Author:

Keywords:

2004 Linguistics, 4704 Linguistics

Abstract:

Contrary to the other articles in this issue, our study does not aim at identifying innovative methods of teaching offered to migrants. Rather, we wanted to investigate the state of the teach- ing of the local language in Belgium to migrants. We tried to assess whether (i) the methods of language classes correspond to the needs of the migrants and (ii) they are satisfied with the teaching they receive. We carried out three in-depth interviews, with a European migrant, a non- EU migrant, and a migrant with an international protection status. We determined the character- istics of the teaching they received and the issues they faced. To know whether these were gen- eralizable to other migrants, we set up a questionnaire, basing our questions on the answers from the interviews. Our study shows that the teaching in language schools in Belgium is form- based and traditional, even though task-based language teaching is regularly found in the litera- ture to positively impact language development of migrants (Condelli et al. 2003 ; Fanta- Vagenshtein 2011). Migrants with an international protection status have to retake class levels more frequently than other learners and have problems understanding the teachers. In general, most students of these language schools wish that teaching methods were more task-based. Ahmad Wali AHMAD YAR Centre for European Policy Studies (Belgique) et Morgane JOURDAIN KU Leuven (Belgique) et Université de Lille