English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) programs provide opportunities for refugees and migrants to improve their competence in the English language and facilitate their integration into host communities. Therefore, raising awareness of the host culture and the diverse nationalities represented in classrooms is integral to ESOL teaching. The literature recommends a number of inclusive classroom strategies for English language teaching. It is important to examine the extent to which experienced ESOL practitioners consider these to be feasible in teaching refugee and migrant learners, given their unique characteristics. This study aimed to explore classroom strategies which can facilitate cultural inclusion to create a checklist of strategies based on the input of experienced ESOL practitioners in the UK. Applying an exploratory sequential mixed methods design, classroom strategies recommended in the literature were extracted through content analysis. An online survey with Likert-style questions was then created to ask qualified and experienced ESOL teachers for their evaluation of the effectiveness of these strategies. Participants were also encouraged to share their own recommended strategies for promoting cultural inclusion. The net promoter score (NPS) method was used to categorize the surveyed strategies into feasibility levels based on the evaluations of the participants. Strategies proposed by participants but not on the original list were also selected where they added useful additions to this list. The resulting list is presented as an appendix. Common features of feasible strategies, such as the promotion of learner identities and prioritizing learner needs are discussed, as are strategies which might be worthy of further promotion amongst ESOL professionals, e.g., using digital resources and practicing translanguaging. This study proposes the checklist as a means of supporting the planning and delivery of culturally inclusive lessons, thereby enhancing the use of intercultural approaches in ESOL teaching in the UK.
AbdelghanyS. (2023). Understanding the role of language in integration journeys: ESOL from refugees’ perspectives. Master’s thesis, University of Glasgow. Theses. https://theses.gla.ac.uk/83805/
2.
AndersonJ. (2024). Translanguaging: A paradigm shift for ELT theory and practice. ELT Journal, 78(1), 72–81. https://doi.org/10.1093/elt/ccad057
3.
AzimovaS. (2019). The communicative approach in English language teaching. Bulletin of Science and Practice, 5(4), 471–475.
4.
BaehreS.O’DwyerM.O’MalleyL.StoryV.M. (2020). Customer mindset metrics: A systematic evaluation of the net promoter score (NPS) vs. alternative calculation methods. Journal of Business Research, 149, 353–362. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2022.04.048
5.
BerryJ.W. (2011). Integration and multiculturalism: Ways towards social solidarity. Papers on Social Representations, 20(1), 2–1.
6.
BrownS. (2021). The emancipation continuum: Analysing the role of ESOL in the settlement of immigrants. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 42(5–6), 864–880. https://doi.org/10.1080/01425692.2021.1908116
CanagarajahS. (2011). Translanguaging in the classroom: Emerging issues for research and pedagogy. Applied Linguistics Review, 2, 1–28. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110239331.1
9.
ChamorroG.Garrido-HornosM.Vázquez-AmadorM. (2023). Exploring ESOL teachers’ perspectives on the language learning experiences, challenges, and motivations of refugees and asylum seekers in the UK. International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching, 61(2), 201–226. https://doi.org/10.1515/iral-2020-0155
10.
CookeM. (2019). ESOL teachers as mediators of the citizenship testing regime. In CookeM.PeutrellR. (Eds.), Brokering Britain, educating citizens: Exploring ESOL and citizenship (pp. 63–84). Multilingual Matters.
CoxS. (2020). Can an ecological multilingual approach help us to better support reunited refugee families in Scotland with language learning?International Journal of Bilingualism, 16(4), 402–418. https://doi: 10.1177/1367006911425819
13.
CrozetC.LiddicoatA.J. (1999). The challenge of intercultural language teaching: Engaging with culture in the classroom. In BiancoJ.L.LiddicoatA.J.CrozetC. (Eds.), Striving for the third place: Intercultural competence through language education (pp. 113–125). Language Australia.
FreireP. (2005). Pedagogy of the oppressed (RamosM. B., Trans.; 30th anniversary ed.). The Continuum International Publishing Group. (Original work published 1970)
21.
GallagherF.GeraghtyC. (2023). Exploring mono/multilingual practices on the CELTA course: What trainers say. Language Teaching Research, 27(6), 1607–1633. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362168821991253
22.
GarcíaO. (2017). Problematizing linguistic integration of migrants: the role of translanguaging and language teachers. In
BeaccoJ.KrummH.LittleD.ThalgottP. (Eds.), The Linguistic Integration of Adult Migrants / L’intégration linguistique des migrants adultes: Some lessons from research / Les enseignements de la recherche (pp. 11–26). De Gruyter Mouton. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110477498-005
23.
HallE.T. (1976). Beyond culture. Anchor Press.
24.
HepworthM. (2019). Argumentation, citizenship and the adult ESOL classroom. In CookeM.PeutrellR. (Eds.), Brokering Britain, educating citizens: Exploring ESOL and citizenship (pp. 103–119). Multilingual Matters.
25.
HepworthM. (2021). Teaching controversial issues in the language education of adult migrants to the UK: A risk worth taking. In CunninghamC.HallC. J. (Eds.), Vulnerabilities, challenges and risks in applied linguistics (pp. 197–213). Multilingual Matters.
HoutkampC. (2015). Beyond assimilation and integration: The shift to ‘national’ and ‘transnational’ inclusion. Acta Universitatis. Sapientiae, European and Regional Studies, 8, 73–87. https://doi.org/10.1515/auseur-2015-0014
29.
I-JungC. (2004). Utilizing group work effectively in the English Language classroom. TESL Reporter, 37(1), 1–7.
30.
KaraA.Mintu-WimsattA.SpillanJ.E. (2022). An application of the net promoter score in higher education. Journal of Marketing for Higher Education, 34(2), 478–501. https://doi.org/10.1080/08841241.2021.2018088
31.
KellyR.HouH. (2022). Empowering learners of English as an additional language: Translanguaging with machine translation. Language and Education, 36(6), 544–559.
32.
KimY. (2016). Becoming intercultural: An integrative theory of communication and cross-cultural adaptation. Thousand Oaks.
33.
KrasnoffB. (2016). Culturally responsive teaching: A guide to evidence-based practices for teaching all students equitably. Region X Equity Assistance Center Education Northwest.
34.
LewandowskiM. (2021). Beyond individual learning plans: Exploring goal setting with adult learners. Doctoral thesis, University of Sunderland. SURE: Sunderland Repository. https://sure.sunderland.ac.uk/id/eprint/14255/1/14255.pdf
35.
LewisC.MehmetM. (2020). Does the NPS® reflect consumer sentiment? A qualitative examination of the NPS using a sentiment analysis approach. International Journal of Market Research, 62(1), 9–17.
36.
LiY.OliveiraH. (2015). Research on classroom practice. In ChoS. (Ed.), The proceedings of the 12th international congress on mathematical education (pp. 489–492). Springer.
37.
MidgetteE.GonzálezJ. (2023). Trauma-informed teaching of literature to multilingual learner refugees: In search for balance between cultural responsiveness and curriculum sensitivity. Journal of Multilingual Education Research, 12(1), 11–38. https://doi.org/10.5422/jmer.2022-2023.v12.11-38.
MorriceL.TipL.K.CollyerM.BrownR. (2021). ‘You can’t have a good integration when you don’t have a good communication’: English-language learning among resettled refugees in England. Journal of Refugee Studies, 34(1), 681–699. https://doi.org/10.1093/jrs/fez023
40.
NationP. (2022). Translanguaging and vocabulary learning. Teaching English as a Second Language Electronic Journal (TESL-EJ), 26(3), ej103a24. https://doi.org/10.55593/ej.26103a24
41.
NchindiaC. (2020). An exploration of the effects of ‘ESOL for citizenship’ course on the sociocultural integration of adult learners into British society. International Journal of Society, Culture and Language, 8(2), 35–54.
42.
NortonB.TooheyK. (Eds.). (2004). Critical pedagogies and language learning. Cambridge University Press.
OtheguyR.GarcíaO.ReidW. (2015). Clarifying translanguaging and deconstructing named languages: A perspective from linguistics. Applied Linguistics Review, 6(3), 281–307. https://doi.org/10.1515/APPLIREV-2015-0014
46.
OtheguyR. (2016). Foreword. In GarcíaO.KleynT. (Eds.), Translanguaging with multilingual students: Learning from classroom moments (pp. ix–xi). Routledge.
47.
PilcherJ.Deakin-SmithH.RoeschC.G. (2024). The pronunciation of students’ names in higher education: Identity work by academics and professional services staff. Oxford Review of Education, 51(4), 528–544. https://doi.org/10.1080/03054985.2024.2331158
48.
PittK. (2005). Debates in ESOL teaching and learning: Cultures, communities and classrooms. Routledge.
ReichheldF.F. (2003). The one number you need to grow. Harvard Business Review, 81, 46–55.
51.
RobinsonL. (2006). Acculturation in the United Kingdom. In SamD.L.BerryJ.W. (Eds.), The Cambridge handbook of acculturation psychology (pp. 388–401). Cambridge University Press.
52.
SchneiderI.CrulM. (2010). New insights into assimilation and integration theory: Introduction to the special issue. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 33(7), 1143–1148. https://doi.org/10.1080/01419871003777809
53.
SelviA.F.GallowayN.RoseH. (2024). Teaching English as an international language. Cambridge University Press.
Shufflebarger SnellA.M. (2020). A dialogic approach to exploring culture in community-based adult ESL classrooms. TESOL Journal, 11(1), 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1002/tesj.450
56.
SlaughterY.CrossR. (2020). Challenging the monolingual mindset: Understanding plurilingual pedagogies in English as an Additional Language (EAL) classroom. Language Teaching Research, 25(1), 39–60. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362168820938819
ThornburyS. (2006). An A-Z of ELT: A dictionary of terms and concepts used in English Language Teaching. Macmillan.
59.
TomlinsonB. (2017). Introduction. In TomlinsonB.MaleyA. (Eds.), Authenticity in materials development for language learning (pp. 1–3). Cambridge Scholars Publishing.
60.
United States Census Bureau. (2023, June13). Net migration between the United States and Abroad in 2022 reaches highest level since 2017. Anthony Knapp and Tiangeng Lu Net International Migration Returns to Pre-COVID-19 Levels.
61.
VogelS.Ascenzi-MorenoL.GarcíaO. (2018). An expanded view of translanguaging: Leveraging the dynamic interactions between a young multilingual writer and machine translation software. In ChoiJ.OllerheadS. (Eds.), Plurilingualism in teaching and learning: Complexities across contexts (pp. 89–106). Routledge.
62.
YıldırımŞ.UzunŞ. (2021). An overview of dialogic teaching and its impact on learning. International Journal of Education, Technology and Science, 1(2), 135–153.
ZhangY.S.D.NoelsK.A. (2022) ‘Call me “Katy” instead of “Yueyun”: English names among Chinese international students in Canada. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 45(8), 3379–3393. https://doi:10.1080/01434632.2022.2098304
