How to Cite
Abstract
Proficiency in English is essential for refugees as it significantly impacts their integration, social inclusion and self-reliance. In temporary host countries like Indonesia, refugees are keen to learn English before resettlement, but the COVID-19 pandemic hindered this process. Nevertheless, efforts to maintain English education at learning centers continued. What were the experiences of refugees learning English during COVID-19, and how did they navigate access to education amid the pandemic? This qualitative study examines refugees’ experiences in learning English during COVID-19 and their access to education. It focuses on two learning centers managed by Human Initiative (HI), a UNHCR partner organization in Greater Jakarta. Data was collected through interviews with UNHCR staff, Human Initiative employees, refugee students and volunteer teachers, along with class observations. The findings reveal that English instruction functions as a vital support system for refugees. The curriculum was adapted to accommodate their needs, with materials sourced online and Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) methods applied to improve speaking skills. The study also highlights the obstacles faced by students, teachers, and management as well as highlighting their adaptive and flexible strategies for maintaining education in difficult circumstances.References
Al Hariri, B. (2018). Teaching ESL to Syrian refugees: Problems and challenges [Master’s Thesis, University of Toledo]. https://etd.ohiolink.edu/acprod/odb_etd/ws/send_file/send?accession
=toledo1525277691339487&disposition=attachment
Alefesha, H. M., & Al-Jamal, D. A. H. (2019). Syrian refugees’ challenges and problems of learning and teaching English as a Foreign Language (EFL). Journal of Ethnic and Cultural Studies, 6(1), 117–129.
Ali, M., Briskman, L., & Fiske, L. (2016). Asylum seekers and refugees in Indonesia: Problems and potentials. Cosmopolitan Civil Societies: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 8(2), 22–43.
Alpaydin, Y. (2017). An analysis of educational policies for school-aged Syrian refugees in Turkey. Journal of Education and Training Studies, 5(9), 36– 44.
Alrawashdeh, H. A., & Kunt, N. (2022). Refugee children and English language: Challenges from English language teachers’ perspectives. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 918734.
Atmojo, A. E. P., & Nugroho, A. (2020). EFL classes must go online! Teaching activities and challenges during COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia. Register Journal, 13(1), 49–76.
Aydin, H., & Kaya, Y. (2019). Education for Syrian refugees: The new global issue facing teachers and principals in Turkey. Educational Studies, 55(1), 46–71. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131946.2018.1561454
Bhatt, A. (2022). Refugee crisis: A new era of global conflict. Education and Society, 46, 53–57.
Blake, R. J. (2011). Current trends in online language learning. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 31, 19–35. https://doi.org/10.1017/S026719051100002X
Burgoyne, U., & Hull, O. (2007). Classroom management strategies to address the needs of Sudanese refugee learners: Advice to teachers. Support Document. National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER). https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED499674
Cinkara, E. (2017). The role of L+ Turkish and English learning in resilience: A case of Syrian students at Gaziantep University. Journal of Language and Linguistic Studies, 13(2), 190–203.
Crawford, J., Butler-Henderson, K., Rudolph, J., Malkawi, B., Glowatz, M., Burton, R., Magni, P., & Lam, S. (2020). COVID-19: 20 countries’ higher education intra-period digital pedagogy responses. https://figshare.utas.edu.au/articles/journal_contribution/COVID- 19_20_countries_higher_education_intra- period_digital_pedagogy_responses/22987460/1
Crul, M., Lelie, F., Biner, Ö., Bunar, N., Keskiner, E., Kokkali, I., Schneider, J., & Shuayb, M. (2019). How the different policies and school systems affect the inclusion of Syrian refugee children in Sweden, Germany, Greece, Lebanon and Turkey. Comparative Migration Studies, 7(1), 10. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40878-018-0110-6
Del Carpio, X., Seker, S., & Yener, A. (2018). Integrating refugees into the Turkish labour market. Forced Migration Review, 58. https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:62b82317-ca27-40eb-aa3d- 4fc544ff5469
Dryden-Peterson, S. (2016). Refugee education in countries of first asylum: Breaking open the black box of pre-resettlement experiences. Theory and Research in Education, 14(2), 131–148. https://doi.org/10.1177/1477878515622703
Edisherashvili, N. (2014). Communicative language teaching in Georgia: From theory to practice. Netherland: Leiden University. https://scholarlypublications.universiteitleiden.nl/access/item%3A2899 614/download
Efriana, L. (2021). Problems of online learning during Covid-19 pandemic in EFL classroom and the solution. JELITA, 2(1), 38–47.
Essomba, M. À. (2017). The right to education of children and youngsters from refugee families in Europe. Intercultural Education, 28(2), 206–218. https://doi.org/10.1080/14675986.2017.1308659
Frank, A. (2014). The self reliance strategy and refugee livelihoods: Evidence from Oruchinga Refugee Settlement, South Western Uganda. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Frank-Ahimbisibwe- 3/publication/317427507_The_Self_Reliance_Strategy_and_Refugee_Li velihoods_Evidence_from_Oruchinga_Refugee_Settlement_South_Western_Uganda/links/593a6e4f45851532063ff259/The-Self-Reliance- Strategy-and-Refugee-Livelihoods-Evidence-from-Oruchinga-Refugee- Settlement-South-Western-Uganda.pdf
Ghosn, I.-K. (2013). Developing motivating materials for refugee children: From theory to practice. Developing Materials for Language Teaching, 137–149.
Gultom, E. (2016). Assessment and evaluation in EFL teaching and learning.
Proceedings of ISELT FBS Universitas Negeri Padang, 4(1), 190–198
Hirsch, A. (2018). After the Boats Have Stopped: Refugees stranded in Indonesia and Australia’s containment policies. https://policycommons.net/artifacts/10773939/after-the-boats-have- stopped/11651912/
Husin, A. (2016). Teacher creativity in the classroom management. Sriwijaya University Learning and Education International Conference, 2(1), 185– 194.
https://conference.unsri.ac.id/index.php/sule/article/download/23/13
Isik-Ercan, Z. (2012). In pursuit of a new perspective in the education of children of the refugees: Advocacy for the ‘Family’. Educational Sciences: Theory and Practice, 12(4), 3025–3038.
Karam, F. J., Kibler, A. K., & Yoder, P. J. (2017). ‘Because even us, Arabs, now speak English’: Syrian refugee teachers’ investment in English as a foreign language. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 60, 169–182. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2017.04.006
Lee, H. Y.-H. (2011). English language teaching at expenses of Thai language teaching for urban refugee language learners in Thailand: Social inequalities related to what languages to teach. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 2(4), 810–815. https://doi.org/10.4304/jltr.2.4.810-815
Masoud, N., & Bohra, O. P. (2020). Challenges and opportunities of distance learning during COVID-19 in UAE. Academy of Accounting and Financial Studies Journal, 24, 1–12.
Missbach, A., Adiputera, Y., Prabandari, A., Cintika, G., Swastika, F. Y., & Darningtyas, R. (2018). Stalemate: Refugees in Indonesia—Presidential Regulation No 125 of 2016 (CILIS Policy Paper Series) [CILIS Policy Paper Series]. University of Melbourne. https://doi.org/10.46580/124358
Neupane, N. (2019). Exploring teacher traits in classroom practices. Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies, 8, 97–108.
Ogilvie, G., & Fuller, D. (2016). Restorative justice pedagogy in the ESL classroom: Creating a caring environment to support refugee students. TESL Canada Journal, 86–96.
Olawale, S. K. (2013). The use of instructional materials for effective learning of Islamic Studies. Jihat Ul Islam, 6(2), 20–30.
Pathak, E., & Sharmiladevi, J. (2018). Refugee crises around the world today.
Annual Research Journal of SCMS, 6, 18–29.
Plaisance, M. (2018). Online Course Delivery. In J. I. Liontas (Ed.), The TESOL Encyclopedia of English Language Teaching (1st ed., pp. 1–6). Wiley. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118784235.eelt0129
Popova, I. N. (2016). Education technologies in addressing the problem of forming the socially active individual. International Journal of Environmental and Science Education, 11(9), 2583–2593.
Pramana, C., Susanti, R., Violinda, Q., Yoteni, F., Rusdiana, E., Prihanto, Y. J. N., Purwoko, R. Y., Rahmah, N., Hasnawati, Fakhrurrazi, Yendri, O., Arkiang, F., Purwahida, R., & Haimah. (2021). Virtual learning during the COVID- 19 pandemic, a disruptive technology in higher education in Indonesia. International Journal of Pharmaceutical Research, 12(02). https://doi.org/10.31838/ijpr/2020.12.02.430
Reinprecht, C., Suter, R., Parry, B., & Rampelt, F. (2021). No longer a ‘lost generation’? Opportunities and obstacles of online and blended learning programmes for Syrian refugees in Jordan and Lebanon. Journal of Refugee Studies, 34(3), 3197–3220.
Riggs, S. E., Grant, P. M., Perivoliotis, D., & Beck, A. T. (2012). Assessment of cognitive insight: A qualitative review. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 38(2), 338– 350.
Rothan, H. A., & Byrareddy, S. N. (2020). The epidemiology and pathogenesis of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak. Journal of Autoimmunity, 109, 102433.
Rugel, J. M. Z. (2018). Teaching English pronunciation to adult refugees: A personal narrative of a graduate student in Newfoundland. The Morning Watch: Educational and Social Analysis, 46(1–2). https://journals.library.mun.ca/index.php/mwatch/article/view/2035/1 615
Saleem, A. (2019, August 23). Refugee crises around the World. InfoMigrants. https://www.infomigrants.net/en/post/19033/refugee-crises-around- the-world
Savignon, S. J. (1987). Communicative language teaching. Theory Into Practice, 26(4), 235–242. https://doi.org/10.1080/00405848709543281
Silove, D., Sinnerbrink, I., Field, A., Manicavasagar, V., & Steel, Z. (1997). Anxiety, depression and PTSD in asylum-seekers: Associations with pre- migration trauma and post-migration stressors. British Journal of Psychiatry, 170(4), 351–357. https://doi.org/10.1192/bjp.170.4.351
Steele, T. J. (2017). English language teaching to Syrian refugees in transit.
Turkish Online Journal of English Language Teaching, 2(1), 40–52.
Torres, J. W. (2004). Speaking up! Adult ESL students’ perceptions of native and non-native English speaking teachers. University of North Texas. https://search.proquest.com/openview/50ac2481f7b8e490927157781a 7f2724/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=18750&diss=y
Tshabangu-Soko, T. S., & Caron, R. M. (2011). English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL): Improving English language acquisition for preliterate and nonliterate adult African refugees. Journal of Immigrant & Refugee Studies, 9(4), 416–433. https://doi.org/10.1080/15562948.2011.616812
UNICEF. (2015). Curriculum, accreditation, and certification for Syrian children in Syria, Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, and Egypt. UNICEF Mena Regional Office.
Vin-Mbah, F. I. (2012). Learning and teaching methodology. Journal of Educational and Social Research, 2(4), 111–118.
Wachob, P., & Williams, R. S. (2010). Teaching English to refugees in transition: Meeting the challenges in Cairo, Egypt. Tesol Quarterly, 44(3), 596–605.
Warriner, D. S. (2016). ‘Here, without English, you are dead’: Ideologies of language and discourses of neoliberalism in adult English language learning. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 37(5), 495–508. https://doi.org/10.1080/01434632.2015.1071827
Yasin, B., Yusuf, Y. Q., & Junita, M. (2018). Acehnese teachers teaching English to Rohingya refugees: Process and cultural barriers. SAGE Open, 8(2), 215824401878257. https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244018782574