epidemiology, 49(2), 241-249. doi:10.1007/s00127-013-0733-8

Ziaian, T., de Anstiss, H., Antoniou, G., Baghurst, P., & Sawyer, M. (2012). Resilience and Its Association with Depression, Emotional and Behavioural Problems, and Mental Health Service Utilisation among Refugee Adolescents Living in South Australia. International Journal of Population Research, 2012(2012), 1-9. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2012/485956


Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Journal of Language and Linguistic Studies
ISSN 1305-578X (Online)
Copyright © 2005-2022 by Journal of Language and Linguistic Studies