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Findings show sociolinguistic influences operate alongside linguistic proficiency and employer/coworker dynamics. The study concludes with pedagogical implications aimed at empowering immigrants to claim their voice and right to speak at work.",{"@graph":14,"@context":73},[15,34,56],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/","Research & 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\nROSEANNEY LIU  \nCalifornia State University, Los Angeles  \nClaiming Their Voice: Sociolinguistic Factors Affecting Immigrant Workers’ Ability to Speak Up  \nImmigrants’ multiple identities are sources of contention as they strive in the English-speaking workplace, where they need to meet job demands and demands from employers who expect them to conform to the culture of the management (Harper, Peirce, & Burnaby, 1996; Jacobson, 2003; Katz, 2000). With California having a significant immigrant worker population, this study investigated how many of these workers navigate multiple identity and cultural issues while attempting to use their learned English to claim their voice. In an adult ESL classroom, first qualitative data were collected from students’ responses about a workplace scenario. Then, 3 individuals from the class were chosen for in-depth interviews to determine factors that contribute to or hinder their ability to stake their claim in the workplace and speak up for themselves. The study results showed that several sociolinguistic factors influence whether or not workers chose to speak up and that these factors are as pertinent as workers’linguistic proficiency and the types of employers and coworkers they have. The authors discuss pedagogical implications with the goal of empowering immigrants to claim their voice at the workplace.  \nIntroduction  \nImmigrant English language learners are often perceived to be lacking, to be  \nin a deficit position, because they do not have a command of the English  \nlanguage. Not only is this a perception held by some native English speakers, but it is often a perception held by the language learners themselves. These learners often possess negative self-images and often they find themselves on the bottom rung of society, and they do not think that they can question or critique their position in life. Partly because of this, many of these language learners start at low-paying jobs in the American workplace, and they remain in these positions because they lack the linguistic and cultural knowledge for advancement. Issues of identity can also be problematic, especially if the American emphasis on individuality is different from the sense of self cultivated in the workers’ native cultures (Katz, 2000) . In addition, a lack of acceptance by coworkers or staff because of ignorance, prejudice, or a sense of superiority can also cause the immigrant language learner to be silent at work.  \nThe CATESOL Journal 21.1 • 2009/2010 • 45  \nImmigrant workers need more than the linguistic rules of the English language; they need to understand the expectations, power dynamics, and sociolinguistic elements occurring in the workplace (e.g., Dávila, 2008; Harper, Peirce, & Burnaby, 1996; Jacobson, 2003; Katz, 2000; Li, 2000) . Lack of this cultural knowledge can lead to misunderstandings, conflicts, and dead-end jobs. It is our conviction that with informed teaching practices taking these paralinguistic factors into consideration, ESL teachers not only can promote workers’ acquisition of English, but they can also help the workers claim their right to speak in the workplace. The purpose of this study is to explore factors that impede workers from finding, in addition to factors that help them find, their voice at work, and to suggest pedagogical methods that ESL teachers can use to give workers the tools they need to navigate their way to improved job circumstances.  \nIn this study we will first discuss the literature that examines reasons behind immigrants’ not speaking up at work, particularly not speaking up in the ways expected by the general American social construct in the workplace. Then we will report findings from a class discussion based on a scripted workplace scenario and three in-depth qualitative interviews with ESL students who hold jobs in various industries in the Los Angeles area. The finding","cbCaisBvYUDVSYaM","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaisBvYUDVSYaM","pdf",200971,21,"English","# Introduction\n# Cultural and Paralinguistic Differences Causing Communication and Identity Conflict","[{\"question\":\"What was the purpose of this study on immigrant workers and speaking up?\",\"answer\":\"To explore factors that impede immigrant workers from finding their voice at work and factors that help them speak up, along with pedagogical methods ESL teachers can use to support them.\"},{\"question\":\"How were data collected in the adult ESL classroom?\",\"answer\":\"Qualitative data were collected from students’ responses to a scripted workplace scenario, followed by in-depth interviews with three class participants who held jobs in different industries.\"},{\"question\":\"Which factors were found to affect whether workers speak up?\",\"answer\":\"Several sociolinguistic factors were shown to influence speaking up, and they are described as as pertinent as linguistic proficiency as well as the types of employers and coworkers workers have.\"}]","Claiming Their Voice - Sociolinguistic Factors Affecting Immigrant Workers’ Ability to Speak Up | PDF",1792086031,53]