Ask NCELA: Support for Afghan ELs

more at https://www.ncela.ed.gov/announcements?utm_source=nexus_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=ask_ncela_afghan_els 

January 21, 2022

AskNCELA provides information that can be of use to educators, parents, learners, leaders, and other stakeholders in their efforts to ensure that every student, including English learners (ELs), is provided with the highest quality education and expanded opportunities to succeed.Question: With the recent arrival of thousands of Afghan newcomers to the United States, we are wondering how schools and districts can support Afghan ELs and whether there are examples of schools and districts around the country that are successfully supporting this population of students and their families? Answer: There are a number of schools and districts around the U.S. that are providing exemplary support to Afghan ELs and their families. These institutions implement a wide range of wrap-around services that include academic, social, and emotional supports for newly arrived immigrants. Schools and districts also ensure that their faculty and staff are prepared to support newcomer ELs by offering meaningful professional development focused on meeting the needs of ELs. 

Do You Know What the Term Refugee Means

Read a definition here as well as political implications

The Effect of Expressive Therapies on Refugee Children and Adolescents: Meta-Analytic Findings

Some research for those interested. Find it here

Article: Experiences and Education of Refugee Children at Home, in School, and in the Community

Acess it at https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/ujrc20/33/1?nav=tocList

Who Are Refugees and Asylum Seekers?

Learn eight facts here

UNHCR Teachers’ Toolkit for Refugees

A great resource for educators! At https://www.unhcr.org/teaching-about-refugees.html

Teaching About Refugee Issues: UNHCR Teachers’ Toolkit

Find here an excellent resource covering the following (excerpt):

In this UNHCR Teachers’ Toolkit you can find free-of-charge and adaptable UNHCR teaching materials on refugees, asylum, migration and statelessness, and a section dedicated to professional development and guidance for primary and secondary school teachers on including refugee children in their classes.

1. Words matter
2. Facts and figures about refugees
3. UNHCR media materials and reports
4. Teaching materials
5. Including refugees in your classroom
6. Other teaching resources

 

Study: Second language acquisition effects of a primary physical education intervention: A pilot study with young refugees

Excerpt:

A physical education (PE) intervention for young refugees was designed combining physical activity within the context of primary PE games with second language learning activities in German. The intervention was based on theoretical implications from the field of second language acquisition and evidence for positive effects of physical activity on cognitive outcomes (e.g. language acquisition). The aim of this study was to analyze short term effects on second language acquisition.

More at https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0203664

ESL Corner: Communicating with Rohingya Refugees

Find at https://translatorswithoutborders.org/the-language-lesson-what-weve-learned-about-communicating-with-rohingya-refugees/?fbclid=IwAR1iQK6Uxogfqul4h_oaGP52yUFFGDCu610mwr9bWo9T4n8n_MByn7SGXcE

Excerpt:

In August 2018, Translators without Borders (TWB) surveyed a representative sample of refugees in the Kutupalong- Balukhali camp to better understand their language and information needs.

Learn what we found: 

Read and download the full report.

Read and download the report brief.

Let’s ask Refugees if we Want to Learn About Refugee Experiences

All too often, “specialists” talk ABOUT others without ever having walked in their shoes.  Specialists can learn a lot from reading and listening. However, living and feeling create a true depth of knowledge. Therefore, when we want to learn about issues, such as refugee-related ones, it would be great to listen to those who have the depth of knowledge about the topic. More at: