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Brokering Britain, Educating Citizens

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This book is a detailed examination of citizenship and English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) in the UK. It draws attention to the crucial role of teachers as mediators between policy and t...
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  • 16 September 2019
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This book addresses the politically charged issue of citizenship and English language learning among adult migrants in the UK. Whilst citizenship learning is inherent in English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL), the book argues that top-down approaches and externally-designed curricula are not a productive or useful approach. Meaningful citizenship education in adult ESOL is possible, however, if it brings social and political content centre-stage alongside pedagogy which develops the capabilities for active, grassroots, participatory citizenship. The chapters deliver a detailed examination of citizenship and ESOL in the UK. They address a range of community and college-based settings and the needs and circumstances of different groups of ESOL students, including refugees, migrant mothers, job seekers and students with mental health needs. The book draws attention to the crucial role of ESOL teachers as ‘brokers of citizenship’ mediating between national policy and the experiences and needs of adult migrant students. The book links together language pedagogy and citizenship theory with the practical concerns of ESOL teachers and students. 

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Price: $39.95
Pages: 244
Publisher: Channel View Publications
Imprint: Multilingual Matters
Series: Language, Mobility and Institutions
Publication Date: 16 September 2019
Trim Size: 9.20 X 6.15 in
ISBN: 9781788924610
Format: Paperback
BISACs: LANGUAGE ARTS & DISCIPLINES / Study & Teaching, Language teaching and learning, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Emigration & Immigration, EDUCATION / Adult & Continuing Education, Adult education, continuous learning, Migration, immigration and emigration
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This is a coherent, lively, ethnographically-informed critique of ESOL teachers being encouraged to broker official narratives of Britain at the expense of minority perspectives. Positive examples of students as partners in learning make this an authoritative and challenging contribution to the still sparse literature on nationalism, citizenship and language teaching.

Melanie Cooke is a Lecturer in ESOL and Applied Linguistics, in the Department of Education, Communication and Society at King’s College, London, UK. She taught both EFL and ESOL before becoming a researcher.

Rob Peutrell is an ESOL lecturer at Nottingham College, Nottingham, UK. He has taught both EFL and ESOL, and worked as a learning support lecturer.

Introduction. Melanie Cooke and Rob Peutrell                                                         

Part 1: Framing ESOL and Citizenship in the UK

Chapter 1. James Simpson: Policy and Adult Migrant Language Education in the UK

Chapter 2. Rob Peutrell Thinking About Citizenship and ESOL

Chapter 3. Melanie Cooke: ESOL Teachers as Mediators of the Citizenship Testing Regime                                                                         

Part 2: Brokering Britain in the Classroom

Chapter 4. John Callaghan, Tesfalem Yemane, Mike Baynham: Steps to Settlement for Refugees: A Case Study

Chapter 5. Michael Hepworth: Argumentation, Citizenship and the Adult ESOL Classroom

Chapter 6. Pauline Moon with Roseena Hussain: Using Participatory Photography in English Classes: Resisting Silence, Resisting Dis-citizenship

Chapter 7. Melanie Cooke, Dermot Bryers and Becky Winstanley: ‘Our Languages’: Towards Sociolinguistic Citizenship in ESOL

Part 3: ESOL and Citizenship in Migrants' Lives 

Chapter 8. Stefan Vollmer: Digital Citizenship for Newly Arrived Syrian Refugees Through Mobile Technologies

Chapter 9. Sheila Macdonald: Migrant Women, Active Citizens

Chapter 10. John Gray and Melanie Cooke: Queering ESOL: Sexual Citizenship in ESOL Classrooms

Chapter 11. Celia Roberts: From the Outside in: Gatekeeping the Workplace

Afterword. Rob Peutrell and Melanie Cooke: ESOL, Citizenship and Teacher

Professionalism