EEG402 - Interactive conference presentation by

Jessica Hutchison

jess_hutch24 — 2016-01-19 00:45:51 UTC

Teaching Refugees

Introduction

jess_hutch24 — 2016-01-19 01:23:37 UTC

The topic of teaching refugees relates to the concepts in the second module ‘Teaching in a Global World’, by the reason that ESL students are most likely global and to be a well-rounded teacher who can teach globally, they needs to know how to teach ESL students.

This topic was chosen because I personally would like to know more on how to teach ESL students and how to connect with them especially if they are feeling a sense of discomfort, which could be a result from being in a new surroundings and a new setting of the way they now are living. ESL students can potentially bring a whole new dynamic to a classroom, especially if there are minimal ESL students at a certain school. There is where Australian students get the opportunity to learn about a whole new culture that they have not yet learn about.

I personally believe that the importance of this topic is huge as every child in the world should have the right to an education, but unfortunately this is not capable. ‘72 million children of primary education age are not in school and 759 million adults are illiterate and do not have the awareness necessary to improve both their living conditions and those of their children’ (Right to an Education, 2013). School’s In for Refugees mission is to ‘advance the health, well being and human rights of people from refugee backgrounds who have experienced torture or other traumatic events’ (2014). Having this mission helps the teachers and the ESL students to be comfortable to be able to talk about some problems that happened in their families when they were living in another country.This could be the human rights that the children did not have in their home country, where they do not have the right to an education.

Teaching refugees happens all over the world, but for my presentation I will be focusing mostly on Australia. In Australia, 0.38% proportion of the world’s asylum applications was received by Australia in 2014 (Refugee Council 2014). There are many developing countries other then Australia that allow refugee people into their countries to help and assist them to have a quality of life and to set them up to enjoy a healthy long life. It happens to be Turkey that hosts the most refugees, with 1,587,374 living in the country (Refugee Council 2014).

Resource One - Nyabana's expereicne

jess_hutch24 — 2016-01-25 00:20:36 UTC

Nyabana’s experiences would have affected her learning by knowing minimal amounts of the English language when she first went to the English language centre with other Sudan refugees. I believe hiding away from people in the corridors in high school to avoid any bullying scenario was a smart option, as she only knew minimal English, she wouldn’t of known what was going on and it would have been a terrifying experience for the young girl. However, not putting herself out there and trying to make friends with the other students could of also disadvantage her by learning the language through communication with other peers. If I was Nyabana’s teacher, I would pair her up with another student from each class to assist her with her work and to help with the language barrier, and using this method it is also a great way to make friends instead of hiding away.

Resource Two - Refugees and Asylum seekers

jess_hutch24 — 2016-01-25 01:05:23 UTC

According to Racism Noway, an asylum seeker is someone who has fled from their country to seek legal and physical protection, whereas a refugee is someone who has fled their country and can not return because of multiple reasons which include religion and fear of persecution because of their race (Racism Noway 2015). According to UNHCR, Pakistan host the most refugees with 1.6 million, Islamic Republic of Iran with 857,400, Lebanon with 856,500, Jordan with 641900 and then Turkey with 609,900 refugees living in their countries.

Teaching Strategy One - Visually Engaging

jess_hutch24 — 2016-01-25 02:16:05 UTC

This strategy was chosen because it makes the ESL students more engaged but it also makes them more alert in the classroom. The aim of this strategy is by making the classroom more visually engaging for ESL students is a great way for the students to learn new things and to keep concentrated when in the classroom. For an ESL student it would be very daunting coming into a classroom knowing minimal of the English language, and if the classroom is boring looking and not engaging towards the students, the ESL students would most likely loose concentration very easily and fall behind the class even more. Having charts and visual planners of the day set up before the students enter the classroom is a great way for all students not just ESL students to be prepared for the day and to have a routine on a daily basis is a great way for ESL students learn new things. Students learn in many different ways, however, it is estimated that 80% of children learn through their vision (Kidspot 2014). If there are diagrams and explanations all over the classroom, all the students and especially the ESL will most likely understand what they are learning a lot more quickly.

Resource One - Daily Planner

jess_hutch24 — 2016-01-25 02:47:37 UTC

As I have stated before having a daily planner on the board makes it easier for the ESL students to be aware of what is coming up in the day ahead. If the student is left in the dark as of what is happening during the day, the student will not be mentally prepared for it the certain subject, and it could potentially take awhile for the student to get into the certain activity.

Resource Two - Diagrams/ examples

jess_hutch24 — 2016-01-25 02:49:46 UTC

Another resource is having diagrams of activities that the students will be doing in the classroom. These diagrams could include maths equations, or art activities or also ICT demonstrations on the board or an actual hard copy of the activity that the students will be doing. If the students see how the teacher did a certain thing, the students are more likely to understand, as I have stated before that 80% of students learn through vision, so the ESL students will hopefully pick up the actions or methods that have to be done to achieve the goal of completely the certain activity.

jess_hutch24 — 2016-01-25 04:22:56 UTC

Example of a daily planner

jess_hutch24 — 2016-01-25 04:25:36 UTC

Example of a classroom with lots of visuals

Resource Two - Diagrams/ examples

jess_hutch24 — 2016-01-25 04:40:25 UTC

jess_hutch24 — 2016-01-25 04:41:35 UTC

Example of a daily planner

jess_hutch24 — 2016-01-25 04:42:11 UTC

Example of a visually engaging classroom

Song - I am, you are, we are Australian

jess_hutch24 — 2016-01-25 04:44:15 UTC

Teaching Strategy Two - Engaging with students' prior knowledge

jess_hutch24 — 2016-01-25 04:45:05 UTC

The reason for choosing engaging with students’ prior knowledge is because the ESL students and the teacher can form a strong relationship together as there would be some barriers from the ESL student being in an environment which is foreign to them. The aim of this strategy is that the teacher sitting down with the ESL student could potentially allow the student to become less shy and open up with the students a bit more. Having the sit down with the teacher, the teacher will be able to assess where the student is at in terms with levels of the curriculum and will be able to see what the student needs to focus on and what they need help with. Communicating with the teacher will also improve their English without even realizing it

Resource One - Image Brainstorm

jess_hutch24 — 2016-01-25 04:53:53 UTC

Image brainstorm is a great resource for ESL students as the student will choose a picture that they will know and from what the student tells the teacher, the teacher then can go away and see what needs to be done to help improve the student. This resource can be done with none ESL students as well. This is a great way to see what the students know or do not know about a certain thing.

Resource Two - ABC Brainstorming

jess_hutch24 — 2016-01-25 04:59:57 UTC

Another resource is ABC brainstorming, this is where the students do a box for every letter of the alphabet and then the students are to write a word or phrase that starts with each letter. This is another great way for the teachers to see what the ESL students know or do not know about the English language. The teacher can go away from this activity and assess where the student is at in terms of levels of literacy.

jess_hutch24 — 2016-01-25 05:04:37 UTC

Example of ABC Brainstorming

Conclusion

jess_hutch24 — 2016-01-25 05:16:19 UTC

In conclusion, all ESL students should be treated just like anyone else should be treated, they should have the right to an education, just like we all do in Australia. ESL students should feel safe and comfortable when they are receiving the education that they deserve. With all the strategies that have been mentioned throughout this padlet and with many resources to go along with them, teachers should have the knowledge to be able to teach an ESL student when it happens in due time. The song ‘I am, you are, we are Australian’, I believe goes along nicely with the ESL students getting an education in Australia, as it tells us how everyone should be treated the same even though everyone has some differences within themselves.

References

jess_hutch24 — 2016-01-25 05:32:38 UTC

Baker, F 2014, Visual Learning Style in Children, Kidspot, retrieved 20 of January, < http://www.kidspot.com.au/schoolzone/Learning-styles-Visual-learning-style-in-children+4086+391+article.htm>

Esstwobee 2012, Youtube, I am, you are , I am Australian, retrevied 20 January 2016, < https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjkrjYitgeA>

Edutopia 2016, Are You Tapping into Prior Knowledge Often Enough in Your Classroom?, What works in education, retrieved 20 of January < http://www.edutopia.org/blog/prior-knowledge-tapping-into-often-classroom-rebecca-alber>

Foundation House 2014, School’s In for Refugees – Case Studies, The Victorian Foundation for Survivors of Torture Inc, retrieved 20 January 2016, < http://www.foundationhouse.org.au/schools-refugees-case-studies/>

Humanium – Together for Children’s Rights 2013, Right to Education Situation of children’s right to education worldwide, Humanium – Together for Children’s Rights, retrieved 20 January 2016, <http://www.humanium.org/en/world/right-to-education/>

Nyabana Riek 2015, YouTube, Culture Victoria, 15 June, retrieved 20 January 2016, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nih3EgtU2yM

Racism Noway 2015, Teaching Resources, Racism Noway, retrieved 20 janurary 2016, <http://www.racismnoway.com.au/teaching-resources/factsheets/44.html>

Refugee Council 2014, Who are Asylum Seekers?, Refugee Council, retrieved 20 January 2016, < http://www.refugeecouncil.org.au/>

UNHRC Global Trends 2013, War’s Human Cost, UNHCR The UN Refugee Agency, Retrieved 20 January 2016, < http://unhcr.org.au/unhcr/images/Global%20Trends%202013.pdf>