Second language acquisition: The impacts on the culture of a Hmong refugee community in Australia

Abstract

The role of teaching English as a second language will be related to a refugee community in Australia. Research demonstrates that second language acquisition has had major impacts on the traditional family, social, and cultural leadership structure of the Hmong, including first language attrition among second generation immigrants. The results of education will be considered within a social and ethnographic context, as well as situated within the troubling framework of language and power. Ultimately, it will be argued that although learning English does assist the integration of ethnic communities in Australia, there can be a destructive social and cultural price to pay for these communities.