Open AccessIslam and English Learning in Australia: Female Learners Working Through Differences
Author(s) -
Hassan Abdilah
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
international journal of applied linguistics and english literature
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2200-3592
pISSN - 2200-3452
DOI - 10.7575/aiac.ijalel.v.10n.3p.7
Subject(s) - mainstream , islam , immigration , focus group , narrative , islamic culture , gender studies , government (linguistics) , psychology , sociology , political science , geography , linguistics , philosophy , archaeology , anthropology , law
The study examines the way Islamic religion and culture influence Muslim immigrant women’s participation in English learning programs in Australia. It presents a narrative of three married Iraqi Muslim Immigrant Women’s (IMIW) experiences in both mainstream mix-gender and women-only English classes in Melbourne. Two data collection methods were employed, in-depth interviews and a focus group discussion, to generate data from the participants. The findings show that the participants struggled to cope with mixed-gender classes due to some social, cultural and religious attributes including familiarity with single-gender settings, family commitments and the culture of their community. The paper presents recommendations for the Australian government to pay more attention to women-only classes to stimulate immigrant women to English learning courses.