1

Literacy and
Educational
Background:
A Study of Two High School Student
Refugees
Samantha Hamernick
North Dakota State University

Abstract
This study examines the impact of literacy and educational background on resettlement of two
refugee students in Fargo, North Dakota. Data collection involved participant observation and a
series of semi structured interviews with participants. Two English Language Learner students
from Fargo South High School participated in the study. One, a 19-year-old girl from Congo and
another, a 19-year-old girl from Nepal. Challenging the common belief that refugees past
experiences and present resettlement experiences are similar, results show that refugees have a
unique set of literary and educational experiences that impact how they navigate their new
environment upon resettlement. These results add to the limited existing knowledge surrounding
refugee resettlement. With the results, I suggest a change in the English Language Learner
education system in which a teacher would become familiar with the students pasts.

Introduction
After her Sunday evening shift at a local restaurant, 19-year-old Divine returns home to a
pile of homework from Chemistry class. She momentarily pushes this aside to focus on the
screen in front of her where she is holding a conversation in French and Swahili with friends
from her home country, Congo. When the conversation ends, Divine answers several text
messages on her phone in English, translates a permission form for her mother, starts filling out a
college application in English, finishes a book talk report in English, and then starts her
Chemistry homework in English.
On a similar Sunday evening, 19-year-old Kalpana sits in her kitchen after dinner with
her family; she converses with them in Nepali while finishing her math assignment. She picks up
her phone and replies to a friend via a text message in Nepali. Before the night is over, Kalpana
opens an application for an accounting program at a nearby college. When she sees an essay
requirement, she closes the application and returns to the numbers on her math homework.
On the surface, Divine and Kalpana seem to lead similar lives. However, upon further
inspection, these narratives illustrate notable differences in key areas of their lives. These key
areas include language and literacy, community involvement, education, and future goals. I want
to address these differences among refugees. I am interested in how their past impacts their
present in these key areas of their lives.
The current scholarship surrounding refugees literacy and education focuses almost
exclusively on their lives once they have arrived to the host community. While I agree with the
current scholarship, I would suggest they are leaving out something very important from their
analysis refugees pasts. My research will address this missing piece. In order to thoroughly
address the missing piece, I will lay out the current scholarship. I will discuss current scholarship
on literacy in the refugee community, specifically on language (Vieira, Leonard), community
involvement (Haneda), and education (Chang, Hubbarb, Canagarajah).
Studying education in the refugee community is important because education is an
empowerment tool for refugees. The UN Refugee Agency addresses this importance when they
say: education is a basic right that restores hope and dignity in children driven from their
homes. It is also an indispensable tool for integration, which empowers people to participate
fully in their community and its political, economic, social, and cultural life (CITE). My
approach to studying refugee education in terms of past and present literacy practices is
important because it addresses that refugees have a unique set of skills from their past to bring to
their acclimation process in their host community.
For my study, I used an ethnographic research design to gather qualitative data from two
refugee students at Fargo South High School in Fargo, North Dakota. Specifically, I conducted
interviews and observations with students to gather information on their past and present literacy
and educational practices. I conducted this type of research to examine the impact of literacy and

3
educational background on the resettlement process and educational acclimation into the host
community. I chose to use an ethnographic research design in because I wanted a detailed
account of their past and present situation to analyze and draw conclusions from. Because
ethnographic research is used to analyze cultural phenomena and I am analyzing literacy in
educational and cultural acclimation, I found it fitting to use an ethnographic research design to
study for this study.
Because literacy is a main component of this study, it is important to define literacy. For
this study, I define literacy as skills and resources made possible by the technology of writing
(Leonard VI). I use this definition because, for this study, I am interested in skills and resources
that refugees obtain in their past that transfer to their resettlement process in their host
community. I am focusing on writing because writing is such an integral part of discovering and
acclimating to a new community.
Prominent scholars in the field of literacy and language development are Kate Vieira and
Rebecca Lorimer Leonard. Vieira studies transnational literacy; she discovers that, as people
cross boarders, they start to write within other literacy institutions and their writing crosses
national borders. This is important to my research because refugees cross national borders during
their resettlement process, and this must be taken into consideration for a fully developed
discussion. Leonard studies rhetorical attunement and she finds that multilinguals have a
connection with writing that extends beyond themselves and into the community. This extension
happens because multilinguals detect specifics in a language such as cultural history and politics.
These detections in a language are important because they show how literacy in multiple
languages impact a person as a whole, especially how they interact with their community, or
rather how they acclimate.
In a study to unveil the challenges of being a doctoral student as a non-native-Englishspeaker (NNES), Chang interviews a set of students and analyzes their problem-solving skills.
The key issues that Chang discusses include co-authoring, native speaker assistance, and use of
local knowledge. Regarding co-authoring and native speaker assistance, Chang concludes that
native speaker assistance is helpful to English Language Leaner (ELL) writers, but it can also be
a hindrance, highlighting the importance of diversity among writers; he argues that native
speaker assistance diminishes diversity in the classroom. Furthermore, while studying the
students, Chang discovers that the NNES students tend towards majors in the sciences rather
than the humanities. This is applicable to observations I have made among the high school ELL
students I work with; often, their career goals are in the numbers careers: accounting, math,
chemistry, statistics. With these results, Chang raises the question of whether NNES students
intentionally and strategically choose the disciplines (Chang 690). I address this question in my
research by analyzing how the students define success in educational and professional settings.
In an interpretive case study of two Canadian college students in Japanese composition
courses, Haneda finds that the two students from different ethnolinguistic backgrounds write in
different ways, one far more successfully than the other. Haneda discovers that the success of the
student in composition of a non-native language depended on their investment in learning the
language which is tied to their involvement in the community. Haneda then argues that literacy,

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language, and writing should be studied in is transient form in real-life, using classroom studies
as support, not vice versa. She argues that a learners place in the host community impacts their
learning of the new language; the more involved they are in the community, the more invested
they are in their composition studies.
While Haneda studies the importance and the impact of the community outside the
classroom on language learning, other scholars strictly confine their research and studies to the
classroom. Hubbarb and Shagoury are two of these scholars; they argue that writing, especially
personal narratives, in the classroom develops key academic skills along with a sense of identity
in an unfamiliar world. They study English Language Learners (though she refers to them as
Second Language Learners) in the high school environment. Hubbarb concludes that stories
teach us that knowing who you are is at the heart of education, and writing helps us discover
aspects of our lives and language that surprise, delight, and inform us (Hubbard 60).
Furthermore, Hubbarb argues that educators can empower refugee students through storytelling.
Because I am studying educational acclimation and Hubbarb and Shagoury suggest educational
improvements, their study is applicable to my discussion.
Another scholar that focuses research on education is Canagarajah. In a classroom study
on empowerment, Canagarajah stresses the importance of native speaker ownership and
empowering refugees. He chose to focus his study on empowerment and ownership because he
discovered that refugees were negatively identifying as a direct implication of how community
members and scholars labeled them, thus drawing a connection between community and
education in the refugee community. The author argues that labeling language learners in the
educational setting needs to change at policy level to make a real impact on students. He notes
that it is often the teachers themselves making the changes in the classroom and even though this
is good, Canagarajah repeatedly insists that policy level changes still need to be made. His
recommendation is to implement translingual practices into all classrooms. This would mean
implementing multiple languages in a classroom. He concludes his argument by emphasizing the
need to go beyond monolithic standards and acknowledge that these standards can be realized
differently in different communities (Canagarajah 24). This is important to all aspects of my
research literacy and language, community, and education because it links the three aspects
of resettlement into one.
Although I agree with the current studies, they are problematic in that they do not take
into consideration a refugees literacy and educational history during the resettlement process.
Though one scholar examines the impact of ethnolinguistic background (Haneda), it is done with
exchange students, not refugees, and thus does not acknowledge the resettlement or acclimation
process. There is a great need therefore, to examine the link between a refugees past experiences
and their present experiences and analyze these findings alongside current literature to draw new
conclusions.
The purpose of this study is to do just that examine refugees past literacy and
educational experiences alongside their current experiences to explore how the past impacts the
present and how these experiences differ among refugees. Research questions that shaped this
study include the following: How does literacy of home language and educational background

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before resettlement in the United States impact the resettlement process for refugees in Fargo,
North Dakota? With the findings, what can institutions in the host community do to further assist
refugees in the resettlement process.

Methodology
For this study, I used an ethnographic research design to examine the impact of literacy
and educational background on the resettlement process and educational acclimation into the
host community. I entered this project with a broad research focus on past and present refugee
literacy practices and educational backgrounds among students. I was interested in the ways in
which refugee experiences might shape their acclimation to a new community, especially an
academic one?

Data Collection
Data collection for this study relied upon participant observation and interviews. Data
collection occurred over a period of three months from September 2016 to November 2016. I
visited with each participant at their school an average of once per week during this period.
Participant observation and interviewing occurred in the school setting, usually in the
same classroom, but occasionally in an adjoining classroom. All interviews occurred in English
since both participants were fluent in English. I recorded all interviews and partially transcribed
them. I listened to the entire interview multiple times and transcribed portions of each participant
speaking excluding my questions. I included answers from the participants pertaining to the
study and excluded portions of the recorded interview not pertaining to the study. Additionally, I
took notes during the interviews. Some interviews were open-ended in which I asked participants
to tell me about their home country, their life as a refugee, their family, their resettlement
process, and other general information. These interviews often elicited stories of events they
recalled and wanted to share. Other interviews were semi-structured in which I asked specific
questions regarding their literacy practices and educational background.
My mentor and I took the steps to the receive Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval
for this research but was informed by the North Dakota State University IRB office that approval
was not needed for this research because it was being conducted as part of a class assignment.
The class I conducted this research for was English 467 Capstone Experience with Dr. Amy
Rupiper Taggart.

Participants
To locate appropriate participants, I contacted an English Language Learner teacher at
Fargo South High School. I chose Fargo South because I was familiar with the school.
Furthermore, I chose this school because of my experience volunteering in the English ELL
classroom. I asked the teacher if any of her students would be interested in participating in my
research study. The teacher was given the following selection criteria: two students with different
backgrounds one with a more developed educational background and one with a less developed
educational background. Before agreeing to participate, the students were only aware what was
in the consent form (see appendix A). Because of my experience in the ELL classes at Fargo
South, I was aware of the basics of each potential participants background before selection.

6
I let the participants decide how they would be represented in the presentation of the
research, specifically whether they wanted to use their real names or remain anonymous. Both
participants agreed to use their real first names in the presentation of this research.
Table 1 presents a comparison of the two participants in this study.

Participant
Name
(1) Divine

Ag
e
19

Home
Country
Democrati
c Republic
of Congo

Came
to US
2013

Languages

Family

Swahili,
French,
English,
Luganda, and
Kinyarwanda

(2) Kalpana

19

Nepal

2013

Nepali,
English, and
some Hindi

Elder
sister
(mom)
and
nephew
s
Mother,
father,
sister

ELL
Level
5
exited
2015

3.8
Table (1)

Participant 1: Divine
Divine, a 19-year-old girl, is originally from Democratic Republic of Congo. She lived in
Uganda for a period of time when it was no longer safe for her to reside in Congo. In 2013,
Divine moved to the United States with her elder sister and two nephews. Divine speaks five
language: Swahili, French, English, Luganda, and Kinyarwanda. She is currently at ELL level 5
and exited the program in 2015.
She attended a private, Catholic school in Congo where she was taught in French and
Swahili. They were not given textbooks at school, but they typically had pencils and paper for
writing. At home, she grew up learning both French and Swahili since birth.
Now in Fargo, she writes mainly in English, but continues to write and read in French
and Swahili when she talks to her friends from home through Facebook. Divine also takes
French at Fargo South High School. Today, she works at Noodles and Company. She is a senior
in high school and hopes to pursue her love of science in the future by going to college to study
chemistry. She has wanted to work in a hospital since she was young and hopes to make that
dream come true.
Participant 2: Kalpana
Kalpana, a 19-year-old girl, moved to the United States from Nepal in 2013 with her
mother, father, and sister. She spent her entire life before the US in Nepali refugee camps.
Kalpana speaks three languages: Nepali, English, and some Hindi. She is currently at ELL level
3.8 and still in the program at Fargo South High School.
Kalpanas description of school in her home country revolved almost entirely around
tasks that they completed such as cleaning. She did not recall the learning environment to the
extent that she recalled the chores. What she did recall, though, was being taught in Nepali, the
same language she used at home. Occasionally, the teacher presented words in English or
Dzongkha. They were given supplies for writing monthly, but never textbooks.

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Upon moving to the US, Kalpana continues to talk to her friends at school and outside of
school in Nepali. She continues to the converse often in Nepali when she is surrounded by
friends who speak the language. Kalpana is currently a senior at Fargo South High School. She is
working in housekeeping at a local hotel and hopes to work at Walmart after graduation.
Eventually, Kalpana would like to attend college for a degree in accounting because she loves
math.

Researchers Role in the Community and the Study

Since this is an ethnographic study, it is important to note my role as a researcher in the
study. I have been volunteering in the high school ELL classroom where I conducted this study
since Fall 2015. I worked extensively with Kalpana on writing assignments in the classroom
during the 2015 school year. In Fall 2016 while conducting the study, I worked closely with both
participants in a resource classroom. This class period is devoted to doing homework and getting
assistance from the teacher. The class was strictly made up of ELL students, though of varying
levels. As a familiar face from a local college, I was instantly seen as a resource for both
participants.
The research focus of the impact of literacy and educational background on resettlement
and acclimation into host community was not addressed until the last interview in which I
explicitly asked the participants if they thought there was a correlation between the education
they received in their home country and their acclimation to Fargo, North Dakota, and Fargo
South High School.
It was clear that my past experiences influenced other aspects of my study. My
connections in the English Language Learners department at Fargo South High School gave me
access to the participant selection. Since I have been tutoring in the English classroom at Fargo
South for over a year, many of the students were familiar with me and willing to participate in
the study. Furthermore, once they agreed to participate, the students were comfortable talking to
me in interviews.
Because I wanted to reciprocate the help I was receiving from the participants, I assisted them
with homework nearly every time I was in the classroom. This time helping the participants with
homework improved my understanding of their current literacy practices as well. Furthermore, I
felt it necessary to reciprocate the time and effort put forth by the cooperating teacher, so I often
assisted with tasks she needed completed, such as writing with the students for various reasons.
All of these tasks expanded my knowledge of ELL students. Additionally, since much of the
extra work I was doing with the students involved learning about their pasts, I gained a broader
understanding of literacy and education background among all the ELL students at Fargo South
high school.
The interviews were conducted in English because I do not speak any of the native
languages of the participants. My inability to speak their native languages is a limitation to this
study; however, since the participants spoke English fluently, I believe it was a small limitation.

Findings: Description and Analysis

To understand the participants literacy and educational background in this study, it is
important to be familiar with their country of origin. In the following sections, I briefly describe
the context for both the Dominic Republic of Congo and Nepal. The description of the education
system in both countries is crucial to be familiar with, but familiarity cannot be reached without
historical context as well.

Congolese Context
After the nearly decade long civil war in the Democratic Republic of Congo from 1994
2003, the economy and the populous was left in devastating condition; more than 5 million
deaths were estimated. And in the years following the war, more than 7 out of 10 people lived in
poverty. The economic downfall following the war negatively impacted education enrollment
rates. The government almost completely removed funding for education and the responsibility
fell to public-private and religious organizations cooperation. The education system would not
have sustained if it were not for their cooperation.
There was a gradual replacement of public funding with private funding in the education
sector. This kept the education sector running, it also increased the cost of attendance for
students, many of whom already lived in poverty. Despite the increase in attendance costs,
students still attended. It cost many of their parents everythig they had to send their children to
school, but they made the sacrifice because it was understood that education was the only hope
for future financial success. Because parents were often paying for their childrens education,
they prioritized their children attending school. Furthermore, the increase in attendance cost
increased the quality of schooling.

Nepalese Context
When Nepali refugee camps were first established, former teachers and educators formed
schools. At that point, education in the camp was of high quality. However, educators were
among the first to be resettled abroad. Consequently, when resettlement began, the make-shift
education system in the refugee camps started to suffer from lack of teachers. Graduates of the
camp high schools took charge of teaching the younger students. However, these students had no
formal training in teaching. To solve this, training sessions were formed for these students. Since
they were not offered regularly, students would enter into the teaching position before receiving
training.
It was difficult to find students willing to teach because there was little to no pay, so the
amount of students often outnumbered the teachers by over 100 to 1. Furthermore, there was a
frequent shift in teachers because of the continued resettlement process. Kalpana attended school
during the time of unqualified teachers in the camp.

Data Analysis
I separate analysis of my findings into the two major categories literacy and language
practices and education. I chose these categories because it is what I was searching for in my
study. I lay out my analysis in a way that allows me to analyze each participant and then compare
them.

Literacy and Language Practices

Participant 1 (Divine) Literacy and Language Practices
While interviewing Divine, her excitement for language became apparent. She even says,
It used to be fun. Learning the language was fun. Describing a game her mother used to play
with her and her siblings at home, Divine says, We used to have some house competition, we
only speak French or Swahili for an hour. We would get a sugar can or a packet of mango if we
win, guess who used to always win? I used to. Along with Divines apparent excitement for
language seen in this quote is her mothers value of language. Divines mother implemented
bilingual learning into the home; this tells me she valued literacy in both Swahili and French.
Divine was aware of her mothers value on language. She says, my mom wanted me to learn
both of them since I was little so I grew up learning both. She noted though, that reading and
writing Swahili did not benefit them at the all, so she did not understand why they did it. She
said it only benefited her to know how to speak Swahili. This strengthens my suggestion that
Divine understands the importance of language; she assess its usefulness.

Speaking about where she writes, Divine says, I write mostly on social media. I use
Facebook because it is popular and all over the world. And some friends and family members are
on Facebook. Divine notes that she write mostly in English because she does not talk to her
friends from home often. She says, I write in English when I talk to my friends here but when I
talk to my friends from home I talk in French and Swahili. This tells me that she is staying
connected through literacy to her home community while still becoming more connected to the
community here in Fargo.
Furthermore, Divines French literacy from Congo prepared her for a unique experience
here in the US when she decided to take a beginning level French course. Divine explains that,
through attending French class at Fargo South High School, she began to understand the
frustration native speakers of English must have with beginning speakers. She assumes her
feelings of frustration are similar to those of the people who had to communicate with her three
years ago, when she first moved to the US. This tells me that her past literacy from her home
country helped her sympathize with the host community during her resettlement process.
Finally, Divine moved from Congo to Uganda when she sought refuge with her sister
during the war. She recalls the language and cultural barrier she experienced there as much more
difficult than the one she encountered coming to the US. I suggest that this experience is key to
Divines resettlement process in Fargo.
Participant 2 (Kalpana) Literacy and Language Practices
Kalpana grew up with Nepali in home and in school. She recalls school when she says,
the teacher just talked in Nepal language, we dont really focus on English. Nepali and a little
bit of Hindi. She recalls learning words in other languages besides Nepali but never enough to
remember long term. While interviewing Kalpana, her English was very easily understood. She
is at an advanced level of English. However, she continually apologized for her poor English and
asked me if I could understand her.

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Since Kalpana was never in a situation where she had to learn a new language or culture
prior to moving to the US, she was not practiced in this. Kalpana reflects on her experience with
the language barrier she encountered in the US when she says, the language is difficult for me. I
cannot understand, I just stare at them. I had never not known a language. Language learning is
difficult under all circumstances, but Kalpana was aware that it was more difficult for her
because she had never had to learn another language besides Nepali.
Now in Fargo, Kalpana surrounds herself around mainly Nepali speaking friends and
family. This tells me that she is continuing her language and culture while here in the US.
However, it also shows that she is not fully immersing herself in English. Furthermore, she says
that she only writes in English while in school. This is reflected in her current ELL score of 3.8.
Kalpana currently works in housekeeping, which is a low social job. She is not forced to interact
with other people, especially not English speakers, in her position. While this may suggest
something about her personality, it could also reflect her low confidence in her English-speaking
skills.

Literacy Practices: a comparison

A comparison of the participants shows that Divine was in possession of a set of skills
from her past that Kalpana lacked. Divines set of literacy and language skills assisted her in
acclimating herself to Fargo. Comparatively, Kalpanas lack of language and literacy skills from
her past made for a longer acclimation period than Divines. It is important to note that I am not
suggesting Divine is smarter than Kalpana, rather that she was able to draw on her past literacy
experiences while acclimating to Fargo.

Education
Participant 1 (Divine) Education
Divine attended a private, Catholic school in Congo, which she explains was stricter than
the public schools. In the morning, prayer service would be conducted in French. This time was
also used for disciplinary action; students who had misbehaved during a previous school day
would present a written letter of apology and read it to the school. The teachers made the
students write regularly in French and occasionally in Swahili. Because of lack of resources, the
students were not given textbooks, so they did not read as often as they wrote. Now in Fargo,
Divine remarks on her new love of reading when she says, I didnt really like reading much
when I came here but since last year Ive started getting into more reading. I found an author that
I really like her books.
In Congo, the students had to prepare very time consuming, difficult pieces of writing for
their homework. Divine recalls that it is not even comparable to the homework she gets at school
here. While the structure of the school and the courses were similar to the system in the US, it is
important to note that there were significant differences. Divine note these when she says,
school in Congo is different that school [in Fargo]. Teachers are allowed to discipline kids, like
actually beat you up. Some teachers let you choose where you want to get beaten. You eventually
get used to it. I got used to it. Divine was familiar with this violent school environ-ment when

11
she arrived in Fargo. This is significant because it impacted her relationship with her superiors in
the school environment.
Now, Divine remarks how much she likes the vice principal at her school because he
makes her seem important and he motivates her. One aspect of her life that her superiors
motivate her in is her education after high school. Divine discusses this when she says, I want to
be a dental hygienist, Ive wanted to work in a hospital since I was little. Divines goals for the
future stem from her interest in her education. She is motivated to continue learning and
understands the benefits it may bring her. In direct response to my research question at the end of
her interview, Divine says, Yes, I think it helped. I think my school in Congo helped me. It is
different but it helped.
Participant 2 (Kalpana) Education
Kalpana attended school in the refugee camp in Nepal. She recalls the structure of the
building when she says, We have bamboo, not like buildings [in Fargo]. The school
environment is essential to the type of learning that occurs; Kalpana recalls the buildings always
being dusty and needing cleaning. This type of environment is not conductive of learning.
Furthermore, Kalpana remarks on the type of school she attended when she says, school rules
are different. In Nepal we used to clean a ton. Everyday after school we have to clean. For
Kalpana, school meant chores, not learning. The school day in Nepal involved morning assembly
of singing and recitation, afternoon lunch, and occasionally lessons after lunch.
Now in Fargo, Kalpana remarks that she is happy with the environment. She says, I love
the teachers here. In Nepal, when we have homework we have to finish it or else they will beat
you. Here, it is not as strict. The way Kalpana spoke about homework consequences in Nepal
versus Fargo High School suggested she was less likely to complete homework in Fargo because
there is not a physical punishment.
Kalpana does not recall a strong focus on academics though. She says, In camp we just
you know, its like freedom. We dont have to work we just hang out with friends. This suggests
that Kalpana grew up not valuing education. I see this showing in her goals for the future.
Kalpana says, after high school I just want to work. Right now, I work in housekeeping at a
hotel. I want to work at Walmart. A cashier. Though she might have long term goals of attending
college, her priority is not to further her education. This
Education: a comparison
Since Kalpanas definition of school in Nepal was not in line with the definition of school
in Fargo, the transition was more difficult for her than it was for Divine. Kalpana had to learn to
navigate a completely different education system on top of learning a new language.
Consequently, it took her longer to learn the language because there were more barriers for her.
Divines background in school before coming to the US prepared her for some of the most
common academic tasks such as homework. Alternatively, Kalpanas experience with homework
in the past suggests the alterative that she is less motivated to complete homework in Fargo.

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Discussion
Through my research and analysis of my findings, I discovered a correlation between
literacy and educational background and resettlement experience. Based on this limited study of
two participants from distinctly different backgrounds, I conclude that there is a correlation
between past and present experiences in the refugee community.
While this correlation seems obvious, it is important to note its existence. Refugees have
a specific set of unique skills and experiences from their pasts that they bring with them. As
shown in my analysis, these skills and experiences can hinder or assist refugees in acclimating to
their new environment, in this case Fargo, North Dakota. The setting that I suggest this
correlation between past and present experiences is especially important is the educational
setting. It is important for educators to be knowledgeable of students pasts in order to properly
educate them in the host community. A student with less literacy and educational skills from their
past may be perceived as less intelligent than a student more skills from their past. If a teacher
was aware of students pasts, these perceptions could be corrected.
If teachers are aware of the correlation between past and present literacy and education, it
would increase understanding between teacher and student. This awareness would also help
teachers tailor their pedagogy to the student or groups of students specifically. Consequently,
refugee students would benefit from the tailored teaching. A student who succeeds in school is
empowered to contribute to the community. Consequently, the host community benefits from
educating refugees.
It is important to note that this study is not comprehensive of the participants lives.
Refugee life is often tied to an incredible amount of trauma, which I did not address in my
research. Divine touches on the traumatic experiences of living in a war-torn country when she
says, You never really understand why theyre fighting and killing each other for, its
complicated. You live in fear and you just kind of get used to it. I never want to go live their
again, its horrible. It is important to understand that this trauma is very closely tied to their past
and their present experiences and would be worth addressing in future studies.
Though this finding is significant, it is important not to dismiss other impacts on the
resettlement experience such as familial life, school attended, and economic background, among
others. However, this furthers my point of how different the resettlement experience is among
different groups of refugees. In the future, research should focus more on a refugees entire
background when studying their literacy and education in the resettlement process in the home
country. Doing so could benefit teacher, refugees, and community members. Another aspect that
would be meaningful to address in future studies is the cultural differences between the
participants. The participants are from drastically different cultures and this most certainly
impacts their past and present experiences.

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Identities, and the Complex Issue of Plagiarism: ESL Students Writing in Graduate School.
Journal of Second Language Writing 15.2 (2006): 102117. Web.
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APPENDIX A

CONSENT FORM
Adapted from the consent form used for Kathleen Mullens research presented in A Holistic
Approach to Promoting Student Engagement: Case Studies of Six Refugee Students in Upper
Elementary.
Consent for Using Interview Results
I, Samantha Hamernick, request the rights to use your responses to my interview questions as a
part of research for a class project. I am conducting this research to learn about refugees
resettlement experiences in Fargo, North Dakota based on their literacy and educational
backgrounds with the goal of gaining insight into how the community and local organizations
can specify their assistance to refugees during the resettlement process to maximize success. You
can ask me any questions you want about this study. You can contact me, Samantha Hamernick,
with questions about the study, at 651-303-8004 or Samantha.Hamernick@ndsu.edu. You may
also contact my advisor, Dr. Lisa Arnold, at Lisa.r.Arnold@ndsu.edu. If you understand this
information and agree to take part in this study, please sign your name or put your initials on the
lines below. I will provide you with a copy of this form in case you want to keep it for future
reference.
I agree to allow the researcher, Samantha Hamernick, to use my responses for research. I
understand that I may be quoted at length and carefully paraphrased. I understand that my name
or identifying information will not be used while presenting this research. I understand that I will
not be paid to participate in this interview.
Print Name: ______________________________________
Signature: ________________________________________
Date: _____________________________________________

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APPENDIX B

INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
Adapted from the interview questions used for Kathleen Mullens research presented in A
Holistic Approach to Promoting Student Engagement: Case Studies of Six Refugee Students in
Upper Elementary.

Background

What is your home country? What province did you live in?
What is your ethnic group?
Where and when were you born?
What stands out as significant before you came to the United States?
What was happening in your country during your time there?
o How did it affect you?
Where have you lived?

The United States

When did you come to Fargo?

Can you tell me about your resettlement process here in Fargo?
What was your journey to the United States like?
o How long was the process?
What did you expect when coming to the United States?
o How did it diverge from what you expected?
What traditions here in the United States were most surprising to you?
What was the most difficult part of the transition to the United States?

School and Work

Did you work in your home country?

What kind of work did your family do in your home country?
Do you work here in Fargo? (IF APPLICABLE) What kind of work would you like to do
here?
Did you go to school in (country of origin)? Y/N For how many years?
How big was your school?
Where was it located? What city?
How often did you attend?
What kind of school was it?
When did you start school?
What grade did you go to school until?
What did you study at school?
What materials did you use? *Note students may not know how to answer this question

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What language was school taught in?

Can you tell me about school in (country of origin)?
Was your schooling helpful in your life? Y/N If yes, how so?
Have you attended school in the United States?
What grades have you attended for?
Can you tell me about school here?
How was school back home different than schools are here?
What do you like best about school here?
What do you like least about school here?

Literacy

What languages do you speak?

Written language or mostly an oral language?
When do you/did you use these languages?
How well do you understand your home language?
How well do you speak your native language?
How well do you read your native language?
How well do you write your native language?
How well do you understand spoken English?
How well do you read English?
How well do you write English?
What language do you typically use at home to speak to your family?
What language do you use most of the time at school?
What language(s) do you typically speak with your friends?
Who likes to read in your home?
What kinds of reading materials do you have at home? Newspapers, Magazines, Comic
books, religious materials?
In what language are most of your reading materials?
Do you read for pleasure? Y/N If so, in what language are most of the things you read?
About how many hours do your read for pleasure each week?
Has that changed since you came to the U.S.? If so, how?
How often are you able to speak English with people who grew up speaking English?
In what situations do you write? *Give examples
Do you ever write for anyone else? *Give examples

Research Question

Future

How do you think your literacy and/or educational background affected your
resettlement process?
How does your literacy and/or educational background affect you today?
Do you ever feel empowered or limited by it?

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How do you define someone who is successful in life, meaning someone who has a good
life?
If a cousin who just arrived from (country of origin) asks you how a person becomes
successful in the United States, what would you tell her/him?
What do you want to do when you grow up?
How much school do you think you will need for that?

Other

Are there any questions that I should have asked you that I did not?
Are there any questions that you would like to ask me?