Beyond ESOL provision: perspectives on language, intercultural and integration support for Syrian refugees in Ireland
Ćatibušić, Bronagh, Gallagher, FionaORCID: 0000-0002-7865-1757 and Karazi, Shadi
(2019)
Beyond ESOL provision: perspectives on language, intercultural and integration support for Syrian refugees in Ireland.
In: Mishan, Freda, (ed.)
ESOL Provision in the UK and Ireland: Challenges and Opportunities.
Language, Migration and Identity, 2
.
Peter Lang Ltd, Oxford, UK.
ISBN 978-1-78874-373-0
This chapter is the second in this volume (the first being Chapter 5) to report on a research
project investigating language and intercultural support for Syrian refugees who are being
resettled in towns across Ireland under the Irish Refugee Protection Programme (IRPP).
Based on the perspectives of ESOL providers, resettlement workers, representatives of NGOs
and organizations involved in the IRPP, as well as community-based service providers and
volunteers, it explores the language and intercultural supports available to Syrian refugees
beyond the official provision of English language training. Its findings indicate the need for
intercultural training for those working with refugees, appropriate responses to refugees’
diverse needs, and support for sustainable integration in host communities. Emerging
linguistic and cultural challenges faced by Syrian refugees in relation to employment,
education, and social inclusion are discussed; the findings of this research point to the need
for clear policy on refugee resettlement in Ireland.