Nafisah Graham-Brown | UCL Institute of Education (original) (raw)

Drafts by Nafisah Graham-Brown

Migrant women settling in the UK have to prove English-language proficiency and citizenship knowl... more Migrant women settling in the UK have to prove English-language proficiency and citizenship knowledge in their first two years. Both of these are seen as indicators of integration for migrant women. What are migrant women’s own perceptions of integration and how do their daily interactions play a role in their language development and integration? This Doctor in Education (EdD) Institution Focussed Study explores the role of out-of-class interactions in migrant women’s perceptions of their language development and their integration process through a case study with participatory methods of data collection. Using Bosswick & Heckmann's (2006a) interactive aspect of integration together with sociocultural theories of language development as theoretical perspectives, a case study of this phenomena was carried out. Findings indicate that the out-of-classroom interactions in English are important to enable wider community engagement and integration for migrant women. Formal settings such as work and children’s schools provide opportunities for interactions in informal settings and ESOL classes are perceived to play an important role in developing interactions in informal settings.

Thesis Chapters by Nafisah Graham-Brown

Thesis and Dissertations by Nafisah Graham-Brown

UCL Doctoral Thesis, 2020

Belonging: A study of the relationship between migrant women’s social interactions and their perc... more Belonging: A study of the relationship between migrant women’s social interactions and their perception of their own integration.
Migrant women settling in the UK face multiple barriers to integration. This qualitative study explored the experiences of six newly arrived migrant women who attended community ESOL classes (English for Speakers of Other Languages), focusing on the women’s social interactions in English, the places in which social interactions took place and their sense of belonging. Belonging is defined as feeling at ease with oneself and one’s surroundings (Miller, 2003). Data was gathered over one and a half years, using narrative interviews and oral diaries, and analysed using thematic and classic content analysis methods. The study concluded that women’s social interactions took place in four main spheres: local community, public services, work and home. Data demonstrated that social interactions in English affected women’s feelings of belonging from four aspects: material, relational, cultural and temporal. Findings indicated that social interactions supported women to build trust in people who were different to them and to learn cultural knowledge, practices and acceptable behaviours not formally taught in their ESOL sessions, which supported participants to gain access and to feel at ease in unfamiliar spheres.
This study will help teachers to recognise the contribution of social interactions to their students’ language development and integration; policy-makers to plan for future ESOL and integration programme development and funding; and assist organisations in designing more effective community ESOL programmes. Recommendations include for practitioners to plan for activities to support social interactions outside the classroom, to consider the importance of digital skills in enabling ESOL learners to participate in online social interactions, and a more joined-up approach with public service organisations to support staff in those roles to understand how to best support migrant clients who are learning English.

Papers by Nafisah Graham-Brown

Springer eBooks, 2021

Dimitriadou, A. (2010). The social networks of refugees : a sociological investigation of At a SE... more Dimitriadou, A. (2010). The social networks of refugees : a sociological investigation of At a SELT English test centre At a LIUK English test centre At a Driving test centre At the bank Talking to estate agents At a local corner shop At a retail store On social media/ online/ websites On Whatsapp Home-in-laws/husband Home-own 20a Home-neighbours Public-street/open places ESOL class College Home Office Home-other families Social Services Housing support services Travel-trains Child Maintennance agency Library Family friends home Home Community Children's Centre Mosque Home-temp/hostel Volunteer placement 36a Prospective employer Friend's houses/other people Jobcentre Council CAB Child's friend's home Opticians Counselling services 43b Physio Temple Café/restaurant Park Workshop 189 Conversation Club Driving lesson Places of interest Utilities/services Receiving information Requests for information and giving information Formal Receiving information Talking to daughter about school, playing with daughter, looking after daughter. Informal Receiving information Talking to nursery nurses Formal Receiving information and instructions Being told the rules by hostel manager/caretaker Formal Receiving information and instructions Getting messages from the school about tasks for children to complete (homework) Formal Receiving information and instructions Listening for understanding of complex medical terminology Formal Receiving information and instructions Receiving advice for recovery (physio for son's fingers) Formal Receiving information and instructions Requests/instructions to do thing you need to eat this medicine; you need to take this scan Formal Receiving information and instructions Taking instructions Formal Receiving information and instructions Taking part in the PTA Formal Receiving information and instructions Talking to teachers about her daughter's progress and issues/problems

Language Learning of Adult Migrants in Europe Theoretical, Empirical, and Pedagogical Issues, 2022

In this chapter, I explore the experiences of language learning and integration of six newly arri... more In this chapter, I explore the experiences of language learning and integration of six newly arrived migrant women who attended community ESOL classes (English for Speakers of Other Languages) in East London. I draw on qualitative data gathered over eighteen months using narrative interviews and oral diaries to focus on the women’s social interactions in English, the places in which those social interactions took place, and the women’s sense of belonging, defined as feeling at ease with oneself and one’s surroundings (May, 2011). The women’s social interactions took place in four main spheres: local community; public services; work; and home. Their social interactions in English affected their feelings of belonging in four aspects: material; relational; cultural; and temporal. I show how the migrant women’s social interactions with others, including acquaintances and strangers, affected the development of trust in other people and their surroundings in their new community in London. I also suggest that social interactions supported the women in acquiring cultural knowledge, practices, and behaviours that were not formally taught in their ESOL sessions. I conclude by emphasising the importance of teachers, and others involved in designing community ESOL programmes, recognising the contribution that social interactions can make to migrants’ language development and social integration.

IATEFL ESOL Matters Newsletter, 2022

My doctoral research focussed on the experiences of migrant women who were settling in the UK and... more My doctoral research focussed on the experiences of migrant women who were settling in the UK and their perception of their own belonging. In my role I was supporting refugees and migrant women with ESOL (English for speakers of other languages) and settlement programmes and I was interested in the social interactions in English that my students participated in outside of their ESOL sessions. I wanted to explore how these affected their sense of belonging in their new community and I found that social interactions supported the women to feel a greater sense of belonging (Graham-Brown, 2020).
I recently presented my research to IATEFL ESOL SIG members, who had questions about applicability of belonging in our classrooms. Through this article I would like to start a conversation about how ESOL practitioners and providers can foster a sense of belonging in our classrooms, and possible implications for future research and practice.

RaPAL, 2020

The 2019 Learning and Work Institute English, Maths and ESOL Conference took place on the 4th Dec... more The 2019 Learning and Work Institute English, Maths and ESOL Conference took place on the 4th December 2019 with the theme ‘No one left behind’. I was invited to take part in a panel to look at the progress that has been made since the Moser Report 1999. Statistics presented in the keynote and opening address were depressing: a decline of 40% in participation in adult literacy and numeracy since 2011/12 (LWI, 2019). In ESOL, we know that there has been a reduction of ESOL funding by 60% when comparing figures in 2009 with those in 2016, and participation fell from 180,000 in 2009/10 to 100,000 in 2015/16 (House of Commons Library, 2017, p. 7). Furthermore, evidence shows that those lacking in basic skills are also likely to have low basic digital skills (Good Things Foundation, 2018) It was easy for me to deduce that there had been a downward trend and to be concerned about the future of adult skills.

RaPAL, 2022

Nafisah is the National Co-Chair for NATECLA (National Association for Teaching English and Commu... more Nafisah is the National Co-Chair for NATECLA (National Association for Teaching English and Community Languages to Adults) and Head of Life Skills and Community at ELATT, an education charity in London. She has worked with the third sector, adult and community learning (ACL), the government and local authorities. Her doctoral research about the experiences of migrant women who are settling into UK society, focused on how social interactions in English affected their perception of their own belonging.

Language Issues, 2018

This paper introduces the policies and programmes implemented in the UK between 2001 and 2017 to ... more This paper introduces the policies and programmes implemented in the UK between 2001 and 2017 to support the integration of migrants. It considers in particular three key reports, 'What works in community cohesion', 'Integration and Opportunity' and 'Integration Not Demonisation' and the ways these have influenced government policy and public perceptions of integration, including government support for ESOL provision for migrants. There is particular reference to the situation relating to migrant women, as this overview of policy and programme will provide the background for Nafisah Graham-Brown's research study on newly arrived migrant women and the development of their social relationships. (Graham-Brown, forthcoming). This paper uses Nafisah Graham-Brown's definition of integration 'Integration is the process whereby migrants become part of UK society, a process in which there are multiple responsible parties, including host communities and the government' (Graham-Brown, 2015). The definition of the concept of social cohesion is taken from Sagger et al Social cohesion is 'people's perceptions of how people get along with each other in their local area or neighbourhood' (2012, pg. 2).

Educational Linguistics, 2021

Migrant women settling in the UK face multiple barriers to integration. This qualitative study ex... more Migrant women settling in the UK face multiple barriers to integration. This qualitative study explored the experiences of six newly arrived migrant women who attended community ESOL classes (English for Speakers of Other Languages), focusing on the women’s social interactions in English, the places in which social interactions took place and their sense of belonging. Belonging is defined as feeling at ease with oneself and one’s surroundings (Miller, 2003). Data was gathered over one and a half years, using narrative interviews and oral diaries, and analysed using thematic and classic content analysis methods. The study concluded that women’s social interactions took place in four main spheres: local community, public services, work and home. Data demonstrated that social interactions in English affected women’s feelings of belonging from four aspects: material, relational, cultural and temporal. Findings indicated that social interactions supported women to build trust in people who were different to them and to learn cultural knowledge, practices and acceptable behaviours not formally taught in their ESOL sessions, which supported participants to gain access and to feel at ease in unfamiliar spheres. This study will help teachers to recognise the contribution of social interactions to their students’ language development and integration; policy-makers to plan for future ESOL and integration programme development and funding; and assist organisations in designing more effective community ESOL programmes. Recommendations include for practitioners to plan for activities to support social interactions outside the classroom, to consider the importance of digital skills in enabling ESOL learners to participate in online social interactions, and a more joined-up approach with public service organisations to support staff in those roles to understand how to best support migrant clients who are learning English.

This review is a survey of the academic and grey literature on effective ESOL delivery and commis... more This review is a survey of the academic and grey literature on effective ESOL delivery and commissioning, with a focus on: initial assessment; outreach and referrals of refugees into suitable language classes; content and delivery models that focus on language both for social integration and for work; linking formal and informal learning activities; and overcoming barriers to learning and ensuring refugees have the right wider support. The emphasis is on identifying examples of effective practice both in terms of commissioning and delivery, and includes evidence relating to informal language tuition, particularly in the UK.

Language Issues, 2021

Teaching ESOL to victims of trauma and trafficking Emerging from the Pandemic: Reflections for th... more Teaching ESOL to victims of trauma and trafficking Emerging from the Pandemic: Reflections for the ESOL Sector Checking understanding and engaging online students when cameras are off ESOL in the times of pandemicgetting the full picture Which model of synthesized English do English teachers want for a lingua franca? Exploring the language orientations of third-sector ESOL teachers in London towards translanguaging Language Issues is published by NATECLA National Association for Teaching English and other Community Languages to Adults www.natecla.org.uk

NYS TESOL Journal, 2021

Graham-Brown shares her experience of “Decolonising the Curriculum” while designing a training se... more Graham-Brown shares her experience of “Decolonising the Curriculum”
while designing a training session for ESOL teachers. Graham-Brown imparts her planning strategies for the training session, which is rooted in a UK ESOL context and was developed against the backdrop of the
Black Lives Matter movement. She reveals how she adapted a framework to support ESOL teachers to develop inclusive materials, and help learners to identify intersectional exclusion. The helpful scripts she
includes not only identify challenging themes for ESOL teachers, but also offer much-needed guidance and support.
In September 2020 I was asked to deliver a session called 'Decolonising the Curriculum' to trainee teachers preparing to teach adults in colleges, as part of their postgraduate teacher training programme. At that time, discussions of 'decolonising the curriculum' had become more prominent in the UK, responding to both the resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement against racial injustice in America after the murder of George Floyd, and the UK national context of the experiences of people from Black and minoritized backgrounds. Conferences featured sessions discussing the lack of representation of diverse people in education curricula and the issue with accounts of historical events. This included questioning the use of language in presentations of national and world events 1. UK-based calls to 'decolonise the curriculum' had originated in student bodies of national universities, where students and academics had identified problematic representations of historical figures and events, and use of reference books and materials created by authors of white male backgrounds (Charles, 2019). A definition from Keele University is that decolonising is about rethinking, reframing and reconstructing the current curriculum in order to make it better, and more inclusive. It is about expanding our notions of good literature so it doesn't always elevate one voice, one experience, and one way of being in the world. It is about considering how different frameworks, traditions and knowledge projects can inform each other, how multiple voices can be heard, and how new perspectives emerge from mutual learning. (Keele University, n.d.).