English Language Acquisition in the Lao Community of Wellington: Recommendations for Refugee Groups

Hilary Smith

In the late 1970s there was an exodus of refugees from Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos, and New Zealand was one of the countries of resettlement. The Lao community is the smallest of these three groups. A knowledge of English is essential in New Zealand, and therefore the scope of language services provided to minority ethnic groups is an equity issue.

This paper describes a research project on English language acquisition in the Lao refugee community in Wellington, their experiences of English language study, and their attitudes towards the languages and cultures of Laos and New Zealand.

The results show that most of the Lao community members now have some proficiency in English, but there is dissatisfaction with their level of English language acquisition in terms of its translation into employment opportunities. Strong positive relationships were found between English language ability and participants’ years of education in New Zealand and their ages, but negative links were found for their integration into the Lao community and positive attitudes towards Lao language and culture. Finally there are recommendations for improving language access for refugee groups in New Zealand.