"I Want to Do Things With Languages": A Male Karenni Refugee's Reconstructing Multilingual Capital. Issue 4 (3rd July 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Duran, Chatwara Suwannamai
• Is Part Of: Journal of language, identity, and education. Volume 15:Issue 4(2016)
• Page Start: 216
• Page End: 229
• Publication Date: 2016-07-03
• Subjects: Identity construction -- multilingualism -- refugee -- transnational identities; Language and education -- Periodicals; Multicultural education -- Periodicals; 306.44
• DOI: 10.1080/15348458.2016.1194208
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1534-8458

Abstract

ABSTRACT: This article discusses how a male Karenni refugee in the United States has constructed multilingual capital along the way of his multiple movements across national borders. As a member of an ethnic minority group in three different countries (Burma, Thailand, and the United States), he has invested in learning multiple languages throughout the movements. Based on a two-year ethnographic study on the participant's multilingual practices, I argue that being multilingual is a fundamental part of his transnational identities, economic security, and agentive acts. His roles outside formal classroom settings as a language broker, refugee, and an ESL tutor have been shaped by a continuum, or horizontal relationship of languages. The study suggests the inclusion of adult students' transnational identity and multilingual practices outside a language classroom. In addition, a career that requires multilingual skills and transnational knowledge should be encouraged and created for newcomers.