| A qualitative study of language needs of Cambodian refugees in a U.S. urban area was carried out in Jacksonville, Florida. Refugees were studied in three groups: Employment-bound, home-bound, and working. In addition, men and women were descriptively compared for actual language uses and needs. A profile of the needs was developed using Munby's (1978) language needs profile model, with 40 selected communicative events analyzed. The language needs were then compared with the language taught by a sponsoring agency, in terms of content, to see if they corresponded. Since the notion of doing needs identification is relatively unused in refugee education, this study contributes to the small but growing literature on refugee language needs and acculturation/resettlement patterns, which can help to make language teaching to refugees more effective.;The major findings of the study center on the pronounced tendency of refugees to depend on third-parties when confronted with situations requiring interaction with Americans, even where little language use is needed. This, combined with the tendency of some helpers to help to the extent that the helping interferes with language acquisition and acculturation, bodes ill for English language instruction. While the sponsor's curriculum generally corresponded fairly well with the language needs found in the profile, the majority of refugees used English very little outside of the classroom. Based on these findings, it would seem beneficial for sponsors to monitor helper-refugee situations more rigorously and also to structure learning situations so that maximum emphasis can be placed on experiential language use and acculturation activities in the community. |
