Belonging and bordering in refugee and asylum-seeking language learning communities

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The UK is considered unique in its levels of aggression and hostility towards migrants,refugees and people seeking asylum (UNHCR, 2015) and almost half of British people claimed tohave little to no sympathy for those taking dangerous journeys to cross the channel from France toEngland (YouGov, 2020). Nationalist, monolinguistic ideologies are on the rise and English languagelearning is increasingly politicised, reinforced by the introduction of more restrictive languagerequirements under the new immigration policies that have followed Brexit (Home Office, 2020).This study will respond to this divided socio-political landscape, engaging with these issues byexploring refugee and asylum-seeking people's experiences in relation to ideas of language,bordering and belonging.Background and RationaleThe push for 'integration' has been the main thrust of government policies and politicaldiscourse around immigration, in which English language education plays a key role. Simpson notesthe "emphasis on the English language as a condition of citizenship and as a maker of integration"(2019, p. 26) and it is clear that ESOL policy and reports over recent years have been preoccupiedwith the relationship between language learning and bordering agendas (Casey, 2016; MHCLG,2019; Morrice, 2007; Simpson, 2019; Stevenson & Paget, 2014). Recent research has considered theconnections between ESOL education and integration as it relates to policy (Court, 2017; Simpson,2019) however there are few published studies on ESOL learners' perceptions and experiences withlanguage learning communities as spaces for bordering and belonging.