Is the U.S. truly the Linguistic melting pot it claims to be?

Abigail Renfrow
LING 1000 – Language in U.S. Society 
Advisor: Natalie Grothues
LURA 2021

    Assimilation and integration. These words have two very different connotations for many who live in mainstream U.S. society. To many, the word ‘assimilation’ has a more negative connotation, while ‘integration’ is viewed with higher regard when perceived through the lens of incoming refugees. Assimilation is oftentimes seen as a person being pressured or even forced to leave their own culture, language(s), or history behind and to take on every aspect of the new society. On the other hand, integration is seen as allowing these refugees to keep these crucial parts of their identity as they learn to engage and interact with their new society. This inclusive society is what the U.S. claims to be – a “melting pot” of all languages and all cultures. However, the U.S., in its striving to be viewed as an integrative country, has ended up becoming quite the opposite. 

    Incoming refugees to the U.S. continue to face a world of linguistic discrimination. The federal government offers no English classes and instead leaves the monumental task of teaching refugees to each individual state. Many teachers of refugee-background adults therefore feel they have no choice except to only teach their students the language they require for the workplace. This results in many teachers failing to take into consideration both the history and current situation of their students (Crandall, 2020: 47).

    One of the most important fields in which the U.S. can promote true integration is by taking into consideration the linguistic education of incoming refugees. Several areas in which new teaching strategies are emerging include continued use of students’ heritage languages, fostering literacy skills in English, and recognizing and implementing more varied learning opportunities. 

    While learning English is a necessary and valuable task for refugees in the U.S., the preservation of a learner’s cultural and linguistic identity is often brushed aside by the pressure placed on them to assimilate into the mainstream culture. A critical area is the continued use and maintenance of the refugee-background students’ native language(s). This strategy starts with as simple an act as raising awareness of the different languages present among the students (Farrelly and Fakhrutinova, 2020: 615). This can help a learner establish an identity as a multilingual individual who is capable of speaking in more than just English. A teacher can then work to use the languages that appear in the classroom to build on the knowledge that the refugee-background students already have in their native languages.

    Fostering literacy skills is another important area that is oftentimes overlooked. Before a refugee-background student can even start the process of writing in English, many of them first must gain fundamental literacy skills. Many adult learners have come to the U.S. with limited access to formal education in either their countries of origin or in refugee camps. The impact of the adult’s educational background prior to resettlement can shape the way they respond to different teaching strategies in the classroom (Shapiro, 2020: 6). For instance, if a refugee-background learner has had little to no formal education in their native language and has not developed literacy in it, this can greatly impact the way that they develop literacy in English. They may struggle to learn to read and write in English, since they have no prior concept to build off of. Such students could profit from gaining literacy by starting with the very basic concepts (Wrigley, 2010: 26).

    While literacy in English is necessary for integration into mainstream U.S. society, refugee-background adults with certain types of learning backgrounds may suffer in the U.S. education system, which revolves around more abstract ways of thinking (DeCapua and Marshall, 2011). Depending on their country of origin, adult students may need to be encouraged to use more oral-based modes of communication. Many refugee-background learners in the U.S. have come from cultures that have deep oral traditions and ways of learning, meaning they participate in activities in their communities and families and learn from experienced members of their societies, such as through mentorships and apprenticeships. These things focus on matters that have an instant effect on the students in their day-to-day lives. Teachers need to be creative and increase variety in their teaching strategies in order to accommodate the communication norms of the adult learner’ cultures.

    The issue of the linguistic education of refugee-background students is very complex and is riddled with nuances. The potential impact new teaching strategies could have on refugee-background adults reaches far beyond the classroom and could support them as they gain a sense of inclusion in mainstream U.S. society. When refugees feel they can retain their linguistic and cultural identities while learning to navigate their new homes, then the U.S. will be the melting pot we think we already are.  

Citations: 

Crandall, Bryan Ripley. 'History Should Come First': Perspective of Somali-born Refugee-Background Males on Writing in and Out of School. Hershey: IGI Global, 2020. Forthcoming.
DeCapua, A. and H. Marshall. Breaking New Ground. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2011. Document .
Farrelly, Raichle and Iuliia Fakhrutdinova. "Leveraging Learner Experience: Pedagogical Scaffolding With Refugee-Bakcground Adults." Farrelly, Raichle, Anna Krulatz and Georgios Neokleous. Handbook of Research on Cultivating Literacy In Diverse and Multilingual Classrooms. Hershey: IGI Global , 2020. 615-633. Document .
Shapiro, Shawna. Educating Refugee-Background Students . Hershey: IGI Global , 2020. Forthcoming.
Wrigley, Heide. Serving Low Literate Immigrant and Refugee Youth. Calgary: Bow Valley College, 2010. Document.