Communication and Language Management in Third Sector Organisations Supporting Refugees

Abstract

According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the number of people in displacement has reached an all-time high. In 2020 more than 80 million people were in displacement (UNHCR, 2020). In the receiving countries, third sector organisations manage the hosting of asylum-seekers and migrants. The objective of this doctoral research was to explore how third sector organisations that support refugees manage communication and language diversity. The study focused on third sector organisations operating in four countries: Italy, Greece, Spain, and the United Kingdom.

The main question that this dissertation aimed to answer was to what extent are the communication practices of third sector organisations accessible for their service users. A qualitative multiple case-study approach was used to explore the subject, drawing from sources of data such as interviews, focus group discussions, questionnaires, and the analysis of classroom language learning materials. The participants were refugees, staff at third sector organisations and public bodies, and host-country language teachers.

The thesis by publications consists of four journal articles and one book chapter presented in different chapters. Chapter 1 introduces the thesis. Chapter 2 investigates the information-seeking practices of refugees, and the challenges that they encounter when accessing integration-related information in the host countries. Chapter 3 focuses on the linguistic accessibility of third sector organisations. Chapter 4 maps the multilingual and digital practices of third sector organisations. Chapter 5 looks at multilingual and multimodal communication with refugees, specifically the use of images, in the language classroom. Chapter 6 gathers the experiences of researchers conducting research with refugees during the COVID-19 pandemic. Chapter 7 presents and discusses the conclusions drawn from the studies conducted and the implications of the results.

The results of this thesis shed light on the difficulties that refugees face when accessing information in the host countries and provides an updated revision of the multiple translation and interpreting practices at organisations as well as the methods employed to communicate with their beneficiaries face-to-face and online. The thesis also provides recommendations to these organisations on how to make their content and service provision more accessible.