Intercultural Challenges for the Reintegration of Displaced Professionals : A Response to the Language Learning Needs of Refugees in Europe

This book critically reflects on the challenges faced by refugee aspirant professionals in securing employment and the ways in which professional intercultural competence development and attendant language learning practices can help facilitate the professional (re)integration in these communities.

The volume draws on data from a large-scale research project that saw refugee aspirant professionals, researchers, and volunteer language teachers working together to develop and operationalise key intercultural skills needed for professional employment in the UK, the Netherlands, and Austria, ultimately culminating in a toolkit of free online resources co-designed to meet the needs of communities and facilitate the development of these practices across Europe. Detailed analyses of the data drawn from the project allow for critical reflections on co-production in intercultural spaces and researchers’ positionality, power relations, and ethical choices in multilingual contexts. Taken together, the book offers both theoretical and practical considerations for application beyond the European context toward better facilitating the professional (re)integration of migrant communities on a more global scale.

The book will be of particular interest to students and researchers in intercultural communication, refugee studies, and language education.

Tony Johnstone Young is Professor of Applied Linguistics and Communication at the School of Education Communication and Language Sciences, Newcastle University in the UK. His research interests focus on intercultural communication in educational and healthcare contexts. He was principal investigator on the Critical Skills for Life and Work (CSLW) project.

Sara Ganassin is Lecturer in Applied Linguistics and Communication at the School of Education Communication and Language Sciences, Newcastle University (UK). Ganassin’s research interests include migrant and refugee communities and researching multilingual theory and practice. Ganassin also previously worked in the voluntary sector as a project coordinator with refugee women and young people.

Stefanie Schneider joined the CSLW-project as Research Assistant when she was a PhD student with Newcastle University. She is now working as Lecturer in Intercultural Communication at the Open University where she creates short courses such as Intercultural Competence in the Workplace for the Open Centre for Languages and Cultures.

Alina Schartner is Lecturer in Applied Linguistics at Newcastle University where she teaches intercultural communication. Her research interests include intercultural transitions of internationally mobile groups, in particular international students, and intercultural competence. She also has an interest in the social psychology of communication.

Steve Walsh is Professor of Applied Linguistics at Newcastle University in the UK. He has been involved in English language teaching and English language teacher education for more than 30 years in a range of overseas contexts. His research interests include classroom discourse, teacher development, second language teacher education, and professional communication.