The impact of English language proficiency on the daily lives of refugees and asylum seekers

The School of Law and Social Sciences is offering a fully funded PhD studentship to work on a project investigating the role that English language proficiency plays in the daily lives of refugees and asylum seekers in the UK. The project lies at the intersection of Sociology and Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages, and will be supervised by Dr Gaja Maestri and Professor Sue Garton. The integration of refugees and asylum seekers has become a major issue in the UK and English language proficiency is seen as a key facilitator of successful integration. The government has recently increased the required level of English to a B2 level of English for indefinite leave to remain eligibility, which is expected to negatively affect refugees in particular. Moreover, the popular press is regularly publishes articles complaining that immigrants of all statuses don’t speak English.

However, the question arises as to what level of English is really required for these groups to actively participate in their local communities. Taking a qualitative case study approach using semi-structured interviews and participant observation, the researcher will investigate the experiences of asylum seekers and refugees as they engage in English with a variety of people and tasks in their daily life. The potential impact of the study lies both in identifying what level of English proficiency is needed for successful daily interactions and what kinds of targeted English language support would be most useful. The successful candidate will have been awarded, or expect to achieve, a Masters degree (or an equivalent qualification from an overseas institution) with an overall classification of Merit or Distinction (or equivalent) in a relevant subject. Please contact Professor Sue Garton (s.garton@aston.ac.uk) for more information or for an informal discussion.

This position will be based on the Aston Campus in Birmingham, UK. The successful candidate will need to be located within a reasonable distance of the campus, and will be expected to visit in person regularly. 

The successful applicant should hold, or expect to achieve:

A First or Upper Second Class Honours undergraduate degree, and a Masters degree with Merit or Distinction, both in relevant subjects. 

Qualifications from overseas institutions will be considered, but performance must be equivalent to that described above, and the University reserves the right to ascertain this equivalence according to its own criteria.

Desirable / Essential Skills or Experience 

Desirable attributes include experience in working with people with English as an Additional Language and experience with volunteering in the charity sector. Research experience with qualitative methodologies will also be advantageous.

This project covers all tuition fees and includes an annual stipend.

Please note that the successful candidate will be responsible for any costs relating to moving to Birmingham and/or visiting the Aston campus. International students must meet the financial requirements for the visa, flights, and NHS Surcharge. Applicants should be confident that they can meet these costs before applying. 

Further information can be found here: Financial Requirements | Aston University
 

International Applicants

International applicants are welcome to apply for this position. 

We can only consider applications that are complete and have all supporting documents. Applications that do not provide all the relevant documents will be automatically rejected.

Your application must include: 

1. English language copies of the transcripts and certificates for all your higher education degrees, including any Bachelor degrees.
2. A Research Statement detailing your understanding of the research area, how you would approach the project, and a brief review of relevant literature. Be sure to use the title of the research project you are applying for. There is no set format or word count. 
3. A personal statement which outlines any further information which you think is relevant to your application, such as your personal suitability for research, career aspirations, possible future research interests, and further description of relevant employment experience. 
4. A Curriculum Vitae (Resume) which details your education and work history. 
5. Two academic referees who can discuss your suitability for independent research. References must be on headed paper, signed and dated no more than 2 years old. At least one reference should be from your most recent University. You can submit your references at a later date if necessary. 
6. Evidence that you meet the English Language requirements. If you do not currently meet the language requirements, you can submit this at a later stage. 
7. A copy of your passport. Where relevant, include evidence of settled or pre-settled status.

Interviews 

Interviews will be conducted online via Microsoft Teams. If you are shortlisted, you will be contacted directly with details of the interview.  

PhD programmes are for those who are seeking to develop greater in-depth knowledge in a specific area. Completing this level of study is about making an original contribution to knowledge, making new discoveries and developing lifelong skills. 

Studying a PhD is great route into academia and industries that are centred on research and innovation. Areas with a demand for very high level and specialised research skills often demand PhDs.

In addition to this specialist knowledge, PhD education will help you to develop a set of valuable transferrable skills. The very nature of studying an intensive research degree will enable you to become a team player, develop problem-solving skills, analytical thinking, and advanced presentation and communication skills.