Language, immigration and naturalization explores research on the topic of naturalization and immigration through the critical lenses of (applied) linguists, anthropologists, and educators. The majority of the studies provide insight into struggles of citizenship and belonging, and the role of language in these struggles. The book is structured around the three main themes of policies, pedagogies, and discourse.
Two informative studies under the theme of ‘Policies’ (Part 1) investigate how overarching national policies are reflected in English tests for citizenship in the United States. Through a thorough analysis of the recurring themes of the test, the first chapter, by Michelle Winn Baptiste, identifies the values immigrants are expected to hold in order to become American citizens. More importantly, the chapter investigates how these tests tend to omit or downplay prominent historical events and figures specifically relating to America's minority groups such as Asians and Hispanics. This part also analyses the reflections of Iraqi refugees living in the United States on their experience of gaining citizenship, and describes how refugees may face dis-citizenship (where full legitimacy to some immigrants is refused) during the resettlement process (Emily Feuerherm & Russul Roumani). In terms of method, the second study uses interviews treating the interview as ‘co-constructed’, that is, recognising that the interviewer's positionality, identity, and goals inevitably influence the interview process.
The second part, ‘Pedagogies’, shifts the focus to more pedagogical issues related to English language teaching and learning. The first chapter, by Karen E. Lillie, explores restrictive language policies in Arizona. Students are required to take compulsory English classes, and this has contributed to a feeling of isolation and dis-citizenship. The second chapter, by Paul McPherron, discusses how English teachers from outside China are considered superior by local teachers simply because they are native speakers, thus validating a native-speaker language ideology. The third chapter, by Olga Griswold, tends to highlight pedagogical issues pertaining to classroom feedback. However, the relevance of this chapter to the overarching theme of citizenship and belonging is unclear.
The final part, ‘Discourses’, has a heavy focus on the discourses surrounding citizenship. The first chapter, by Jasmina Josić, provides insight into youth identity in the United States, describing how young people struggle to identify with certain neighbourhoods, communities, and racial categorizations while trying to negotiate their memberships within their local communities. The second study by Jennifer Long investigates the discourse of belonging from the perspective of the locals. Through extensive ethnographic fieldwork, Long investigates how average Dutch citizens define the degree of belonging and citizenship of foreigners, emphasizing participation within society as a key factor for acceptance. The final chapter in this part, by Ariel Loring, focuses on media representations of citizenship and adopts corpus-assisted and traditional discourse-analysis techniques to illustrate how the term ‘citizenship’ is commonly collocated with a term denoting a nationality.
Overall, the studies in this book offer valuable insights into issues of belonging and (dis-)citizenship (mainly in the context of the United States), with some more closely adhering to this overarching theme than others. It could be useful to those wishing to get a broad understanding of (dis-)citizenship issues.
