"I learnt English from Eastenders..."

I stumbled across this interesting video from the BBC website which speaks of a Afghan refugee who learnt English via EastEnders. The reason for this was an attempt to try communicating with his new foster parents. Farid is seemingly using a ‘stereotypical’ English drama to educate himself in language and culture. He cites that he did this as an attempt to have something to talk about with her new peers. This is a great source when talking about identity and the battle a refugee must face when settling in a new country. Do you completely assimilate or do you hold on to your cultural heritage?

This is not an unusual thing for the British government to be preoccupied with. For example, a recent article argues that £20 million should be spent teaching Muslim women English to combat isolation.  These individuals have experienced a range of traumas throughout their lifetime and are greeted by a secondary trauma which may be their cultural identity being attacked in attempt to ‘fit in’ to mainstream western society. 

This discussion would be good to have in a range of topics within the AQA specification. For example; when discussing working class crime rate discuss why these groups (who would be considered w/c) would be most likely to commit crime?  As the legitimate means are not open to them due to the fact they are unable to communicate effectively with wider society. 

References:

• BBC News: English lessons to funding to tackle Muslim women's segregation
• BBC News: Afghan refugee learns English watching Eastenders