ESOL Research Group at Leeds

The next meeting of the ESOL Research Group will take place on

Tuesday 11 March 2008

Time: 5.30-7.30 pm

Place: Room 1.24, Hillary Place Building, School of Education, University of Leeds

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The social and economic experiences of ‘new arrivals’: Evidence from Barnsley

Rob MacKenzie and Chris Forde

Leeds University Business School, University of Leeds

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The presentation will look at the experiences of ‘new arrivals’ in the UK (including migrant workers, asylum seekers, refugees and ‘overstayers’), drawing from a two year in-depth study in Barnsley. The study is based on research commissioned as part of the Investing in a Multicultural Barnsley project. The presentation will examine new arrivals’ access to support services, housing, schooling and healthcare. It will also consider the qualifications, skills and work experience of new arrivals, including their experiences of learning and training in the UK. The research reveals key differences amongst different groups of new arrivals, in terms of their use of, and ability to access, support services. Experiences in relation to housing, healthcare, schooling and relations with the local community also varied by status. New arrivals brought with them a wealth of educational and employment experience, including a high level of academic qualifications and a wide range of work-based qualifications and experience. Many new arrivals had experienced learning in the UK, particularly English language classes.

Learning was seen as a means of developing skills and a source of social interaction. However, access to learning varied markedly across groups of new arrivals, with only a small minority of migrant workers undertaking learning in the UK. This variety of access to learning and broader support mechanisms held implications for local policy makers in terms of responding to Home Office calls for the development of a local ‘integration strategy’.

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As with all ESOL Research Group meetings, time will be set aside for more informal discussion of current ESOL issues.

All are welcome. If you plan to come, just send an email to James Simpson: [log in to unmask]. And please feel free to forward this message to others. A flier is attached.

Details of this meeting can be found on the ESOL Research website: http://www.personal.leeds.ac.uk/~edujsi/

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The ESOL Research Group is open to anyone with an interest in research into ESOL in the Skills for Life context in the UK, and who is within striking distance of the University of Leeds. This includes – but is not limited to – current students, ESOL researchers, practitioners currently carrying out research, practitioners who are planning to carry out research, and those who have been involved in previous ESOL research.

How to get to the university: http://www.leeds.ac.uk/visitors/getting_here.htm

How to get to Hillary Place: Hillary Place is close to the Parkinson Building (with the white clock tower). As you face the Parkinson steps, it is down the hill to your left, and on the left, opposite the old church. Hillary Place is a row of red-brick terraced houses.

Have a look at the map at: http://webprod2.leeds.ac.uk/campusmap/index.asp