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'I Am 'THAT' Refugee!' Raising Critical Multilingual Language Awareness through Spoken Word Poetry with Refugee-Background Learners

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Title: 'I Am 'THAT' Refugee!' Raising Critical Multilingual Language Awareness through Spoken Word Poetry with Refugee-Background Learners
Language: English
Authors: Jennifer Burton (ORCID 0000-0003-0063-5711)
Source: TESOL Quarterly: A Journal for Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages and of Standard English as a Second Dialect. 2025 59(4):2179-2205.
Availability: Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://www.wiley.com/en-us
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 27
Publication Date: 2025
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education
Postsecondary Education
Descriptors: Refugees, Poetry, Second Language Learning, Second Language Instruction, English for Academic Purposes, Foreign Countries, College Students, Transformative Learning, Student Experience, Attachment Behavior, Affective Behavior, Personal Autonomy, Art Education, Self Concept, Racism, Race
Geographic Terms: Canada
DOI: 10.1002/tesq.70002
ISSN: 0039-8322
1545-7249
Abstract: Transformative learning in education requires pedagogical change to challenge where knowledge is situated and dislodge the unmerited privileges associated with conventional practices of language and emotion in classrooms. Responding to this call, this paper centers the experiences of two learners with refugee backgrounds and explores how a spoken word poetry curriculum implemented in a language classroom raises critical awareness related to language, identity, race/racism, and belonging. Data were collected from course materials, interviews, journals, and artifacts and were analyzed to examine how emotional attachments connect to people and experiences. By positioning students' lives and languages at the center of critical language learning, spoken word poetry cultivated learner agency, and dialogic engagement. Participants disrupted deficit narratives of refugees as illegitimate and reclaimed their right to be heard, seen and felt, first and foremost, as humans. This study makes a pedagogical contribution to literature by highlighting the implications of integrating spoken word poetry into language classrooms and emphasizes the relationship between emotions and language. The findings will be of interest to educators and researchers interested in disrupting conventional language practices that allow students to resist rather than reproduce forms of oppression.
Abstractor: As Provided
Entry Date: 2025
Accession Number: EJ1489183
Database: ERIC
FullText Text:
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  Data: 'I Am 'THAT' Refugee!' Raising Critical Multilingual Language Awareness through Spoken Word Poetry with Refugee-Background Learners
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Jennifer+Burton%22">Jennifer Burton</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0063-5711">0000-0003-0063-5711</externalLink>)
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  Data: Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://www.wiley.com/en-us
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  Data: 27
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Refugees%22">Refugees</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Poetry%22">Poetry</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Second+Language+Learning%22">Second Language Learning</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Second+Language+Instruction%22">Second Language Instruction</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22English+for+Academic+Purposes%22">English for Academic Purposes</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Foreign+Countries%22">Foreign Countries</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22College+Students%22">College Students</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Transformative+Learning%22">Transformative Learning</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Student+Experience%22">Student Experience</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Attachment+Behavior%22">Attachment Behavior</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Affective+Behavior%22">Affective Behavior</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Personal+Autonomy%22">Personal Autonomy</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Art+Education%22">Art Education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Self+Concept%22">Self Concept</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Racism%22">Racism</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Race%22">Race</searchLink>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Canada%22">Canada</searchLink>
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  Data: 10.1002/tesq.70002
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  Data: 0039-8322<br />1545-7249
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
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  Data: Transformative learning in education requires pedagogical change to challenge where knowledge is situated and dislodge the unmerited privileges associated with conventional practices of language and emotion in classrooms. Responding to this call, this paper centers the experiences of two learners with refugee backgrounds and explores how a spoken word poetry curriculum implemented in a language classroom raises critical awareness related to language, identity, race/racism, and belonging. Data were collected from course materials, interviews, journals, and artifacts and were analyzed to examine how emotional attachments connect to people and experiences. By positioning students' lives and languages at the center of critical language learning, spoken word poetry cultivated learner agency, and dialogic engagement. Participants disrupted deficit narratives of refugees as illegitimate and reclaimed their right to be heard, seen and felt, first and foremost, as humans. This study makes a pedagogical contribution to literature by highlighting the implications of integrating spoken word poetry into language classrooms and emphasizes the relationship between emotions and language. The findings will be of interest to educators and researchers interested in disrupting conventional language practices that allow students to resist rather than reproduce forms of oppression.
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  Data: EJ1489183
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      – SubjectFull: Refugees
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      – SubjectFull: Poetry
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      – SubjectFull: Second Language Learning
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      – SubjectFull: Student Experience
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      – SubjectFull: Attachment Behavior
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      – SubjectFull: Affective Behavior
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      – SubjectFull: Art Education
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      – SubjectFull: Canada
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