Motivation, Identity and Habitus: language practices and social trajectories of refugee youth in New Zealand

Language learning is widely recognized as essential to successful migration/transmigration processes. It serves as an avenue for educational and employment success and supports broader social and cultural integration into the... [ view full abstract ]

Language learning is widely recognized as essential to successful migration/transmigration processes. It serves as an avenue for educational and employment success and supports broader social and cultural integration into the host society. This is particularly the case for refugee background youth who are often under significant pressure to succeed in their new society, undergo substantial changes in identity and belonging and are expected to play a bridging role between their home and host communities. Despite the obvious importance of language learning for the resettlement of refugees, very few studies have focused on the experiences of refugee background learners relating to language learning. This study aims to re-examine the concepts of motivation and investment as explanations for language learning and linguistic practices through a focus on the resettlement experiences of refugee background youth in New Zealand. To do so, the study draws on Bourdieu’s (1991) theory of practice as a way to focus on how learners constantly reposition themselves and are positioned (habitus) within New Zealand society and transnational social fields as well as the importance of different resources (capital) in their everyday language practices.

This presentation reports findings from a longitudinal ethnographic study with six young refugee background learners from Syria and Iraq resettling in New Zealand. This study utilises a number of qualitative methods including volunteer work, a researcher’s journal, interviews and photo-voice (photos and written text provided to the researcher, and monthly storytelling about these photos) to examine participants’ language practices, learning environments and resettlement experiences. The presentation focuses on three main findings that relate to language learning: 1) the lower level of explicit priority given to language learning by refugee background learners, 2) the gendered experience of social challenges in New Zealand including racism and socialising practices, and 3) the role of individual interests and hobbies in processes of resettlement and language learning as well as the way learners reposition themselves within New Zealand society. Through this discussion, the presentation makes important contributions both to understanding the role of language learning in refugee migration processes and to conceptualising the connections between social context and second language learning.