Socialisation and contestation in an ESL class of adolescent African refugees

Abstract

This paper examines instances of student contestation in an English as a Second Language (ESL) class of adolescent African refugees. A few students resist or contest socialisation practices in a class community. The study reported in this paper is part of a longitudinal study of refugee students’ socialisation from initial schooling in the ESL programme for new arrivals into post-programme pathways. The first stage of the study was conducted in a Foundation Pathway A ESL class over the course of one year. The analysis of spoken interactions in the ESL class illustrate moments of disputation, which challenge school procedures. It is the interaction of familiar with unfamiliar practices that helps to explain the tensions and conflicts in the class. The social practices that newcomers know and that have served to sustain them as refugees come into conflict with schooling practices. The analysis suggests that socialisation – that is, learning to participate in the social practices of communities – involves adaptation and transformation of valued practices, as well as their adoption. Socialisation into communities is a process of making choices, involving acceptance of practices and contesting practices.