Telling Stories of Violence in Adult ESL Classrooms: Disrupting Safe Spaces

Autor/in	Waterhouse, Monica
Titel	Telling Stories of Violence in Adult ESL Classrooms: Disrupting Safe Spaces
Quelle	In: TESL Canada Journal, 33 (2016), S.20-41 (22 Seiten) PDF als Volltext kostenfreie Datei Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0826-435X
Schlagwörter	Violence; Adult Students; Story Telling; Qualitative Research; English (Second Language); Second Language Learning; Second Language Instruction; Student Attitudes; Vignettes; Interviews; Language Teachers; Oral Language; Teaching Methods; Safety; Educational Environment; Refugees; Ethics; Transformative Learning; Foreign Countries; Canada + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Gewalt; Adult; Adults; Student; Students; Erwachsenenalter; Studentin; Schüler; Schülerin; Qualitative Forschung; English as second language; English; Second Language; Englisch als Zweitsprache; Zweitsprachenerwerb; Fremdsprachenunterricht; Schülerverhalten; Interviewing; Interviewtechnik; Language teacher; Sprachunterricht; Oral interpretation; Mündlicher Sprachgebrauch; Teaching method; Lehrmethode; Unterrichtsmethode; Sicherheit; Lernumgebung; Pädagogische Umwelt; Schulumwelt; Flüchtling; Ethik; Pädagogische Transformation; Ausland; Kanada
Abstract	This article develops a complex understanding of safe space in relation to adult refugee learners' oral literacy practice of telling stories of violent life experiences in English as a second language (ESL) classrooms. A rhizoanalytic approach brings theoretical and empirical elements into conversation to ask two questions. Can the exigencies of safe classroom spaces accommodate the telling/hearing of violent stories? What might be the pedagogical potential of such storytelling in ESL classrooms? Grounded in literature critiquing safe space discourses and theoretical work that views the telling of violent stories as ambivalent (destructive and productive), I argue that unproblematic conceptualizations of safe classrooms become impossible when refugees are involved. I present a data assemblage drawn from a qualitative study with two ESL teachers and four students. In a series of interview vignettes, the students describe their experiences of hearing their classmates' stories of violence, highlighting the emotional impact of these experiences and their capacity to bring on new ways of thinking. This analysis reframes refugee storytellers as powerful, agentive forces in the ESL classroom and suggests that sharing stories is pedagogical in the sense that it affects and transforms learners. In closing, I discuss the practical and ethical implications of the research. (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	TESL Canada Federation. 408-4370 Dominion Street, Burnaby, BC V5G 4L7, Canada. Tel: 604-298-0312; Fax: 604-298-0372; e-mail: admin@tesl.ca; Web site: http://www.tesl.ca
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2020/1/01