Home Language Literacy and Educational Background

Impact on Refugee Resettlement

in the Fargo High School Student Population
By Samantha Hamernick
Under the mentorship of Dr. Lisa Arnold
English Capstone Experience
December 01, 2016

A Quick Roadmap
Background
Current
My

Research in this Field

Research

Methods
Results

Fargo South High School

ELL English

My role

classroom

Why does this matter?

Why

should we study refugee education?

[Education] is an indispensable tool for

integration, which empowers people to

participate fully in their community and its
political, economic, social, and cultural life.
- UN Refugee Agency

Background
In

the recent year, most refugees in Fargo are from

Bhutan, Iraq, Somalia, and Democratic Republic of Congo

Beldangi Refugee Camp Nepal

Current Research in this Field

Kate

Vieira

Transnational literacy
Rebecca

Lorimer Leonard

Rhetorical attunement
Kristen

Perry

Storytelling acclimation

Current Research in this Field

Literacy in home
country and
refugee camp

The

Literacy in
new country

current research surrounding literacy in

the refugee community focuses primarily on the literacy in
the new country, disregarding their past.

My Research
Literacy in home
country and
refugee camp

My

Literacy in
new country

research is comparative in nature; I look at how their

past impacts their present, in terms of literacy and
education.

Research Questions
How

does literacy of home language and

educational background impact the resettlement
process for refugees in Fargo, North Dakota?

In

the educational setting?

With

the findings, what can institutions in the

host community do to further assist refugees in
the resettlement process?

Methods

Qualitative research
Interviews
Observation

I visited with participants

weekly for three months

Divine and Kalpana

Methods

Divine
From Democratic Republic of Congo
Attended a private, catholic school
Moved to Uganda for refuge
Speaks 5 languages

Methods

Divine
Exited the ELL program Fall 2015
Connects with family through
Facebook

Methods

I write in English when I talk to my friends

here, but when I talk to my friends from home,
I talk in French and Swahili.

Kalpana
From

Nepal

Remembers

cleaning school
and reciting memorized paragraphs

Methods

I was born in Timai camp. [In school] the teacher

taught in Nepal language. I knew some Hindi,
some Dzongkha. But I dont remember it. We
didnt really focus on writing. Language is hard for
me.

Kalpana
Has

an ELL score of 3.8/5

Socializes

with Nepali friends inside

and outside of school

Methods

Results
There

is a connection between their past and

present literacy skills

Literacy in home
country and
refugee camp

Literacy in
new country

Results
Differences
Speed of language acquisition
Divine exited ELL program Fall 2015
Kalpana currently has a 3.8/5

Speed of acculturation
Divine has a social job, friends outside of her
culture
Kalpana works in a non-social job, Nepali friends

What Does This Mean?

Both

participants have a set of skills obtained from their

pasts that impact their resettlement

Divine

has an understanding of the importance of

language, practice acclimating to Uganda, and knowledge
of the school system all of which helped her acclimate to
Fargo

Reflections
The

limitations

Number of participants
In

the future

More participants
Educational implementations

References
Canagarajah, Suresh. Clarifying the Relationship between Translingual Practice and L2
Writing: Addressing Learner Identities. Applied Linguistics Review 6.4 (2015): 415440. Print.
Frost, Alanna. Literacy Stewardship: Dakelh Women Composing Culture. College
Composition and Communication (2011): 5474. Print.
Haneda, Mari. Investing in Foreign-Language Writing: A Study of Two Multicultural Learners.
Journal of Language, Identity & Education 4.4 (2005): 269290. Web.
Leibowitz, Brenda et al. The Relationship between Identity, Language and Teaching and
Learning in Higher Education in South Africa. Per Linguam 21.2 (2011): n. pag. Web. 25 Oct.
2016.
Leonard, Rebecca Lorimer, Kate Vieira, and Morris Young. Special Editors Introduction to Issue
3.3. Literacy in Composition Studies 3.3 (2015): VIXI. Print.
Perry, Kristen. From Storytelling to Writing: Transforming Literacy Practices among Sudanese
Refugees. Journal of Literacy Research 40.3 (2008): 317358. Web.
Vieira, K. Undocumented in a Documentary Society: Textual Borders and Transnational
Religious Literacies. Written Communication 28.4 (2011): 436461. Web.

Acknowledgements
Thank

you to my mentor, Dr. Lisa Arnold

Special

thank you to participants, Divine

and Kalpana

Thank

you to Capstone professor, Dr. Amy

Rupiper-Taggart

Also,

thank you to Leah Juelke and her

ELL students at Fargo South High School