Voices of Resilience: Exploring English Literacy Practices Among Afghan Women in Urbana-Champaign

Academic Mentor | Anna Mendoza
Community Partner | Champaign-Urbana Refugee Center

Project Description
Adult immigrants illiterate in their native language struggle more than any other type of English as a Second Language (ESL) learner. Preliterate adult ESL learners are often overlooked in research, with existing studies typically focusing on quantitative aspects like spelling, phonics, morphosyntax, and vocabulary acquisition. However, qualitative research that explores these learners’ real-world language practices is critically lacking. Understanding the out-of-class language practices of these learners is key to identifying the social assistance or barriers that impact their ability to acquire English literacy and oracy.

This project will investigate the out-of-class English language and literacy learning processes of 10 Afghan women from veteran families relocated to Urbana-Champaign. The study will replicate Bonny Norton’s renowned research on immigrant women in Toronto from the 1990s. Participants will keep oral diaries in their native language about their daily English use over 10 weeks, discussing their challenges and opportunities in focus groups. The findings will provide a richer understanding of how these women engage with English and navigate learning outside of formal classroom settings.

Role of the Community-Academic Scholar
The scholar will be involved in every stage of the project, including:

• Recruiting participants
• Conducting detailed life history interviews
• Assisting with oral diary entries.
• Facilitate focus group discussions
• Transcribe and analyze data
• Contribute to literature reviews, journal articles, and conference presentations
• Directly interact with Afghan women participants, aiding in documenting their English language practices and exploring the social dynamics influencing their learning
• Work closely with the academic mentor, community partners, and graduate student instructors, gaining a holistic understanding of the challenges faced by preliterate ESL learners
• Complete CITI training