Abstract
Thesis Summary Migratory movements are a constant in the history of humanity and constitute one of the most evident realities of today's societies. The desire to find better living conditions, both social, labor and educational, is a common aspiration and a right of any individual. Among the most common resources to achieve such purposes, voluntary or forced immigration has been the solution for a large number of people. Voluntary immigration is a term that expresses migration from one region to another, or from one state to another, with full will and free, depending on the decisions of the individual himself. It is an optional choice based on reasons decided by the immigrant, which are often economic reasons, such as work or improving the course of their life. However, the reasons for forced migration are many and very painful. The most important and most common cause of this type of migration is wars. People living in countries exposed to wars and disasters migrate to safe countries to escape death, displacement and destruction. Many of them also escape famines, diseases, epidemics or other reasons that force people to leave their homeland and their families without thinking about the consequences of this decision. According to data provided by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) (in CEAR, 2019: 17), forced human displacement is still growing on the five continents. In June 2018, there were 70.4 million people forcibly displaced. The most dramatic reality is that of Syria, with almost 6.5 million refugees and 6.2 million displaced people within the borders of a country devastated by a civil war that has lasted for eight years. Undoubtedly, one of the basic tools to help these people to integrate into a new society is the command of the language of the host country, which allows them to improve their living conditions, increase job opportunities and facilitate social and political participation. Immigrant children and youth can join the educational system of the host society. Adults will need to learn the language of the host society to enter the labor market. My deep personal interest in working in the field of immigrants and refugees led me two years ago to take the opportunity to collaborate with a Spanish NGO in Lesbos (Greece) as a translator from Spanish to Arabic and from Spanish to English. It was an experience that helped me discover that this is a path that I would like to continue working on. For the same reason, I took this master's degree. During the Master's Degree in Spanish as a Foreign Language at the University of Oviedo, I took a subject Language and Culture in the Teaching of Spanish to Immigrants whose main objectives, as stated in the teaching guide for this subject (2019) are the following: […] On the one hand, to lay the foundations for the development of an intercultural communicative competence, to become aware of the diversity and of the challenges that have to be faced in an increasingly multicultural society; on the other hand, offer resources and methodological strategies that favor the socio-affective integration of students of migrant origin. Also, during the external internships I had the opportunity to collaborate with AccemAsturias, teaching Spanish classes to immigrants and refugees. I found this experience very enriching, it served as inspiration for this Master's degree project and substantially reinforced the interest I already had in working with groups from different cultures in contexts of teaching-learning Spanish to immigrants and refugees. The main objective of this work is to present an overview of the teaching of Spanish to immigrants and refugees, reflecting on specific and relevant aspects that can help teachers working in this field. More specifically, the objectives that are attempted to be mastered thanks to this work would be the following: Explain the difference between immigrant and refugee. Contextualize the immigration situation both nationally and internationally. Demonstrate the need for specific training for teachers in the field of teaching Spanish as a foreign language. Introduce didactic materials and internet resources to teaching Spanish as a foreign language. Determine the limitations and establish some considerations to take into account counts when Spanish is taught to the group of immigrants and refugees. This work tries to offer a broad vision of the general aspects of teaching Spanish to immigrants and refugees and help us to understand that the teacher is the connecting link between the linguistic and cultural needs, the attitudes of the society where they live and the consequent attitudes of the students. His work consists of transmitting practical and theoretical knowledge adapted according to the needs of the students. In addition, it is key to helping immigrant students integrate into the new society and ensure their development within the community, culture and economy of the host country. Also, we have cited many specialized didactic resources in teaching Spanish to immigrants and refugees and that teachers can adapt according to the profiles of the students. To conclude, we believe that teachers who are specialists in this field it is absolutely necessary that they schedule the classes based on the communication methods and needs of these groups and to promote the socialization and interculturality in the society that welcomes them. Because education is the best form available to immigrants and refugees to become full members within the host country's society