The New Polonia : Defining The Language Barrier for Polish Migrant Workers in the UK. Case Study : Poles in Northern

Ireland

Jason F. S. Blean

MA in Applied Linguistics and TESOL

School of Languages and Area Studies, Portsmouth University

Submitted : August, 2008

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Abstract

Native Polish speakers now make up the biggest ethnic minority in the UK. For the teacher of ESOL this can represent a challenge in terms of understanding the typical linguistic and sociolinguistic issues associated with this people group. This study is an attempt to compare existing research with the author’s own on the phenomenon of the “new” Polish ethnic minority in the UK following EU enlargement and their associated linguistic challenges. Northern Ireland was chosen as an example of a UK region which has experienced a substantial influx of new Polish migrants, in line with other regions of the UK. Linguistic and sociolinguistic issues were investigated via online, written and spoken questionnaires. The questionnaires were semi-structured in design, eliciting both quantitative and qualitative data useful for constructing as wide a picture possible for this group in the short time period available. The results from this survey were analysed in the context of the historical background to Polish emigration to the British Isles and the wider issues faced by migrants from this and different people groups, living and working in the UK. Comparisons were made in particular between the post-2004 wave of Polish migration and the “wartime emigracja” (1940-45). A complex picture of varying experiences of learning and using English emerged, one requiring further study. English grammar and vocabulary were seen as significant issues by respondents; use of articles were not. Age was seen to correlate positively with the perceived difficulty of English. Situational factors such as family commitments and time pressure played a large part in influencing decisions on English study. 8% of those surveyed required an English qualification to secure their employment. A large proportion of respondents (17%) had areas of weakness in their abilities when using English identified to them by colleagues or superiors at work. 29% said they had to learn extra vocabulary and/or grammar to do their job in Northern Ireland. 19% said they presently went to English classes however 54% said they would do extra English study if it meant a pay increase.

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Table of Contents

Abstract…………………………………………………………………………..i

Table of Contents……………………………………………………….……...ii

Preface………………………………………………………………..……........v

Acknowledgments…………………………………………………………….vi

1.0 Waves of Polish migration to the UK since 1863 and their relevance today1.1 Late 19th century Polish migration to the UK………….……..........11.2 Early 20th century migration……………………………..……….….11.3 The “Wartime emigracja”………………………….…………………11.4 The Polish language during the wartime emigracja………….…...21.5 The Polish Resettlement Act (1947)……………………..…….…...21.6 Polish migration to the UK from 1950-2004………..……….…..….31.6.1 Forced and voluntary migration……………………..…….…….......41.7 The phenomenon of “The New Polonia” : Polish migration post- 2004………………………………………………………………….…51.7.1 Polish doctors and dentists working in the UK…………………..…...71.7.2 Church services in Polish in the UK………...………………..….…....71.7.3 Polish schools in the British Isles………………………………..….….8

2.0 The Linguistic barrier faced by a migrant in the UK

2.1 The Language Barrier in the UK………………………………………..10 2.1.1 Defining The Language Barrier……………………………………....10 2.1.2 General Evidence for The Language Barrier in Migrant Communities………………………………………………………................102.1.3 Evidence for the language barrier in the Polish community…………………………………………………………………….112.2 The Language Barrier in the workplace…………………………….....12 2.2.1 Health and Safety at work for the Migrant Worker………………....13

3.0 Language transfer and Coping strategies

3.1 General principles of language transfer……………………...………153.2 Factors affecting language transfer…………....................................16 3.3 Coping strategies in second or other language learning…………....18

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4.0 Age and the migrant worker……………………………............……19

5.0 Psychological and Social factors of the language barrier..........21

6.0 Motivational, cultural, attitudinal and aptitudinal factors impacting on English learning………………………………….………..23

7.0 Legislation and the impact on Polish migrant workers in Northern Ireland 7.1 Local Legislation………………………………..…………….…………257.2 National Legislation……………………………….………….…………25 7.3 EU Legislation…………..…………………………………….…………25

8.0 Language Support for migrant workers in Northern Ireland…..27

9.0 Design of Study

9.1 Methodology………………………………………………..…………….319.2 Research sources………………………..………………………………31 9.2.1 Primary Sources………………………..…………...…………………31 9.2.2 secondary Sources…………………………………………………….329.3 The Questionnaire…………………………..………………….………..329.4 Limitations of the research design……………..………………………33

10. Results and Analysis

10.1 Basic Data……………………….……………………………..……….34 10.2 Experience of living and working in the UK………………………….37 10.2.1 Length of Stay in the UK……………………………………..……...37 10.2.2 Reasons given for coming to the UK to work…………….....…….37 10.2.3 Intentions to stay in the UK…………………………………..……..38 10.2.4 Social choices affecting language use and perceived importance of English to social life………………………………………...……………..38 10.3 Linguistic aspects of the language barrier……………..…………….41 10.3.4 Usefulness of English exams in life and work in the UK………....43 10.3.5 Differences between English used at work and outside of work…………………………………………………………………..………..4310.3.6 Perceived difficulty of English…………………………..…………..45 10.3.12 Other areas of difficulty mentioned……................………………48 10.3.13 Level of satisfaction with English……………………..………..…48 10.4 Aspects of the language barrier in the workplace…………………..50 10.4.1 How important is it for you to be proficient in English at work?.......................................................................................................50

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10.4.2 The need to learn extra vocabulary and/or grammar to carry out tasks at work………………………………………………………….…..…..51 10.4.3 The need to pass an English test to gain employment in the UK………………………………………………………………….…………..51 10.4.4 Motivation to study English further in the workplace………..……52 10.4.5 Possible impact of tighter residence controls in the UK………....5310.4.6 English learning provision by employers…………………….…....55 10.4.7 Extent to which colleagues and superiors identify areas of English in need of improvement……………………………………………………..56 10.5 Opinions on language requirements for foreign workers in the UK…………………………………………………………………….………..57 10.6 Further comments left at the end of the questionnaire………….....57 10.7.1 Variation of perceived difficulty with age…………………….....….59 10.7.2 Variation of perceived difficulty with “intellect”………………..…..60

11.0 Discussion of results

11.1 Basic data…………………...…………………………………………..61 11.2 Experience of living and working in the UK……………………...…..61 11.3 Linguistic aspects…………………………………………………..…..62 11.4 The language barrier in the workplace…………..…………..………64

12.0 Conclusions…………..…...…………………………………………..67

Bibliography…………………….…………………………………..……….69

Appendices……………………………..…………………………..……….77

Declaration……………………………………………….………..…..…….85

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Preface

Recent research shows that 2.1% of all (registered) Poles arriving in the UK between 1 April 2004 and 31 March 2006 located themselves in Northern Ireland (Beatty et. al., taken from Holder, 2007, p.32). Northern Ireland’s population amounts to 2.9% of the total UK population (Office for National Statistics, 2002) so in the numerical sense at least the Polish community in Northern Ireland is representative of other UK regions.

The author notes in much of the research reviewed for this study “The Language Barrier” (or “Linguistic barrier”(NICEM,2004)) has been listed as the biggest challenge expressed by migrant workers of different nationalities across Northern Ireland (McPeake 2007;NICEM 2006). It is therefore important to reach an understanding of what is meant by the term “Language Barrier”. Acknowledging that various elements make for a complex picture of migrant workers from many countries in Northern Ireland, along with the fact Poles constitute the majority of migrant workers in Northern Ireland, it was decided that a focus on the Polish migrant community would be achievable and desirable. Given that there are Polish migrant workers in Northern Ireland of different ages, backgrounds and skills, the author has endeavoured to define what the “language barrier” consists of for these people. Historical, cultural and social aspects of the lives of Poles in Great Britain and Northern Ireland are also investigated and the socio- and psycholinguistic features of the challenge of learning English for a Polish person examined. The author has also looked at current legislature and provision as it impacts on the expressed and perceived needs of Polish workers in the UK. Northern Ireland as a region was chosen as an example the author knows well, being born and educated there, and due to the willing cooperation of Stowarzyszenie Polskie w Irlandii Polnocnej (The Polish Association of Northern Ireland) in this study. The study does not claim to be extensive or conclusive given the limited time and resources available to complete it however it does highlight areas where further research could be carried out to obtain a clearer picture.

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Acknowledgments

Firstly I wish to acknowledge the cooperation of the many Polish migrant workers in Northern Ireland who gave up their time to be interviewed and PANI (The Polish Association in Northern Ireland), for allowing me to post a link to the online survey, without whom this study would not have been possible. In particular I wish to thank Tomasz Auksztulewicz, Małgorzata Kaczmarczyk and Przemek Klonowski, who willingly participated in the pilot questionnaires. Thanks to Joanna Kołodziej and Wojtek Jaworek for their invaluable help in translation.

I would also like to thank the tutors of the School of Languages and Area Studies at Portsmouth University, in particular Peter Watson who encouraged me to take on this study at the proposal stage and John Naysmith for his supervision, commentary, experienced views and guidance during the study.

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1.0 Waves of Polish migration to the UK since 1863 and their relevance today

1.1 Late 19th century Polish migration to the UK

Research on Poles living in the UK before 1861 is unobtainable from UK census records however Muir (1991) records Polish refuges seeking asylum in Britain following the 1863 political insurrection in Poland. The Poles mentioned by Muir were joined by other Polish economic migrants heading for America. These migrants however were unable to complete their journey due to lack of finance and decided to stay in Britain (Muir, p. 145). According to census figures the number of Poles in Scotland had risen to 601 by the start of the twentieth century. Three main centres for Polish exiles had emerged as London, Lanarkshire, Lancashire and Cheshire (Muir, 1991).

1.2 Early 20th century migration

During the early twentieth century many more Poles arrived to live in the UK, from a Poland that was yet to re-emerge from occupation by Germany, Russia and Austria. Only in the territory occupied by the latter power was the Polish language publicly allowed. In 1921 The Second Polish Republic was declared. Zubrzycki (1956, taken from Muir,1991, p.145) records a figure of 4,500 Poles, mainly Christian and mostly labourers and artisans, living in the UK in 1931 (1931 census figures show 958 of these were in Scotland; there were no available figures for Poles in Northern Ireland).

1.3 The “Wartime emigracja”

In 1940 the “second wave” (Muir, 1991, p.145) of significant Polish migration to the UK began, with the forced political migration of thousands of Poles fleeing Nazi Germany’s invasion of Poland in September 1939 and the subsequent Soviet occupation from 1945. These numbers included the “Government in Exile” (Muir, 1991, p.146). Muir (1991) described it as the biggest known influx of Poles to Britain up to the time of her

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writing. Patterson (taken from Muir, 1991) estimates 165 000 Poles arrived during the period 1940-50, known as the “wartime emigracja”. Other sources (National Archives) put this figure at over 200 000. This Polish exile community (Muir, 1991) was composed of members of the Polish Armed Forces, their families, political prisoners from concentration camps in Germany and Russia, Polish refugees from East Africa and the Middle East and Polish civilians from displaced persons’ camps of Europe. Polish airmen settled in Nottingham, Leicester and Blackpool, seamen in Portsmouth, Cardiff and other UK ports while the Polish Army was mainly located in Scotland during the war.

1.4 The Polish language during the wartime emigracja

The first generation Polish exiles in Britain during and shortly after the war lived in the constant hope of returning to their homeland (Muir, 1991). The “Government in exile” (based in London) during Nazi control of Poland in particular expected, being part of the allies, to return to government in Warsaw as soon as the war ended. Muir writes that this “hope” motivated these exiles to “make every possible effort actively to cultivate their Polish heritage and the Polish language” (1991, p.146). At the time this language showed a wide range of social and geographical variation. By contrast, forty years of highly centralised Communist government in Poland served to standardise the Polish language to a large extent across Poland.

1.5 The Polish Resettlement Act (1947)

In recognition of their contribution to the allied war effort, the Polish Resettlement Act was passed by the UK parliament in 1947. This assisted Poles into employment in areas of labour shortage, such as building and mining industries, and helped people to rebuild their lives. As they prospered, some set up their own businesses including launderettes, watchmakers, jewellers, cobblers and grocers. Part of this Act was the establishment in 1947 of The Committee for the Education of Poles in Great Britain. It described its objective as : “for the many thousands of Poles who

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elected to remain in Great Britain to be fitted for resettlement here or overseas” and continued (Administrative History) :

This involved an adequate knowledge of English and of the British way of life and to encourage this the number of purely Polish institutions maintained by the committee were to be eventually dissolved and the children and students educated in equivalent British institutions.

The committee was wound up in 1954 (National Archives,1956). From 1941 to 1949, the Polish Medical Faculty operated at The University of Edinburgh. Over 300 students enrolled and 227 graduated, with less than 10% of these returning to Poland. A Polish hospital (Szpital im. Paderewskiego) was also established in the grounds of the Western General to care for Polish military personnel and civilians.

1.6 Polish migration to the UK from 1950-2004

For most of the 20th century Poland was occupied by foreign powers. Soviet-style communism with its associated lack of freedoms was to last throughout the 1950s, 60’s, 70’s and most of the 1980’s. Martial Law was imposed by General Jaruzelski in 1981, sealing Poland’s borders and closing its airports. It was only in 1993 that the last Russian soldiers left Polish soil and in 1997 that the constitution of the Third Polish Republic was made law. The prospect of returning to Poland became so unattractive for many that they chose to remain in Britain or move further west to America.

Nevertheless, Muir (p.144) identifies two further “small waves” of immigration : post-1950 and the 1980 immigration. 13 470 persons settled in the UK between 1950 and 1971 (75% of whom were women). After 1980 a further 2 000 entered the UK from Post-Solidarity¹ Poland. The 1981 Scottish census shows 5083 residents of Scotland of Polish birth, decreasing to 3 623 by 1991 and decreasing further to 2 500 by the year 2001.

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Zubrzycki (1956) noted “very strong pressure is exerted upon Poles in Britain by Polish political parties and agencies not to apply for naturalization certificates”(p.107). The emphasis on and opportunity for maintaining the Polish culture within the wartime emigracja was reflected in a long list of organizations promoting contact among Poles and the maintenance of Polish culture among Polish migrants in Britain. Zubrzycki (1956) listed 42 such organisations, all operating under the umbrella of the Federation of Poles in Great Britain (ZPWB). It is remarkable today the Federation not only still exists but in 2008 had 72 such organisations under its auspices, many of them surviving from the wartime emigracja. Small waves of political dissidents leaving Poland in the 1980s entered the Polish community in the UK. However Muir (1991) wrote: “it is hard to tell, however, to what extent the latter influxes of Poles have influenced the already well-established Polish community in Britain ” (p.146).

1.6.1 Forced and voluntary migration

In the absence of The Worker Registration Scheme (WRS) and reliable immigration statistics, true figures of migrant workers during the period outlined in section 1.6 are difficult to obtain however the author notes anecdotal evidence of many single young Poles (18-34) seeking work in Britain and Ireland during the 1990s, often illegally. Duvell (2006) notes that from the mid-1980s when the Soviet Empire went into a period of reform that lead eventually to the transition of most of communist Eastern Europe back to democracies, “(Polish) refugees became rather unpopular” (p.2). It became more difficult for Poles to claim political asylum in the UK or what some would later term “forced migrant” status, i.e. forced to flee their homeland due to the political situation. During the wartime emigracja such people were referred to as a “displaced person” or “refugee”, who according to this description :

owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion, is outside the country of their nationality, and is unable to or, owing to

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such fear, is unwilling to avail him/herself of the protection of that country (UN, 1951, Chapter 1, Article 1, (2)).

When Poland’s borders were finally re-opened in 1989, Poles migrating to the UK were no longer seen as forced migrants but economic ones, driven by market forces. Significantly the environment in which this migration occurred was one in which neither the UK, Poland nor the European Union at that time had adequate policies to deal with such new migrants. The UK along with other EU and West European counties worried about the impact of millions of economic migrants and tightened border controls. Poland’s own law on migration was still operating under Communist legislation and a new Act was not to appear in the constitution until 1997. Geddes (2005) stated that “Legislation in 1993, 1996, 1999 and 2002 rendered increasingly tenuous the relationship between asylum seekers and the welfare state and sought to limit access both to British society (withdrawal of labour market access) as well as entitlement to welfare state benefits”(p.332). Duvall (2006) noted East Europeans then took matters into their own hands, circumventing new restrictions on their movement and as a consequence became illegal immigrants. This exposed them to exploitation and illegal working practices –provision of language support in the workplace was mostly non-existent.

The House of Commons Home Affairs Select Committee reported in 2003 that migrants could be forced to seek irregular migration routes and fall into the hands of smugglers and traffickers as a result of tougher asylum laws (HC 654 2003).

1.7 The phenomenon of “The New Polonia” : Polish migration post-2004

Whilst the fall of communism brought some further migrants to Britain, the next large wave to occur was in the period after 2004 when Poland joined the European Union. Between 2004 and 2006 an unprecedented 264 560 new Polish workers registered to work in the UK (Home Office, 2006). This figure represented 85% of the total of all new A8 migrants to the UK. In the period from 1 May 2004 to 31 March 2008 Poles constituted 67% of all A8 migrants and 70% of all migrants in the first quarter of 2008 (Home Office, 2008).

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When Poland completed full EU accession on 1 May 2004, the less happy “era of illegal immigration, underground economy and deportations” between Poland and the UK ended (Duvall, p.4). Duvall describes the EU accession processes at this time serving as an amnesty. 70 000 migrant workers in the UK from the A8 countries were no longer considered illegal by the UK government. However thousands have decided to remain illegal in the UK, operating outside the WRS, as noted by many agencies in contact with Polish migrant workers in the UK, including NICEM (2006).

No refugee camps for Poles exist in Europe in 2008 and today’s Polish migrants can no longer claim political asylum. The majority of Polish migrants are unmarried aged 18 to 34 (Pollard, 2008). Whilst there are many married Poles working in the UK, evidence shows that they often chose to travel to (and from) the UK without their spouses and families. Pollard (2008) found that only 19% of Poles arrived in the UK with a partner or spouse and 7% of workers registered with the WRS between May 2004 and December 2007 declared they had dependents living with them in the UK. Clearly the official demographics of the post-2004 Polish migration to the UK are quite different to those of the wartime emigracja. A further complicating factor in defining this group of people is greatly increased mobility leading to many thousands of unregistered migrants, both those working legally and illegally (since self-employed persons from Poland are not obliged to register with the Workers’ Registration Scheme (WRS), established in 2004 at EU enlargement).

In many respects the Poland under communism is barely recognisable to democratic Poland within the Schengen Space and EU of 2008 and certainly unrecognisable to the survivors of the wartime emigracja. Whereas there were no direct passenger air routes between Poland and the UK in 1988, in June 2008 there were over 60 routes operated by 6 different airlines, mostly “low-cost/budget” airlines, from 10 different Polish cities to 10 British ones. Although there was a brief period of Foreign investment in Poland from 1970 to 1973, this ended with the Oil Crisis of that time and was nowhere near the unprecedented $15 billion of Foreign Direct Investment recorded in 2006 and the

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associated creation of over 30 000 jobs (Hugh, 2007). Significantly, Poland is a much more attractive prospect for Polish migrant workers to return to than it was 20 or even 5 or 10 years ago, not merely in terms of the improved salaries on offer.

The Polish community in the UK today extends to all parts, including many cities and regions such as Northern Ireland that had previously never seen any Polish migrants during the wartime emigracja.

1.7.1 Polish doctors and dentists working in the UK

There were 504 Polish-born registered medical doctors and 35 dentists recorded in the 1951 Census. In the 12 months following Poland’s entry to the EU, a reported 4 000 Polish doctors applied for General Medical Council registration (McLaughlin and Smith, 2005) - many of whom now commute to work in both the NHS and the Polish healthcare system in the same week. In the same period 224 Polish dentists registered with the General Dental Council. These professionals serve British-born patients with English as L1 however they are also highly sought by Polish migrant workers lacking in English speaking skills. The Polish Association of Northern Ireland actively encourages Poles living in Northern Ireland to seek Polish doctors and dentists.

1.7.2 Church services in Polish in the UK

Nationalistic and patriotic sentiment was a feature of the Polish organisations referred to in 1.6 and in 2008 is still a feature distinguishing Polish migrants from migrants of other nationalities in the UK. In many ways the (de facto) political nature of Polish Roman Catholic Church from the 1950s to the 1980s and the particular Polish cultural identity found therein until the death of Polish Pope John Paul II in 2004 is reflected in the abundance of Masses said in Polish throughout the British Isles (163 throughout Great Britain, 125 in Ireland). No other ethnic minority in the British Isles has masses said in such numbers and on such a regular basis. Polish masses have been a feature of the Polish community in the British Isles since the wartime emigracja It is

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notable that the 18-34 generation of Poles in 2008 UK have a strong affinity to the Roman Catholic Church even abroad. While attendance among this age group in particular has fallen dramatically in Poland itself (within the population at large the RC church estimates 45.8% attendance) an estimated 50-60% attend mass in the UK (Bates, 2005). However giving figures only for the Roman Catholic church shows an incomplete picture. There are numerous protestant churches established in the UK, with services held in Polish, including Lutheran and non-denominational in various British cities. These worshippers come from a Polish protestant community in Poland that is centuries old of more than 100 000 people, including Baptists, Lutheran, Methodist, Evangelical Reformed and Free Church. As such in general Poles have more choices not to integrate with English-speaking churches in the UK if they wish to practice their religion whilst in the UK.

1.7.3. Polish Schools in the British Isles

None of the other A8 nationalities appear to rival the Poles in terms of catering for their children in terms of establishing Polish medium schools, whether operating full-time or only on a Saturday or Sunday. The aspiration to return to the Homeland appears to still be a strong driving force in many activities. In Ireland there are Polish schools in Cork, Waterford, Dublin and Belfast, with the Dublin school not only teaching in Polish but also following the Polish national curriculum. However the majority of Polish children from migrant worker families are educated in English-speaking state schools, whether in the Republic of Ireland or the UK. In the UK there are over 50 Polish “Saturday Schools” (Browne, 2007) teaching the Polish culture and language. In Northern Ireland there are over 600 Polish speaking pupils at primary level and 230 at secondary level within state sector education. This is “enough to justify the (Polish) community bringing forward a plan for the North’s first (official) Polish-medium school” (Doyle, 2007). However the Education Minister for Northern Ireland has stated she prefers language support within the state sector and integration rather than separate Polish schools.

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The Polish Association of Northern Ireland stands alone in terms of numbers and organisation of its associates compared to other recent EU member states’ nationals living in Northern Ireland. It has been instrumental in organising a Szkoła Sobotnia(“Saturday School”) in Belfast to teach polish language and culture to children (mostly of primary school age), operating since 2007 and now with financial assistance from the Polish government. These schools are seen by Polish migrant families as stepping stones to eventual re-integration for Polish children into state schools in Poland on their return (BBC NI news report on the Belfast Polish Saturday School, ).

¹ Solidarity (Solidarność) was the first official trade union in the Soviet-controlled Warsaw Pact, led by Lech Wałęsa, who was to become the president of the Third Polish Republic after the fall of the Berlin Wall.

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2.0 The Linguistic barrier faced by a migrant in the UK

2.1 The Language Barrier in the UK

2.1.1 Defining The Language Barrier

A difficulty with reaching a widely accepted definition of this widely-used term is that there are many definitions of proficiency in English. These include definitions of proficiency in different contexts (e.g. general, academic, professional) and by different organizations involved in assessment (e.g. Cambridge University ESOL and Trinity in the UK; ETS (Educational Testing Service) in the USA; The Central Examination Board in Poland (for The Matura)). There are also many different ways of assessing competencies in English so that for one person assessed as competent for one particular situation, they may well not be for a different situation or assessor. Indeed even for the same situation and person assessed different assessors make different judgments. Nevertheless there seems general agreement that linguistic capability (i.e. proficiency in listening, speaking, reading and writing in a certain language), if lessened when compared to a “native speaker” results in a “barrier” to accessing services (Bowen, 2001), in education (Spolsky, 2001) or employment (Harzing & Feely, 2007). The aspect of barriers to participation due to cultural differences is briefly addressed in section 2.1.3. For the purposes of this dissertation therefore “Language barrier” is defined as a “disadvantage in the professional or social life of a person directly attributed to their lack of proficiency in the main language of the country in which they live”.

2.1.2 General Evidence for The Language Barrier in Migrant Communities

A person arriving in the UK with little or no English faces challenges in obtaining the most basic services such as finding a toilet, using public transport or buying goods. These can rise to seemingly insurmountable obstacles when trying to sign a work or rental contract or access health services if no interpretation or translation is provided. McPeake (2007, p.14) identified “language” as the biggest challenge amongst migrant workers (of 15 different nationalities) in the Lisburn City Council area with

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62.7% listing this a difficulty. More specifically with regards to this investigation, 45.5% of A8 migrants rated their English skills as “fair”, “poor” or “none” in McPeake’s report (p.15). The author (of this dissertation) noted in a conversation with a NICEM worker in April 2008 at the NICEM central office in Belfast that the “main issue” for migrant workers in Northern Ireland in general was “the language barrier”.

Other BME communities such as the Chinese have expressed the need for more literature in Chinese to help their community access services (NICEM, 2006). As in other parts of the UK, the Indian community can trace back four generations of residents in Northern Ireland. Language is stated as “less of a barrier than for other BME communities” (NICEM, 2006, p.19). Another report on the Indian Community in NI states :

The Indian community, arguably one of the most successful sections of society in Northern Ireland gauged by indicators from this data, has the highest proportions, among the other ethnic groups, of economically active members in the top occupational classes. It also has higher numbers with professional qualifications, and a larger proportion own their homes generally. (Irwin and Dunne,1997, p.8).

A figure of 91% of Indian migrant workers in Lisburn City Council are listed as having had a university education. These facts together suggest a large degree of integration into UK society and their having acquired considerable proficiency in English (McPeake, 2007).

Lack of knowledge of the necessary shibboleths used by any society can lead to social exclusion for the outsider. That may manifest itself in a mild form of poor or limited conversation or unsuccessful interaction with local people and in an extreme form as abuse whether verbal or physical.

2.1.3 Evidence for the language barrier in the Polish community

The Linguistic Minorities Project (1985) (taken from Muir, 1991, p.147) Survey gave figures of over 80% for the percentage of

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respondents who spoke and understood English “fairly well or very well” in Coventry and Bradford However these figures do not give a clear picture of those less skilled linguistically (or indeed the possible language barriers faced by those included as speaking and understanding English fairly or very well). Wilk (1970, taken from Muir, 1991, p. 149) lists 5 services available to Poles at the time in Polish, healthcare and other services in Polish. Muir does not discuss the barriers to employment faced by Poles in the UK during the 1990s. However NICEM (2006) reported “Unfair treatment and discrimination by employment agencies when seeking work”, “social isolation of new mothers and mothers with partners working long hours”, “inferior and often overcrowded housing conditions for both individuals and families” for Poles (as a subsection of “East European migrant workers”, p.28). They also report Migrant workers “from Eastern European countries in particular” not being familiar with accessing free healthcare services and not registering with GP’s as this service was not free in their own country.

The author notes in a radio conversation with the Minister for Regional Development for Northern Ireland in March 2007 that he reported most Polish migrant workers in Northern Ireland had not filled in electoral registration forms to vote as they were entitled, as they could not understand the particular type of English on those forms.

Many of these examples can be described as barriers also relating to cultural differences however the term “language barrier” is often used to describe areas of difficulty relating to both linguistic and cultural difference. It is perhaps significant that the PSNI (Police Service of Northern Ireland) are training their officers not in the languages of the new migrant workers to arrive in Northern Ireland but in their cultural norms and expectations.

2.2 The language barrier in the workplace

An obvious disadvantage for a migrant worker is inability to perform proficiently in English at an interview. However, the author notes, from interactions with Polish migrant workers in Northern Ireland, the lack of standardisation in terms of required

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proficiencies to communicate in English required by employers and in many if not most cases the lack of any English qualification required in customer service positions where a lack of such skills will lead to poorer communication. Findings relevant to this are found in section 10.4, figures 10.4.1, 10.4.2, 10.4.3, 10.4.4, 10.4.6 and 10.4.7 and subsection 10.5.8. 84% of those who gave an answer reported they required no English test for their current employment in the UK.

The majority of the Chinese community in North and West Belfast work in the catering industry (NICEM, 2006). Most of this work is manual, unskilled and requires little if any interaction with English speaking customers, a task left to those more proficient. The author notes from his own experience that this situation is replicated in most areas of Northern Ireland outside Belfast. The food processing, construction and manufacturing sectors employed the majority of migrant workers in Northern Ireland according to the NICEM 2006 report. Each of these sectors involve the use of a minimal amount of English and somewhat predictable vocabulary. Where problems arise due to language there is often at least one migrant worker with sufficient English to interpret for their colleagues. The Minister for Employment and Learning for NI stated on BBC Radio Ulster (July 29, 2008) that he observed a meat plant in Cookstown where 1 in 10 workers acted as an interpreter for their colleagues with little or no English, 50% of the workforce in that plant being migrant workers from A8 countries. Muir (1991) refers to the work situation of Poles in Bradford and Coventry in the last decade, saying almost half of those consulted worked in a situation where there was at least one other Pole and it appeared that Polish was used relatively often in the workplace. This raises the question is the language barrier a significant issue for migrant workers in the workplace? This issue was raised in the primary research carried out, the results of which are shown in section 10.

2.2.1 Health and Safety at work for the migrant worker

The British Health and Safety Executive together with the Trades Union Congress issued safety guidelines to migrant workers in the UK at the end of 2004 after a number of fatalities involving migrant workers in the UK. The guidelines were issued in 22 different languages, including Polish. It was acknowledged

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that “lots” of migrants had “only a limited grasp of English” and that “Union learning reps from construction union UCATT have been helping migrant workers who speak only a few words of English improve their safety awareness by running basic language courses”.

In Northern Ireland this issue was brought into sharp focus when a building site collapsed in March 2008, seriously injuring two Lithuanian workers, in Belfast (BBC News, 2008) Clearly migrant workers need to be well equipped not only in understanding the safety procedures in such an eventuality but also to be able to communicate quickly and clearly to their colleagues in their own language or English. The author notes that particularly in the construction sector there are migrant workers over 40 with no formal experience of learning English. To what extent formal experience is important is unclear, and requires extra study however issues related to this aspect are investigated in section 10.4

NICEM (2006) also report increasing numbers of migrant workers employed in hospitality, agriculture and other sectors. A wide range of sectors were also given by respondents to the surveys included in this dissertation, many of which involve face-to-face customer service.

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3.0 Language transfer and Coping strategies

3.1 General principles of language transfer

Language transfer is defined by Arabski (2006) as :

a term used in applied linguistics to refer to a process in foreign language learning whereby learners carry over what they already know about their first language to their performance in their new language. This tendency may be an advantage, if the two languages have features in correspondence, as there will be “positive transfer” (or “facilitation”). Rather more noticeable, however, are the cases of “negative transfer” (or “interference”), where the patterns of the two languages do not coincide (p.13).

Odlin (1989) defines it as “the influence resulting from similarities and differences between the target language and any other language that has been previously (and perhaps imperfectly) acquired” (p.27).

Corder (1967, taken from de Bot (2005), p.124) identified the “overt language behaviour” acquired during L1 acquisition for the L2 learner as a factor impinging on L2 learning, along with age and motivation, that differentiates it from L1 acquisition.Yet the exact effects of language transfer on L2 processing are not understood and require further study (Sabourin, 2008).

Regarding language transfer among European languages, Ringbom (2006) had this to say :

English and especially German were found to be useful first languages for understandingSwedish, whereas Hungarian, Portuguese and the Slavic languages were not. These studies confirm the general common-sense view that learners, when trying to make sense of unfamiliar texts, look for facilitating crosslinguistic similarities wherever possible, and that a language related to the target language provides much more concrete help than an unrelated language (p.11).

The term language transfer also applies to languages and dialects in contact. Consideration of this feature is important as it impacts on social choices such as who to share accommodation with (and therefore affecting how many hours per week are spent

16

with people speaking English, investigated in section 10.2) and the perceived difficulty of English (section 10.3). It also possibly impacts on the need to learn extra vocabulary and/or grammar to carry out tasks at work (section 10.4.2) and motivation to study English further (section 10.4.4). Poland is a country that has different languages and dialects within it (Kashubian and Silesian) and borders 7 countries each with its own language suggesting language transfer is already a feature in the lives of many Poles arriving from Poland.

3.2 Factors affecting language transfer

Transfer is influenced by language proximity (Ringbom, 2006). West Slavic languages (Czech and Slovak) are closer lexically and morphologically to Polish than other Slavic languages (Russian and Ukrainian). Of the language groups bordering Poland, German (a Germanic language, along with English) is most distant from Polish in this sense.

Language transfer appears with greater intensity when the two systems are genetically closer and thus when there are more points of reference for the transfer to occur. There is more language transfer between Polish and Russian, both positive and negative, than between Polish and English in the foreign language learning process (Arabski,2006,p.13).

Arabski goes on to say Poles learning Russian rely more on their Polish to help them acquire Russian but also make many errors in structures which are different in Russian. The genetic proximity of Russian makes Poles transfer Polish endings and add them to Russian roots. However this transfer of Polish morphological endings hardly ever happens in Polish-English contact, in Polish-English interlanguage (i.e. the type of language produced by a Pole who is trying to learn English when communicating in English). This type of transfer occurs to an even greater intensity in Polish-Czech and Polish-Slovak interlanguages due to their greater genetic proximity. Szpila (2005) also mentions lexical negative transfer, due to the existence of “false friends” or “false cognates” - words that look very similar in an L2 but hold meanings different to those used for the words resembled in the L1. For example, due to the existence of the word “kombatant” in Polish (meaning “veteran”), a Pole might think, upon reading “combatant” in English that this word has the same meaning in English as in Polish. The same might apply to seeing “chips” in British English (“chipsy” means

17

“(potato) crisps” in Polish; “frytki” means “potato chips”), or “perpektyw” (meaning “prospect”).

Śpiewak and Gołębiowska (2001) highlight the typical problems “Polish speakers” face in learning English via a small-scale contrastive analysis of the relevant features of Polish and English (directed at teachers only). In their analysis prepositions, subject and object personal pronouns, possessive determiners and pronouns are singled out as causing “considerable problems” or “considerable difficulty” . Modal auxiliaries “result in a great deal of confusion”(p.171-172), conditionals “great confusion” (p.171)and time, tense and aspect “considerable confusion” (p.169-170). Articles can cause “great confusion” in distinguishing between the definite and indefinite however little attention is paid to them(p.174). More in-depth research on articles by Ekiert (2004), looks at the acquisition of the English article system by speakers of Polish. This system is acknowledged by others (Odlin,1989,2003) as a particular challenge for Polish speakers.

Arabski writes negative transfer does not occur at the very beginning of the English learning process for Polish speakers (Arabski,p.13). He continues to say it then becomes more frequent until the advanced level when it starts to decrease. This is attributed to L2 structures being well established and having become resistant to L1 influence. Some structures are noted as especially susceptible to transfer. In the case of Polish-English interlanguage (IL) these include word order, tense system and lexis. These structures were investigated according to how they present a difficulty for the Polish learner of English, at various stages of learning, in section 10.3 Mispronunciation due to L1 habits are “most obvious” (Arabski,p.14). This aspect was also addressed in the questionnaire and the results shown in section 10.3. Some note that interference errors induced by false friends are negligible at elementary levels but more noticeable at more advanced stages of L2 learning (Kaźmierczak 1987). Others observe that in some languages false friends errors are relatively marginal in comparison with other errors caused by negative transfer (for German, English and Polish (Lietz 1996, Witalisz 2004)). The same observation, however, shows that even advanced learners commit this type of error regardless of their competence in the L2 and general competence in learning foreign lexis (Kątny 1993). Unfortunately only a brief reference to this phenomenon is possible in this study though the data collected here could be further analysed in this regard.

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3.3 Coping strategies in second or other language learning

Piasecka (2006) identified the following strategies in Polish learners of English:

Paraphrasing Circumlocution Direct exact translation Direct partial translation Avoidance

Many other strategies are employed when producing an interlanguage. It is well known that generalizing grammar rules is a popular strategy, for example substituting “buyed” for “bought” when the learner does not know the correct past form for the irregular verb “buy”. In situations where migrant workers are not required to have any English qualifications, a “sufficient” level of English is achieved where communication is not significantly hindered, using such tactics. It is often made of awkward constructions that are incoherent and difficult to listen to for native speakers however where a worker’s employment position is considered junior or unskilled it is often not considered necessary (significantly by the worker themselves) to have a mastery of correct grammar and register. Another strategy employed however that appears significant in the author’s interactions with Polish migrant workers is that of the “team translator”. This refers to a worker who already possesses competence, often in terms of a qualification in English, and who acts as the interpreter for a team of less-competent workers when communicating in English. In this case there is an avoidance of communication in English in any form by most of the workers.

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4.0 Age and the migrant worker

There appears to be little if any direct research on the connection between age and language learning in migrant workers however research in age and second language learning in general and on undergraduate and postgraduate migrant students (Johnson and Newport, 1989) can be used to address this area. The latter research, using university students, found a general decline in grammaticality judgment in a second language with age at immigration. As age at immigration increased however so did variability in scores, showing many more exceptions to the general trend. Major (1997) formulated the hypothesis if an adult has acquired only one language during the critical period (a period hypothesized to last from birth to completion of puberty) but later has been exposed to a second language, then that individual will not be able to achieve and/or maintain native-like proficiency in both systems. This remains an area of disagreement and discussion. This seems important for older Polish migrant workers who are most unlikely to have learnt English at secondary school

Flege (1994) attests the age of first exposure to L2 exerts a powerful influence on how the L2 is pronounced. A negative correlation was found to exist between age of arrival (and learning English) in Canada with proficiency in spoken English and listening, over a range of measures including correct pronunciation and identification of words, for immigrants to Canada from Italy, Spain and China, aged from 0 to 21 years.

In brief there are many factors impinging on the language proficiency of a migrant worker, salient ones among them being common to other second or other language learners, i.e. motivation and amount of instruction (Moyer, 1997). To this the author would wish to add the amount of use (practice) of the second language at work and home (Kohnert, 2008), which is investigated in section 10.2.4. What seems noticeable and somewhat alarming in the context of this study is the apparent lack of research on proficiency in migrant workers in an environment without significant regular exposure to and instruction in the L2. However it seems reasonable to say in the light of research (McLaughlin, 1992) and the author’s experience in teaching a range of ages of migrants that observed proficiency in spoken and written production of a second or other language decreases with age, with some exceptions. McLaughlin (1992)

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however notes the situational aspect to these observations : “There is probably more incentive for the child on the playground and in school to communicate in the second language than there is for the adult on the job (where they often can get by with routine phrases and expressions) or with friends (who may speak the individual's first language anyway).” It is worth noting in the case of Polish migrants aged over 37, it is most likely they will have had little structured experience of learning English under the communist regime. In fact, it is likely that they will learn English as a third or fourth language after Polish, Russian and perhaps Czech, Slovak, Ukrainian or Belarussian. Transfer errors may be compounded in this situation.

Much of the discussion and research in this area is concerned with the Critical Period Hypothesis (Lenneberg, 1967), which hypothesised an optimum period for L2 learning, ending after puberty. However this remains a hotly contended area in linguistics, many studies having shown that in controlled situations adults and older children outperform younger children. One study in particular compared migrant workers and their children and did not support the notion that younger children are more efficient at second language learning (Snow & Hoefnagel-Hoehle (1978); Birdsong (1999); Bongaerts et.al.(2000)). This section is brief however aspects of the effect of age on the language barrier have been investigated and are looked at in the results section, including section 10.4.1 and 10.4.2.

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5.0 Psychological and Social factors of the language barrier

For the Pole aged 35 or over who has lived in Poland until now, they have seen a remarkable change in the attitude of their government to the English language. During the first half of their life they will have witnessed the strong social stigmatization of the English-speaking population of the world, namely the UK and North America. Part of the process of stigmatization included the official denial of contact with people groups of Anglophones and the choice of learning English in school. Instead the Russian language was an obligatory part of the curriculum for all children. In an education system controlled almost entirely by the communist government, the opportunities to learn English were very limited and to practice it more limited still. During the war many of the Polish intelligentsia who dealt with English texts and taught English were massacred or deported by the Nazis to slave camps; the Nazi invasion combined with the Russian occupation of Poland from 1941 “completely suppressed” the intelligentsia and “very nearly” brought about their “extermination” (Szczepanski, 1962, p.413). After the war most of them remaining were deported or killed by the Soviets, though how many were deported is not known as there appears to be little reliable data on it. Many western books and publications were decreed illegal and possession of any of them could result in fines or even imprisonment. However with the rise of Solidarity, during 1980-81 the Polish intelligentsia (including groups of historians and Writers’ Unions) succeeded, via lobbying The Ministry of Culture, in making library collectionsthroughout Poland more accessible to the general public. Further to this neither the author’s name, nor the place or language of publication could be grounds for restricting its circulation in future (Remmer, 1989). Thus Poland became well placed for a reversal in language policy in general education at the downfall of the communist government, perhaps more so than most other Soviet-controlled European countries. The place of English in the school curriculum changed in the 1990s from being effectively outlawed to being compulsory for most and in wider society from being a language used and taught in fear to a position where abilities in English were highly sought by many employers. The author notes from experience living in Poland how English has become a lingua franca for communication for Poles with other Europeans. This is particularly noticeable among the younger generation. English is also the main “currency” of most of the private language schools

22

(of which there are huge numbers) in Poland. It is understandable then that the previous suppression of English learning seems to have produced a cultural shift in Poland that shows a dramatic swing in emphasis from the Russian language to English. Language exam choices made by final year secondary school students in Poland last year were as follows :76% English, 18% German, 6% Russian, 1% French (Biel, 2007). So concerned was the Polish government at the influence of English and the high number of loan-words being introduced into Polish following the late 80s and the 90s when an unparalleled number of borrowings from English entered Polish, it was felt necessary to protect Polish against “the growing imperialism of English” (Biel, 2007). To protect the national identity The Polish Language Protection Act 1999 was adopted, imposing an obligation to use Polish in legal transactions (contracts), press advertisements, product descriptions, etc. According to Biel the purist attitudes stem to a large degree from the historic experience when Poland was without a state for 123 years and the restrictions as outlined in section1.2 on the use of Polish were regarded as a threat to national identity. If, as Pollard et. al. (2008) claim, we are entering a period of “turnstile migration” from Poland to the UK and back again, then the aforementioned history and current state of language policy in Poland have a bearing on Poles arriving in the UK to work. If this “turnstile migration period” is confirmed, such confirmation may also help to give an understanding of the perception of English within Polish culture. Furthermore, psychologically is it the case for the Pole that learning English is more worthy or beneficial than learning German? Why is it that younger Poles now communicate in English with their German neighbours and vice-versa? While conclusive answers to these questions are beyond the scope of this study, as a part of the picture constituting second language learning for Poles they are worthy of mention.

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6.0 Motivational, cultural, attitudinal and aptitudinal factors impacting on English learning

The factors outlined in section 5.0 have already highlighted some of the cultural aspects of English with regard to Polish people. However the author notes from experience of living in Poland the convenient convergence of Polish culture with what might be termed “English-speaking/Western” culture in the last 15 years that has lead to English being prominent in Polish cultural life. This takes the form of music, films, advertising and product labelling in almost every area of commerce. An example of the latter can be seen in the expansion of retailers such as British supermarket Tescos. From entry to the Polish market in 1995, Tesco has grown to over 280 stores throughout Poland, employing over 20 000 people, with expansion plans to take it well over 300 stores in 2008. Tescos is the biggest retailer in Poland, stocking a large range of products labelled in English from “Strawberry Jam” and “Ice Tea” to “Barbecue Charcoal Briquettes”.

Despite the Polish Language Act, many businesses with names ranging from the phonetically Policized “Bukmacherz”(“Bookmakers”), “Serwis” (“Service”) and “Szuz Szop” (“Shoes Shop”(in Polish shoes are “buty” and shop is “sklep”) to the more obvious “Tuning” (for car engine tuning (the Polish verb for this is in fact “regulować”)), “kemping”and “make-up” have appeared and remained in Poland. This exposes many Poles in Poland to hitherto unknown English phonemes and vocabulary albeit in a curious hybrid form. This seems relevant since the language environment from which Polish migrant workers will start to learn English is one of increasing exposure to English words, phonemes and forms. This type of exposure seems important, especially for those who receive little or no English training before departing for the UK.

Lightbrown and Spada (2000) identify 5 factors associated with successful English learning having a bearing on this section -motivation, aptitude, personality, intelligence and learner preferences. The third and fourth can be linked, albeit loosely, with “aptitude” and the latter with “attitude”. However in a separate study, Rysiewicz (2007) found results which seemed to suggest that in the context of non-intensive, formal study of an FL, in which more or less traditional instructional methods are used, memory components of cognitive aptitudinal abilities did

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not contribute to FL learning success (p.97). As such, this study has attempted to incorporate these factors into the questionnaire. Whilst this study only briefly touches on some of these factors, and it is acknowledged much further study is required to obtain a clearer overall picture, relevant results are shown in sections 10.2.2, 10.2.3, 10.3.7, 10.4.3, 10.5, 10.6 and 10.7.

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7.0 Legislation and its impact on Polish migrant workers in Northern Ireland

7.1Local Legislation

The legislation having the widest impact on migrant workers in Northern Ireland produced by the fledgling Northern Ireland Assembly is held by bodies such as NICEM and others to be Section 75, The Northern Ireland Act 1998. This came into force in the year 2000 and outlines the statutory duty to eliminate unlawful discrimination and promote equality as mandatory for public authorities, who are obliged to meet it. The legislation covers various groups, pertinent among them to this study being “among racial groups”. Issues covered by this legislation have been highlighted (NICEM, 1004, p.31) as “BME children in rural areas (who) have less access to support and traditionally suffer from greater exclusion within these communities” , “the definition of “inclusive and meaningful consultation”” and “Equality Impact Assessments”. Health boards have developed strategies to effect equity of resources allocation for BME groups under this legislation however since 2004 the situation regarding numbers and types of ethnic minorities in Northern Ireland has, as outlined in the introduction and section 1.7, changed dramatically. Prior to this the extension of GB legislation in the form of the Race Relations (Northern Ireland ) Order, 1997 was the main legislation affecting migrant worker groups (Dawson, 2001).

7.2 National Legislation

The introduction of the UK National Minimum Wage in 1998 applies to Polish migrant workers, as part of the group of workers described as, “most adult workers who are working legally in the UK, are not genuinely self-employed and have a written, oral or implied contract”. From the 1st October 2007 these were £3.40/hour, £ 4.60/hr or £5.52/hr, depending on the age of the worker aged 16 or over. Polish workers are also entitled to working time (length of the working week), Health and Safety Protection, Union membership and discrimination protection rights, common to all foreign national workers in the UK.

7.3 EU Legislation

EU-wide legislation that affects migrant workers from Poland mostly concerns issues such as freedom of movement of

26

workers, and the goods and services that may be related to their employment. It also covers areas such as employment rights, working conditions and discrimination on the basis of nationality, race or religion. Concerning working conditions, the European Working Time Directive sought to limit the working week for employees in the EU to 48 hours however the UK retains the right for workers to opt-out of this. In practice, employers require workers in many of the areas in which migrants work to waive their right to these maximum hours.

Of course no EU directives will apply to the many migrant workers who work illegally in the UK. NICEM (2006) reported that it was acknowledged there were “around 2000 illegal (migrant) workers in Northern Ireland” in 2003 with a likely increase in the period since this (p.82). However recently all EU states signed an initiative to tackle “people trafficking”, the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings, information on which is displayed in Polish at entry ports around the UK.

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8.0 Language support for migrant workers in Northern Ireland

Research carried out in adult education ESOL centers around the United Kingdom found that the majority of teachers were part time or voluntary “White teachers with brief training of 10 hours spread over 5 to 6 weeks” (Khanna et.al., 1998, p.83). In the McPeake (2007) study, less than half (46.8%) of classes attended by migrant workers were in educational institutions (in this case Lisburn and Belfast Institute). The rest were provided by voluntary partnerships and churches (Methodist, Anglican and Baptist). The author worked as a teacher of ESOL in the Anglican classes and attests to the fact that teachers consisted entirely of White Northern Irish people, unqualified as teachers, on a part-time basis with no “on-site” access to library or teaching materials. Over a two-year period the classes at the Anglican church were withdrawn, due to falling attendance as Lisburn institute began to offer more certified (City and Guilds) courses in ESOL for daily living, with better resources and qualified teachers. There appears to be little coordination between colleges on a common strategy for provision according to need. For example UK government funding appears to support provision of courses leading to City and Guilds qualifications in ESOL whereas in Poland these qualifications are mostly unknown and the most recognised qualifications are the Cambridge exams (FCE, CAE, CPE, etc.). Most Poles under 38 seem to wish to relocate either in the short- or long-term to Poland. To be able use their English skills in employment with multinational companies they need a qualification that is recognised internationally. Whilst Cambridge qualifications meet this goal (it is recognized by well over 100 major employers in the UK and Poland including the NHS, major banks, hotels and engineering and telecommunications companies), City and Guilds ones do not, though they encourage greater integration within the English-speaking community, a stated aim of the UK government for migrant workers. A recent feature of provision has been the opening in 2007 of the first Callan Method English school in Northern Ireland. This reflects the huge popularity of such schools in Poland as a “quick” method to gain fluency using a limited range of English vocabulary but is not particularly recognised or valued as a qualification by most employers. However it may reflect the need for speaking practice and pronunciation training for migrant

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workers – an aspect looked at in sections 10.2.4, and various parts of section 10.3.

Among the recommendations by Khanna et. al. (1998) on ESOL provision in the UK were the use of bilingual classes, a non-assimilationist approach to ESOL, more professionalism among teaching staff, an ESOL program sensitive to the socioeconomic, cultural, and linguistic backgrounds of the ESOL learners, and "a national strategy for ESOL teaching which recognizes the sociolinguistic and pedagogic value of the development of skills in both mother tongue and English" (Khanna et al., 1998, p. 103). Such a strategy however appears conspicuous by its absence 10 years later, either in Ireland (O’Mahony, 2007) or the UK. Although more research is needed, it appears that moves in the direction of such a strategy may, ironically, be undermined by the increasing provision of interpreting and translating services to enable access (particularly in the case of EU nationals registered on the WRS) to public services such as health and education. Whilst this undermining remains the author’s conjecture, it is a salient aspect of research conducted for this study that the issue appears not to be mentioned in any research covered.

What the ESOL teachers found most striking about the students was the bewildering variety, not only in terms of their cultural and linguistic backgrounds but also in terms of their levels of proficiency in English (Khanna, p.83).

McPeake (2007) invited 64 possible employers of migrant workers as identified by the Lisburn Diversity in Action Forum in the Lisburn City Council area for research into a migrant worker mapping project. Employers who did not reply were sent a reminder. Of the 27 employers who agreed to be interviewed (24 stated they did not wish to participate and 6 stated they had no migrant workers), in relation to a question asking if they had to put any special policies, practices or support mechanisms into place regarding migrant workers employed stated most issues related to language. “A number of employers” used interpreters “to clarify understanding especially during training programs” (p. 21).

NICEM (2006) identified 30 organisations proving “interpreting services” in Northern Ireland however these were focused on the provision of translation rather than interpreting. There are four main providers of interpreting to health and social care services in Northern Ireland : Connect NICEM (over 200 interpreters covering 53 languages); The Northern Ireland Health and Social

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Services Interpreting Service/NIHSSIS (managing a central register of 149 interpreters covering 27 languages); Foreign Language for Export Service/FLEX (an unknown number ofinterpreters in more than 50 languages often employing students and staff from The University of Ulster, who manage the service) and The Southern Area Interagency Interpreting Services Partnership (with 226 registered interpreters covering 31 languages and 33 qualified translators covering 21 languages). It should be noted however that the NIHSSIS survey of 2005 found that 69% of interpreters were registered with at least two of these providers at the same time. That survey also found that, of 1637 appointments undertaken, 3% were in Polish. Of the 1544 appointments undertaken by the three other providers, 4% were in Polish. Prior to 2004 there was very little literature connected with health, education, legal or other services for Polish speakers in Northern Ireland. However in 2008 there is a wide range of literature in Polish concerning health, education and legal issues. Leaflets regarding essential services have been printed in Polish such as those by the DHSS, the Police (PSNI) and the Health and Safety executive for Northern Ireland. However the author notes that of the 26 Borough and City Councils across Northern Ireland, only one (Dungannon and South Tyrone Borough) had any information in Polish on their internet homepages, while several had information in Irish, Ulster Scots and West European languages. Similarly of the four main political parties in Northern Ireland in the ruling coalition, only one party (The Ulster Unionist Party) has had any information in Polish in publications or its website (Information in Polish appeared on the UUP website at the time of the 2007 Assembly elections but has now been removed). The author put a question regarding the lack of literature in Polish from his party to a Democratic Unionist Party Member of the Local Assembly and MP (the present Minister for Culture, Arts and Leisure) in March 2007 before the NI assembly elections. His reply was that most Polish migrants appeared not to understand the electoral registration forms and were not on the electoral register as they were unable to complete the forms in English. He also replied that in the future, if deemed necessary, material could be translated into Polish. Since 2006, two free Polish language magazines (“Głosnik” and “Link Polska”) have been regularly published in Northern Ireland. Within these legal, medical, psychiatric and educational services in Polish are advertised throughout Northern Ireland. The author also notes the sharing of information on where to find Polish doctors and dentists in Northern Ireland on the PANI forum. The trend in Northern Ireland appears to be similar to that during the

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wartime emigracja: an emphasis within the Polish community on provision of services in Polish rather than provision of English teaching services to enable greater integration within the society and use of existing services. The author notes this provision within the service sector in Northern Ireland where banks are employing and training native Polish people to deal with Polish customers in Polish rather than use translation services.

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9.0 Design of Study

9.1 Methodology

The method employed is a combined approach of qualitative and quantitative analysis of research results from primary and secondary sources, designed to address the main research questions covered above. The data obtained was analysed in connection with the main research questions and any possible correlations investigated and discussed.

9.2 Research sources

9.2.1 Primary Sources

Combined quantitative-qualitative research from primary sources was obtained via a semi-structured written questionnaire designed in English and translated into Polish (see appendix). This was administered to Polish migrant workers throughout Northern Ireland in cooperation with Stowarzyszenie Polskie w Irlandii Północnej (The Polish Association in Northern Ireland (PANI)). The combined approach is recommended by Punch (2006, p.4) and seemed a reasonable method to investigate the many variables involved, since both quantitative (age, length of stay in the UK, hours per week spent with English speakers, etc.) and qualitative (reasons for coming to the UK, comments, etc.) data had to be collected to obtain as full a picture as possible. The semi-structured design was also chosen as a method of collecting data relating to attitudes and motivation in learning English, in line with similar research carried out in SLL studies(Porte, 2002; Bell, 2005). In particular, the Likert scale was used to gather data on strength of feeling and attitude as a quick way to elicit responses from subjects online (Bell,2005) Whilst a completely unstructured format may have been desirable, in the 3 month period to carry out the study this was impractical. Indeed during three pilot interviews the questionnaire was adapted to be completed in a shorter time, as it took longer to complete than anticipated. Advice from PANI also contributed to the decision to use more closed-format questions. This design also allowed important correlations to be investigated via

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quantitative methods, for example between qualifications and perceived difficulty of English and between age and perceived difficulty of English (sections 10.4.3 and 10.4.1). The majority of questionnaires were disseminated and received online, via the PANI Forum, under the section entitled , “Nauka Języka” (Language learning), and the thread title “wezwanie do badania językoznawczy” (“call to linguistic research”). In an attempt to secure more reliable results and to confirm the reliability of the online results, questionnaires were also administered orally with competent English speakers from Poland, in English, as well as being administered in person by a Polish migrant worker in Lisburn and received with written answers. In addition a small number of written questionnaires were administered by the author to workers over 40 years old, who were underrepresented in the online survey.

The author also drew upon journal records of encounters with Polish migrant workers in Northern Ireland over a period of two years, in various locations.

9.2.2 Secondary Sources

The author was able to draw on previous research on Polish migrant workers in Northern Ireland and the rest of the British Isles, in particular that by NICEM (2006) and McPeake (2007). Direct comparison with these sources on many of the main issues was possible in the discussion of the results obtained from primary sources and lead to some conclusions being drawn.

Research of general relevance to migrant workers and language barriers relating to them was obtained from libraries of the University of Ulster at Jordanstown and Coleraine, Northern Ireland (including MA (TESOL) theses collections), as well as electronic sources under the auspices of The University of Portsmouth.

9.3 The Questionnaire

A 39-item questionnaire was designed to look at the main research issues and is shown in appendix… This questionnaire was translated initially into Polish by the author (who holds a qualification in Polish to Common European Framework of

33

Reference (CEFR) Level B1). To achieve linguistic, functional and conceptional equivalence the questionnaire was cross-checked with native speakers of Polish. Two professional native Polish people, one a translator, the other an EFL teacher in Poland, checked the translation and advised where appropriate. The final version was then piloted in face-to-face interviews with three Polish migrant workers and distributed and collected in written form from six more Polish migrant workers before being uploaded to a webpage which allowed participants to answer the questions anonymously by either clicking on a radio button or entering text, as required by the particular question.

Since both quantitative and qualitative data was required to contextualise the psycho- and sociolinguistic issues arising from this questionnaire, both open and closed question forms, along with Likert scales, were used. Open question forms with corresponding text boxes were used frequently in order to allow unforeseen issues to be expressed.

Issues raised in the PANI online forum were also used to add to the overall description of Polish migrants and language issues for Polish migrant workers in Northern Ireland. Online interactions between the author and Poles in Northern Ireland in the PANI forum were also useful in coming to conclusions in this study.

9.4 Limitations of the research design

The sample size for the survey is not large enough to give a representative picture of the Polish migrant worker population in Northern Ireland. There is a bias towards those who have convenient internet access and confidence in using an online survey. Similarly, it was acknowledged that the questionnaire itself was perhaps too long for many respondents to complete, however this issue was raised on the PANI forum and no specific complaints were received. Some answers received were unhelpful – for example a difficulty rating in all eight aspects of English was given as “very easy”. This seems highly unlikely and calls into question the authenticity of some answers.

As expected, some sections of the online questionnaire were omitted by respondents. This accounts for the variation in sample sizes in the different sections of the results.

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10.0 Results and Analysis

10.1 Basic Data

Breakdown of respondents by gender

22

23

1

Male

Female

Not stated

Breakdown of respondents by age

2

2711

31 4

18-20

21-30

31-40

41-50

51+

Not stated

35

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14

No. of respondents holding the certificate

Swiadectwo Ukonczenia Gimnazjum

Swiadectwo Dojrzalosci Liceum Ogólnoksztalcacego

Swiadectwo Ukonczenia Liceum Ogólnoksztalcacego

Swiadectwo Dojrzalosci Technikum

Swiadectwo Ukonczenia Technikum

Swiadectwo Dojrzalosci Liceum Profilowanego

Swiadectwo Ukonczenia Liceum Profilowanego

Swiadectwo Ukonczenia Szkoly Zasadniczej

Other

Ce

rtif

ica

te

Secondary Education

0 2 4 6 8 10 12

Certyf ikat zaw odow y

Dyplom

Licencjat

Magisterski

Stopien Naukow y

Wyzsze

Other

Tertiary Education

To interpret these results, please refer to Appendix A : Key to Polish secondary and tertiary qualifications.

36

Breakdown of respondents by occupation

6

11

62113

10

1 2 1

Office Worker

CustomerServiceLabourer

Housewife

Waitress

Other

Care Assistant

Factory Worker

Catering

Professional

Doctor

37

10.2 Experience of living and working in the UK

10.2.1 Length of Stay in the UK

The online sample yielded 31 responses, with an arithmetical mean length of stay up to the survey period of 2.1 years, minimum 3months and maximum 4 years. The written questionnaires and personal interviews also gave the same mean of 2.1 years, a minimum stay of 1 year and maximum of 4.

10.2.2 Reasons given for coming to the UK to work

The results are as shown in the table immediately below

4

6

524

9

11

1

2

Language and Money

Money

Better pay

Better work conditions

Change of environment/adventure/new experience

Work/Career advancement/Better career opportunities

Language and Social Life

Personal

Don't know

To join my husband or partner

Table 10.2.2 – Stated reasons for coming to the UK

A large majority of reasons (82%) given referred to either career, pay or language issues, or a combination of these. In

38

interpreting these results, it was assumed that “money” referred to pay or possible earnings from work in the UK. A total of 5 respondents mentioned language explicitly. Of the 9 who came into the category “Work/Career advancement/Better career opportunities”, it can be reasonably assumed in the current globalized work environment that language skills, in particular abilities in English, will be a significant factor for many.

10.2.3 Intentions to stay in the UK

25

3

1

15

Do you intend to stay in the UK more than 11 months?

yes

no

don't know

no answer

As can be seen from the chart above, the majority (57 %) stated they wished to stay in the UK longer than 11 months (cf. Pollard et. al. (2008)).

10.2.4 Social choices affecting language use and perceived importance of English to social life

13 % of those answering said they spoke in English at home and 74 % said they lived only with Poles and spoke Polish at home. 1 % of those answering (0.6 % of the total) said they lived with Irish people. Only one other nationality (Italian) was mentioned by respondents. These are results are summarised as shown in the pie chart immediately below.

39

Flat or Housemates' nationality/language spoken at home

1

9

17

2 1 1

Italian/ English

No answer

Polish/Polish

Irish/English

Polish/wife and soncommunicate inEnglish

Live alone

0 5 10 15 20 25 30

less than 30 min

30 min - 2 hours

2-5 hours

5-10 hours

More than 10 hours

No Response

1

2

5

4

28

8

Hours per week spent with people speaking English

40

0 5 10 15 20 25

less than 30 min

30 min - 2 hours

2-5 hours

5-10 hours

All the time/"the rest of the time"

No Response

1

3

3

11

22

8

Hours per week spent speaking with people whose first language is not English

As can be seen from the two horizontal bar charts above, a significant majority of Polish people questioned (58 %) said they spent more than 10 hours each week in the company of English speakers, speaking English. 46 % said they spent more than 10 hours with people for whom English was not their first language.

A significant majority of people asked said that knowledge of English was either “very important” (52%) or “essential” (2%) for their social lives. Of the remainder, 23% said it was “fairly important”, 12% said it was of little importance and 11% gave no answer.

41

25

4

5

No/None

Yes

No answer

Have you ever encountered problems accessing service in Northern Ireland?Please explain briefly.

There were 4 specific problems mentioned in accessing services : firstly waiting times involved in attending to sick children, secondly inability to confirm their address at the Bank, thirdly “lack of knowledge of the language (English)” and fourthly the quality of GP’s was stated “terrible”.

10.3 Linguistic Aspects of “The Language Barrier”

13

4

1

38

18 6 - 12 years

2 - 5 years

1 year

1 - 11 months

0

No answer

How long (if applicable) were you learning English before arriving in the UK?

Figure 10.3.1

42

1 1 1 1 1 11

21

17

16

CPE

University

CPE

CAE

FCE

ESOL (unspecified level)

ESOL A1

ESOL B2

ESOL B1

None

No answer

English Exams taken

Table 10.3.2

Exam taken Stated Reasons for taking this exam

Cambridge CPE Was obliged to pass that exam during my studies

Cambridge CAE Certification of language skills

Cambridge FCE I couldn’t think of any others. Lack of choice.

City & Guilds ESOL (unspecified level)

“nauka” (“learning”). BIFHE¹ standard

City & Guilds ESOL Level A1 None statedCity &Guilds ESOL Level B2 Because that was what

was available at the timeMatura (Polish state secondary exam)

I had no choice. I had to

University English Exam Obligatory for my courseNone No exams were offered

Table 10.3.3 As can be seen from table, a significant majority of respondents either stated they had no exams in English or give no answer. It can be reasonably assumed that of those who gave no answer, the majority had no exams in English to speak of. Two respondents stated obligation being a factor in their choice of exams. Those who took City and Guilds exams in the UK stated it was the standard for their college or the only choice of English exam available.

¹BIFHE is the Belfast Institute for Further and Higher Education

43

10.3.4 Usefulness of English Exam in life and work in the UK

Exam Comments on Usefulness

Cambridge CPE Very useful, especially vocabulary

Cambridge CAE No answerCambridge FCE Indeed so. Despite

many years learning English in Poland it was actually only a foundation in grammar and especially vocabulary. I have been taking a lot of lessons with native speakers.

City and Guilds ESOL I lern many words and tens. Very useful in forming new acquaintances and in furthering my professional qualifications. General living, shopping, etc. Nothing in particular.

Matura Language learnt in Poland gave me a knowledge basis forUK language. It eased communication considerably with superiors and colleagues. It gave me a wider choice of work

Matura and University English exam Nothing in particular

10.3.5 Differences between English used at work and outside of work

Six respondents explicitly stated there were no differences. Two others referred to pronunciation. Another said there were no differences but it was “still difficult for me to understand the

44

Northern Irish”, from which it is assumed this refers to the Northern Irish accent in English. However a person employed as a waitress stated language outside of work is very informal. A different waitress said, “When I worked in London I had to use “Literary” English, i.e. that which I learnt in Poland but outside of work I used a few words of London slang”. A hairdresser said they didn’t know of any differences. A supervisor wrote there were not many differences – language at work consisted of phrases related to work but outside of work language was very varied. This was similar to Warehouse Operative who said “technical words not used in daily life are needed at work”. An EU project administrator said “English at work is more formal and professional”. A Care Assistant stated, in an online response : ”Outside of work I also use vulgarisms ;)”. However it is unknown whether they mean by this they use vulgarisms at work also. A despatch Technician said, “I have to use a fair amount of technical language at work –this is the main difference”. An architect stated, “Yes, at work I use the English I know from the street, from the hairdressers, etc., this being "Irish English"”. A product Support Engineer stated, “At work I use a lot of phrases and expressions connected with my profession”.

45

10.3.6 Perceived difficulty of English

1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 5

Use of articles

Tenses

Vocabulary

Word order

Reading

Speaking/pronunciation

Listening

Writing

3.5 (n=29)

3.55 (n=29)

3.23 (n=29)

3.45 (n=29)

4.19 (n=29)

3.71 (n=28)

3.78 (n=28)

3.4 (n=28)

Very difficult Very easy

Perceiveddifficulty of areas of English

As can be seen from the above chart, the most difficult area overall was vocabulary (3.23) , followed by writing (3.40) and then word order (3.45). The area rated the easiest by students was reading (4.19). These results are perhaps surprising given that articles are often mentioned as areas of difficulty for Polish learners of English.

Perceived most difficult aspect when starting to learn English

46

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16

Differences between written and spoken …

Vocabulary/words

Conversation/speaking/pronunciation

Understanding speech/accent/listening

Pronunciation

No answer

Everything

Don't remember

Prepositions/articles

Writing

Grammar/tenses

Thinking in English

2

4

3

3

3

15

1

5

3

3

4

1

Figure 10.3.7

Perceived most difficult aspects in learning English now

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16

No answerWritingTenses

Remembering wordsLack of time

ComprehensionNothing

I'm not learning EnglishPhrasal verbs

Proper/The right teachersArticles

GrammarWord Order

Pronouns, prepositions and adverbsUlsterisms

16333

51

31

211

5111

Figure 10.3.8

Perceived most difficult areas in using English now

47

0 5 10 15 20

No answerNothing

Vocabulary Local phrases/"Belfast talk"

PronunciationTenses

Polish-Irish accentLack of fluency

ListeningWriting

GrammarArticles

193

4333

22222

1

Figure 10.3.9

Perceived easiest areas in learning English at the beginning

1

3

3

5

22

1

8

2

1

1

3

2

0 5 10 15 20 25

Will to learn

grammar

reading

writing

No answer

"To be"

vocab/basic words

Don't remember

Melodiousness

Singing songs

Don't know/don't remember

Tenses/lack of verb endings

Figure 10.3.10

48

Perceived easiest areas in using English at the beginning

2

4

3

4

1

1

4

6

22

1

0 5 10 15 20 25

Will to use/learn

Grammar/sentence structure/tenses

Speaking/greeting

Pronunciation

"To be"

Present simple

Don't remember/Don't know

Vocabulary/basic vocabulary

No answer

Reading

Figure 10.3.11

10.3.12 Other areas of difficulty mentioned

13 further responses were given identifying specific areas of difficulty in using English. Some were areas already mentioned by others (Irish accent(7), pronunciation(2),slang(3),prepositions, articles, double meanings, conversing, writing, people talking too fast, having time to learn and grammar. Others were somewhat less expected responses : “Sometimes people disrespect me because of my poor English”, “abbreviations”, “Mainly vocabulary that I don't understand” and “I always have a problem with writing especially quickly”.

10.3.13 Level of satisfaction with English

A sizeable proportion gave no answer regarding stating their level of satisfaction with English. However of those who did, 25 % said they were satisfied, 50 % said they were not and the other 25 % made various

49

other comments, which are summarised, along with all the results in the pie chart below.

Are you satisfied with your English level?

7

14

7

20Yes

No

Other

No answer

Answers that fell into the „Other” category included :“Almost”“Yes, though I still want to perfect (my English)”“Average”(2)“I’m trying to improve further”“I could willingly raise my abilities”“Maybe better - but it is a considerable improvement on when I arrived.”

Do you go to English classes at the moment?

9

16

17

20

1Yes

No

I teach myself

No answer

I finished a course recently

Why do you need help with your English?Anyone unable to use English well needs helpTo speak betterMy knowledge of English is poorOne cannot check one's pronunciation aloneI rarely encounter situations where someone does not understand me or vice versa but help is always advisableBecause I know vocabulary but without correct grammar I have

50

problems expressing myself. After returning to Poland I intend to brush up my EnglishOften I don't understand (the) English language. Sometimes I can't say what I want (to) say Unfortunately my English still requires a lot of work. However advanced course are very expensive, hard to find and don't suit my work hours. Also tests carried out by schools don't give the full picture of one's abilities in English.Because my English isn't perfect :)I don't think I need any help (7) I don't need help - my English is steadily improving thanks to its daily useBecause I constantly want to know that language betterYou can never have too much help. And the language isn't perfect.(My) English isn't entirely satisfactory; for communicationTo improve my EnglishPracticePronunciation, fluency, to improve my personal capacity

10.4 Aspects of The Language Barrier in the workplace

10.4.1 How important is it for you to be proficient in English at work?

11

9

41

23

Very

Fairly/Important whenspeaking to customers

A little/Not veryimportant/There are a lot ofPoles at my workplace

Not important

No answer

Almost half (45%) of those surveyed said it was either “very” or “fairly important” to be proficient in English at their work. However a significant majority (48%) gave no answer.

51

10.4.2 The need to learn extra vocabulary and/or grammar to carry out tasks at work

14

10

23

1

Yes

No

No answer

Don't know

Figure 10.4.2

Did you need to learn extra vocabulary and/or grammar to do your job?

Again a significant majority (48%) gave no answer. However 29% said they had to learn extra vocabulary and/or grammar to do their job in Northern Ireland. One of the respondents categorised under “yes” replied with the words “once or twice”.

10.4.3 The need to pass an English test to gain employment in the UK

4

21

23Yes

No

No answer

Figure 10.4.3 Did you have to pass an English test to secure your present job?

52

Again a significant majority (48%) gave no answer. However a very large majority of those who did (84%) said they were not required to pass an English test to gain their present employment in the UK. Those who were required to pass a test amounted to 16% of respondents or 8 % of all those surveyed.

10.4.4 Motivation to study English further in the workplace

14

12

22 Yes

No

No answer

Figure 10.4.4 Would you do extra study to pass an English test if it meant a pay increase?

53

54% of those surveyed answered this question, the majority of these (54%) saying they would undertake extra study of English to pass a test and secure a pay increase in their work.

10.4.5 Possible impact of tighter residence controls in the UK

The results for this section are summarised in the pie chart immediately below and the following analysis.

19

22

25

Yes

No

Don't know/Maybe/Depends

No answer

Figure 10.4.5 If the British Government introduces a test of English as part of the requirement for UK residence, would you take it? Why/why not?

A significant majority (83%) of those answering said they would take an English test to gain legal UK residence status. However again a very significant majority (52%) gave no answer.

No. I don’t intend to stay here forever.

No. Blackmail??

Only if his course had a crèche facility.

I don’t know.

Only In order to still be able to live and work here(categorized

54

under “Yes”).

If citizenship depended on it, yes (categorized under “Yes”).

Why not try it. Nothing to Lose.

Yes. To try it. Why not?

Yes, but it’s not a good idea. I would try it. Why not?

Yes, I think my English is good enough to pass it (2)

Yes to check/test myself .

Yes. I live here and I should know this language

Yes, anything which improves my English is good for me

Yes. I like/will like the challenge.

Yes. To test my knowledge of the language.

Yes(5).

Obviously yes(2).

Figure 10.4.6 Reasons given for taking/refusing a possible English test for UK residence.

55

10.4.6 English Learning provision by employers

8

1523

1 1

Yes

No

No answer

Not anymore

Sometimes

Figure 10.4.6 Does your employer give you any help with your English?

A significant majority (48%) gave no answer, however only 36% of those answering said yes. This indicates, if the results of those answering are typical, that the majority of those surveyed received no help with their English from their employers.

In reply to the next question on the questionnaire, “Is/was this helpful?”, 9 people said “yes”, one said “A little”, 6 said “no”, one said “I don’t know” and one said “My friends help. Often it’s sufficient to speak clearly”.

56

10.4.7 Extent to which colleagues and superiors identify areas of English in need of improvement

7

1624

1

Yes

No

No answer

Not often

Figure 10.4.7 Responses to the question, “Has your employer or have colleagues identified any areas of English

where you need to improve?”

83% of those surveyed either said they never have had colleagues or superiors identify areas of English which they need to improve at work. The remaining 17 % mostly said “Yes”, with one respondent saying “Not often”.

57

10.5 Opinions on language requirements for foreign workersin the UK

2 5

9

46

22

Agree entirely

Agree

No opinion on the matter

Disagree

Disagree entirely

No answer

Figure 10.5 Response to question, “Should companies employing foreign nationals who use English in their work be obliged to make applicants pass an English test before

being hired?”

10.6 Further comments left at the end of the questionnaire

This (previous question) depends on the characteristics of the firm – if the work involves serving English-speaking clients the worker should have expert knowledge of this language. If the language is needed only to reach understandings among workers – then I think this (a language test) is not necessary, although language knowledge should be at least to a communicative level.

Nie (No)

Pozdrowienia (Greetings)

58

nie

Przy nauce jezyka angielskiego w obcym kraju wazna jest tolerancja i � oczątku� � w � oczątku� � wników. Się nie się się obyc bez ich pomocy � oczątku� na � oczątku i przy sprawach pisemnych Ja mam pod tym się szczescie Ciezko chodzic na dodatkowe kursy ang kiedy się ma prace w systemie zmianowym (Tolerance and eye-to-eye penetration is important in knowing the English language In a foreign country. I hale been lucky in this in getting along without their help, by writing matters down. It’s hard to get along to extra English classes when you work a shift system.)

Uwazam ze pracodawca NIE powinien zabraniac uzywania ojczystgo jezyka w relacji pracownik-klient (m.in.w sklepie lub restauracji).(Tak jest m.in. w McDonald.) (I think that employers should NOT norbid the use of the first language (“father tongue”) in worker-client communication (for example in a shop or restaurant, such as is the case in, amongst others, McDonald’s).

59

10.7.1 Variation of perceived difficulty with age

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

4

4.5

5

0 10 20 30 40 50 60

Diff

icul

ty R

atin

g giv

en (1

-ver

y di

ffic

ult t

o 5

very

eas

y)

Age (years)

Age vs perceived difficulty of English

Linear (Age vs difficulty)

60

10.7.2 Variation of perceived difficulty with “Intellect”

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

4

4.5

5

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35

Pe

rce

ive

d d

iffi

cu

lty

of

En

gli

sh

(1 v

ery

h

ard

to 5

ve

ry e

as

y)

"Intellect" (qualification points)

"Intellect" vs. Perceived difficulty

61

11.0 Discussion of results

11.1 Basic Data

The sample appears to show a more balanced section of the Polish population compared to previous waves of Polish migrants such as those referred to in section 1.6 in terms of gender. It is also roughly in line with Home Office figures (2008) on gender of A8 migrants between 2004 and 2007 (57% male, 43% female). The age breakdown is also similar to Home Office (2008) figures – just over 83% of respondents in this study stated their age as between 18 and 40 compared to 82% of all A8 migrants being between 18 and 34.

The Comprehensive School Maturity Certificate was the most widely-held secondary education qualification and a Polish Masters Degree the most widely-held tertiary qualification, suggesting a highly qualified workforce. As individual results have shown, in many cases Polish migrants are over-qualified for the job at which they work. However this may be part of a similar global picture in this regard. There appear to be no government statistics on qualifications with which to compare these findings.

A larger number of Poles appear to work in “Factories” (23%) compared to the UK national figure for the period since accession (12%) (Home Office (2008)). The largest sector employing Polish migrants according to national government statistics was “Administration, business and management” however in Northern Ireland Customer Service work was the largest sector. “Office workers” formed a significant segment of all occupations in Northern Ireland however whilst this group may fall under “Administration, business and management” in the national statistics it is admitted most in this group work for recruitment agencies and “could be employed in a variety of industries” (p.12). The number of doctors appearing in this survey appears very low when compared with the statistics in section 1.7.1.

11.2 Experience of living and working in the UK

12% nationally in the period from accession to March 2008 stated their intention to stay more than 11 months, compared to 57 % in this survey. This is a much higher than expected figure. 24% nationally stated they didn’t know how long they were going to stay compared to 7 % in this survey. It should be stressed that

62

the national figures represent all A8 nationals however since Poles form approximately 70% of these migrants (see section 1.7) these percentages are still useful for comparison purposes.

As expected “Better pay”, “Money” and “Language and Money” featured significantly in the list of reasons for coming to the UK to work. However “Career advancement” formed a significant segment of reasons listed. This is perhaps surprising given the nature of the work undertaken by respondents in this survey and their level of tertiary qualification. “Language and social life” was, surprisingly, only a motivator for one respondent.

Well over half the respondents said they spent more than 10 hours each week with people speaking English. This is perhaps surprising given the homogeneous nature of the group of Polish migrants and the results of the survey showing the vast majority live with other Poles. However it is difficult to know whether these answers include time spent at work where most co-workers speak English but they are usually not engaging in speaking in English with them. What was also surprising in this section was the figure of 45% of those answering who said they spent no more than 10 hours per week speaking with people whose L1 is not English. This is likely to be related to the results found in the subsequent part of the survey which yielded a figure of 54% stating their knowledge of English as “very important” or essential”.

Regarding problems encountered in accessing services, a surprisingly large percentage (86%) of respondents stated there were no problems. This is perhaps surprising given the results of surveys by NICEM (2004,2006) in this area. However it may well be related to recommendations made in 2004 and 2006 that have since been implemented. These are likely to include the greater provision of translated literature related to policing, health and social services and increased interpreter services.

11.3 Linguistic Aspects

Given the age of the respondents and the emphasis on learning English in Polish schools and industry since 1990, it is somewhat surprising almost two-thirds of the survey participants stated they had been learning English for less than a year before arriving in the UK (or gave no answer). What was further surprising was the low number of migrants (2) who had taken the FCE or CAE English exams given the demand for these exams in Poland. The high number of those who stated they had taken no English

63

exams was somewhat less surprising given the connected results listed in section 10.4 regarding the need for English qualifications. Table 10.3.3 shows some questionable results (the Matura English Exam was not included in Figure 10.3.2 as it is a secondary education exam). One respondent claimed they had no choice but to take the Matura Exam however this is an option for students in Polish secondary education. This perhaps refers to parental pressure. Of those who took exams in the UK (City & Guilds) lack of availability of alternatives seems to have been an issue. This also seems to have been an issue for the FCE holder however they also stated “I couldn’t think of any others”, suggesting a lack of awareness of exams available and/or possibly lack of time to research options. In the absence of this awareness (or perhaps because of it) institutional or employer obligations appear to have been a significant factor in choosing which English exam to take. Exams taken in Poland appear to have been useful in providing a “foundation” or “basis” for life in the UK however the FCE holder also stated it was necessary for them to also take a lot of lessons with native speakers (presumably after arrival and to increase their speaking and listening skills).

The comments about differences between English used at work and outside of it were rather predictable. Of the ten who noted differences, several said they used more “formal” or “technical” language at work. However one person, an architect, stated they used “Irish English” “from the street” at work. A significant number stated no differences between English used at work and that outside however how much this is based on a thorough knowledge of the English used at work and outside it is unclear.

As expected, a relatively strong positive linear correlation was found between Age and perceived difficulty of English, as shown in Figure 4.1. Whilst, as mentioned there are exceptions, the general trend in this study was that the older the worker the more difficult they found it to learn and use English. Whilst further research is required for a clearer picture of this group, including into the relationship between the “perceived difficulty” in this study and “proficiency” referred to in section 4.0 these results do not seem to conflict with the findings of McLaughlin (1992) and Flege (1994). Unfortunately further investigation of pronunciation was not possible in this study

It may not be particularly surprising that “Reading” was judged the easiest aspect of English as shown in Figure 10.3.6. Gardner

64

et. al. (1985) showed a more rapid rate of learning under visual/written conditions than oral/aural ones. More recently, Sparks et.al. (2001) concluded there is a clear and significant relationship between a learner’s native language skills and their foreign language skills, especially at the level of phonology and orthography. The level of educational qualifications given in this study by the majority respondents suggests a high degree of literacy and skill in the native language. More research is required to clarify what type of reading respondents engage in and to obtain a clearer picture. The aspect of how exposed these learners are to phonemes and words in English via the loan-words referred to in sections 3.2 and 6.0, and how this affects their perception and learning of English is one which merits further research.

A salient feature of Figures 10.3.6 to 10.3.11 is the perceived difficulty of learning English vocabulary, both when starting to learn English and at the time of questioning. Curiously however vocabulary was also a significant area perceived as the easiest when first using English. “Grammar” and “Lack of time” were noticeable as the two most significant areas perceived as most difficult when using English at the time of the questionnaire. This perhaps suggests that for this group of people grammar remains a struggle. It may also suggest Polish migrant workers in Northern Ireland prioritise work over English study. This tentative suggestion seems to be endorsed by the results shown in Figure 10.3.8, i.e. a majority of respondents not going to English classes. It is somewhat surprising so many respondents indicated they were not satisfied with their level of English yet so few were going to classes. This may be due to the “Lack of time” factor stated, as shown in the same figure. As can be seen from the responses to the question on why people need help with their English, the expense of courses was also stated as a prohibitive factor. This perhaps suggests situational factors require more investigation in this regard.

11.4 The language barrier in the workplace

As in the previous section, a salient feature of responses here was the lack of answers received, significant majorities on each issue questioned giving no answer. Whether this reveals a lack of importance of this issue to Polish migrant workers, a design fault in the questionnaire or some other factor is not entirely clear and requires further research. However some insights have been

65

gained from researching this aspect of the Language Barrier for Poles.

The very low number of respondents (1) stating proficiency in English was “not important” may go some way to answering the question of the importance of this issue raised in section 2.2. It is noticeable that proficiency in English when speaking to colleagues was mentioned by respondents but not proficiency amongst colleagues. However Figure 10.4.7 shows that 33% of those answering had experienced colleagues or superiors identifying areas of their English requiring improvement. This suggests from an employer’s point of view the language barrier is a significant issue at work. Further research on the nature of this barrier, improvements required and on which type of work it relates to is needed to obtain a clearer picture.

It is noticeable that whilst 8% of those surveyed were required to pass an English test to secure their employment, 29% had to learn extra vocabulary and/or grammar to do their job after starting. This suggests an unforeseen language barrier at interview stage (where they are interviewed) for a significant number of workers. With regards to dealing with this barrier once in employment, only 19% stated they received help with their English from their employer. However 14 respondents said they would study English further to pass an English test if it meant a pay increase. This is a noticeable increase on the number (10) currently going to English classes and suggests again financial rather than social reasons acting as motivation for studying English. Connected to this are the results shown in Figure 10.4.5 and the comments in Table 10.4.6. Of those who answered, very few (2) disagreed with the idea of an English test as part of residency requirements. However whether those who would agree to the test are motivated primarily by the ability to stay in work earning more than equivalent work in Poland would earn or other factors is unclear. For one worker it was clear, via their comment (they would take the test)”Only in order to still be able to live and work here”.

A salient feature of Figure 10.5 is that 38 % of those answering disagreed with the idea that foreign nationals who use English in their work should pass an English test before being hired, compared to 27 % who agreed. The reasons for these opinions are beyond the scope of this study and require further study however it is surprising that while colleagues and superiors at work have identified areas of English requiring improvement for

66

33% of respondents a lower number agree with the idea mooted in 10.5.

67

12.0 Conclusions

There are many limitations to this study as mentioned and these results can only be interpreted with caution. Therefore any conclusions are indeed tentative. However considering the lack of research available on the demographics of “The New Polonia”, it provides some interesting and potentially useful insights. The picture emerging from this study is a complex one. It shows a group of (relatively young) people with varied and limited experience of using English. A wide range of English qualifications are held by a minority of these people. Polish migrants in Northern Ireland appear to be employed in a similarly wide range of sectors. Further research is needed to clarify experience and qualifications for different sectors (which require different amounts of use of English), some of which may be found in the data collected in this study. However given that customer service appeared to be a significant sector using Polish migrant labour and the general finding amongst this group of significant colleague/supervisor intervention in identifying weaknesses in English, the apparent lack of need for English qualifications in obtaining employment, after adjustment to account for different sectors, is surprising.

Typical linguistic issues for this people group, such as use of articles and pronunciation issues have not emerged as a significant issue in this study for most, however grammar, vocabulary and understanding that form of English spoken in the workplace and streets of Northern Ireland with its distinguishing syntax, lexis and accents. This form has been documented and referred to as "Northern Irish English" (McCafferty,2007). Given the apparent abundance of research on the former issues and the lack on the latter, it may be time for new research into the issues raised as problematic for Poles in learning English in this study. It should also be noted that the vast majority of research discovered during this study on Poles learning English was carried out by Poles.

Situational factors such as lack of time, family responsibilities and the perceived expense of English courses in the UK seem to be a prohibitive factor in this group studying English further. Most Polish migrants appear to be motivated by earning potential in the UK (though not necessarily career advancement) rather than the chance to improve their English skills or proficiency. Indeed a period of work in the UK seems to be used by some as a test of their skills in this regard.

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This group describes fewer problems accessing services compared to other ethnic groups however greater desire to have education for Polish migrant children in their own language compared to most other ethnic groups in Northern Ireland. The latter phenomenon appears linked to the intention of this group, generally speaking, as was the case with the wartime emigracja,to return to Poland. However intention to stay in Northern Ireland is most frequently stated in terms of years rather than months as in the case of Polish migrant workers in Great Britain.

Although the scale of migration is similar in magnitude to that of the wartime migracja, and the strength of social cohesion of this migrant group equal or greater, there are significant differences. Polish migrants in the UK are referred to as “voluntary” or “economic” migrants rather than “forced” due to the improved political situation in Poland. Fewer workers in this group set up their own businesses when compared to the wartime emigracja. Most are employed by local employment agencies or companies. Legislation affecting Polish migrant workers is more general when compared to the specific Acts relating to Poles at the time of the wartime emigracja; both countries also now operate under EU legislation. However potentially the most significant differences and those impacting most on this picture are the mobility of the New Polonia (i.e. the growth in affordable direct air routes between all parts of the UK and Poland) and the growth of the Polish economy.

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Appendices

Appendix A : Key to Polish secondary and tertiary qualifications

1.Secondary qualifications

Świadectwo Ukończenia Gimnazjum – Middle School Finishing Certificate

(At 15)

Świadectwo Ukończenia Szkoły Zasadniczej – Elementary School Finishing

Certificate (At 15/16)

Świadectwo Ukończenia Liceum Ogólnokształcącego – Comprehensive School

Finishing Certificate (At 18/19)

Świadectwo Dojrzałości Liceum Ogólnokształcącego – Comprehensive School

Maturity Certificate (At 18/19)

Świadectwo Ukończenia Liceum Profilowanego – Secondary Formation School

Finishing Certificate (At 18/19)

Świadectwo Dojrzałości Liceum Profilowanego - Secondary Formation School

Maturity Certificate (At 18/19)

Świadectwo Ukończenia Technikum – Technical College Finishing Certificate (At 19/20)

Świadectwo Dojrzałości Technikum - Technical College Maturity Certificate (At 19/20)

Respondents were given points to constitute a qualifications score from 1 point for a Middle School Finishing Certificate, to 8 points for the Technical College Maturity Certificate, in the ranking order as shown

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2. Tertiary qualifications

Certyfikat Dowodowy (2) - Vocational Proficiency Certificate (roughly equivalent to an HNC)

Dyplom (5) - Diploma (roughly equivalent to an HND)

Licencjat (7) - University Bachelor’s Degree

Magisterski (8) - University Master’s (not necessarily equivalent to a British or Irish Masters (without a thesis or dissertation if not done in a “technical subject”)

Stopień Naukowy (10) - Ph.D.

Wyższy (11) - Qualification(s) higher (than a Ph.D.)

Points were added to give a total qualifications score for each respondent according to the value listed in brackets for each tertiary qualification held.

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Appendix B : Questionnaire (Polish version)

A. Dane podstawowe

1. Jaki poziom wykształcenia Pan/Pani posiada? a. Liceum/Gimnazjum (proszé pisać „y” lub „n” tzn. „tak” czy „nie”) :

-Świadectwo Ukończenia Gimnazjum

-Świadectwo Dojrzałości Liceum Ogólnokształcącego

- Świadectwo Ukończenia Liceum Ogólnokształcącego

-Świadectwo Dojrzałości Technikum

-Świadectwo Ukończenia Technikum

-Świadectwo Dojrzałości Liceum Profilowanego

-Świadectwo Ukończenia Liceum Profilowanego

-Świadectwo Ukończenia Szkoły Zasadniczej

b. Certyfikat zawodowy

b. Dyplom (dyplom-magisterski)

c. Licencjat

d. Magisterski

e. Stopień Naukowy

f. Wyższe

2. Wiek :

3. Płeć :

4. Narodowość :

5. Zawód wykonywany :

B. Kulturowe doświadczenia mieszkania i pracy w Zjednoczonym Królestwie

1. Jak długo przebywa Pan/Pani w UK? 2. Z jakiego powodu zdecydował/a się Pan/Pani na pracę w UK? 3. Czy ma Pan/Pani zamiar zostać tu dłużej niż 11 miesięcy?y Dlaczego/dlaczego nie? 4. Ile czasu spędza Pan/Pani wspólnie z ludźmi mówiącymi po angielsku (godzin w tygodniu)? 5. Ile czasu spędza Pan/Pani wspólnie z ludźmi dla których angielski nie jest językiem ojczystym? 6. Jakiej narodowości są Pana/ Pani współlokatorzy? Jak dużo mówicie w domu po angielsku?

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7. Jak ważna jest biegła znajomość języka angielskiego dla Pana/ Pani życia towarzyskiego? 8. Czy Pan/ Pani napotkał/a znaczące kłopoty w dostępie do usług w Irlandii Połnocnej (np. u lekarzu,

stomatologa, nagła pomoc medyczna, policja, pomoc w znalezieniu mieszkania – proszę w skrócie wytłumaczyć)?

C. “Lingwistyczny”

1. Czy się uczył się Pan/ Pani angielskiego przed przybyciem do UK? Jak długo? 2. Czy zdawał/a Pan/ Pani egzaminy z języka angielskiego? Jakie? 3. Dlaczego zdecydował się Pan/Pani na te właśnie egzaminy?4. Jeśli zdawał Pan/Pani egzamin, w jaki sposób angielski jakiego się Pan/ Pani uczył/a podczas

przygotowań był użyteczny w życiu i pracy w UK? 5. Co było dla Pana/ Pani najtrudniejsze na początku nauki języka angielskiego? 6. Co obecnie sprawia Pani/ Panu najwięcej trudności? a. w nauce języka?

b. w używaniu języka?

7. Co było najłatwiejsze: a. na początku nauki języka angielskiego? A teraz?

b. na początku używania języka angielskiego? A teraz?

8. Proszę uporządkować następujące kategorie według stopnia trudności jaki sprawiają Panu/ Pani podczas używania języka angielskiego (1 bardzo trudny, 2 trudny, 3 dość trudny 4 nie trudny 5 bardzo łatwy ) :

a. Używanie przedimków b. Czasyc. Słownictwo maybe d. Szyk słów e. Czytanief. Wymowa g. Słuchanie h. Pisanie

Proszę w skrócie wytłumaczyć inne problemy jakie ma Pan/Pani y używając języka angielskiego :

9. Czy jest Pan/Pani zadowolony z obecnego poziomu swojego angielskiego ? 10. Czy chodzi Pan/Pani na dodatkowe lekcje/naukę języka angielskiego? Gdzie? Jak często?

11. Dlaczego uważa Pan/Pani że potrzebuje dodatkowej pomocy?

D. Praca

1.Jak ważna jest biegła znajomość języka angielskiego w Pana/Pani pracy?

2. Czy zdarzyło się że miał Pan/Pani potrzebę uczenia się dodatkowego słownictwa lub/i gramatyki w celu wykonania swojego zadanie w pracy?

3. Czy wymagane było zdanie egzaminu z języka angielskiego żeby otrzymać obecną pracę?

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4.Czy zdecydowałby się Pan/ Pani na dodatkową naukę angielskiego gdyby zdanie testu językowego oznaczało wzrost zarobków?

5.Jeśli brytyjski rząd wprowadziłby test językowy jako warunek otrzymania stałego pobytu w UK czy podszedłby Pan/ Pani do niego? Dlaczego/żeby sprawdzić Dlaczego nie?

6.Czy pracodawca pomaga Panu/ Pani w angielskim?

7. Czy jest to (było) pomocne?

8.Czy pracodawca lub koledzy zwrócili Panu/ Pani uwagę na jakieś obszary angielskiego, które powinien Pan/ Pani poprawić?

Ocena opinii

Proszę uporządkować swoje opinie zgodnie z następującą skalą: 1 w pełni się zgadzam 2 zgadzam się 3 nie mam opinii 4 nie zgadzam się 5 nie zgadzam się zupełnie

1. Czy wszyscy cudzoziemcy powinni zdawać testy językowe by żyć w Zjednoczonym Królestwie?

2. Czy cudzoziemcy powinni zdawać test z języka polskiego aby uzyskać prawo pobytu w Polsce?

3. Czy firma zatrudniająca cudzoziemców, którzy używają w pracy angielskiego powinna zobowiązywać kandydatów do zdania testu językowego zanim ich zatrudni?

Czy chciałby Pan/ Pani dodać jakieś uwagi?

Dziękujemy bardzo za poświęcony czas.

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Appendix C : Questionnaire (English version)

A. Background

2. To what level are you educated? a. High School (Lyceum/Gimnazjum ):Choose one : -Swiadectwo Ukonczenia Gimnazjum

-Swiadectwo Dojrzalosci Liceum Ogólnoksztalcacego

- Swiadectwo Ukoczenia Liceum Ogólnokształcącego

-Swiadectwo Dojrzalosci Technikum

-Swiadectwo Ukonczenia Technikum

-Swiadectwo Dojrzalosci Liceum Profilowanego

-Swiadectwo Ukonczenia Liceum Profilowanego

-Swiadectwo Ukonczenia Szkoly Zasadniczej

Further Education (choose one or more): b. Professional Certificate

c. Diploma

d. Degree

e. Masters

f. PhD

g. Higher

2. Age : (choose one from : 18-20 ; 21-30 ; 31-40 ; 41-50 ; 50+)

3. Sex :

4. Nationality : (chose one from Polish, Czech, Slovak, Russian, Bulgarian, Slovene, other)

5. What is your specific job?

B. Cultural/Experiences of living and working in the UK

9. How long have you been in the UK? 10. Why did you decide to work in the UK? 11. Do you intend to stay here more than 11 months? Why/why not? 12. How often do you socialise with mostly English speakers (hours per week)? (Choose from less than

30 min ; 30 min – 2 hrs ; 2-5 hrs ; 5 – 10 hrs ; more than 10 hrs)13. How often with people who are non-native (English) speakers? (Choose from less than 30 min ; 30

min – 2 hrs ; 2-5 hrs ; 5 – 10 hrs ; all the time)

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14. What nationality are your house/flatmates? How much English do you speak at home?

15. How important is it to be proficient in English in your social life? 16. Have you experienced (significant) problems accessing services in Northern Ireland (e.g. doctor,

dentist, emergency health services, police, help with housing-briefly explain)?

C. “Linguistic”

12. Did you learn English before your arrival in the UK? For how long?13. Did you take any exams in English? Which ones? 14. Why did you decide on those particular exams? 15. If you took an exam, in what ways has the English you learnt whilst preparing for it been useful to

your experience of living and working in the UK? 16. Is there a difference in the English you use at work compared to outside work? Briefly explain

please.17. Please rate the following in order of difficulty, as you encounter them when using English (choose

from : 1 very difficult, 2 difficult, 3 fairly difficult, 4 not difficult or 5 very easy) :

i. use of articles (e.g. “a”, “an”, “the”)j. verb tenses (e.g. “I live” (present simple), “I am living” (present continuous))k. vocabulary l. word order m. reading n. pronunciation o. listening p. writing

18. What was the most difficult aspect of learning English when you started learning it? 19. What do you find the most difficult aspect now – a. learning English ?

b. using English?

20. What was the easiest aspect of : a. learning English initially? b. using English initially?

Please briefly describe any other issues you have when using English.

21. Are you happy with your current level of English? (Possible answers “yes”, “no”, “other”(with text box to describe briefly))

22. Do you take extra English lessons/tuition? Where? How often? 23. Why do you feel you need extra help?

D. Work

1.How important is it for you to be proficient in English at work?

2.Did you find you needed to learn extra vocabulary and/or grammar to do your job?

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3.Did you have to pass an English test to secure your present job?

4.Would you do extra study to pass an English test if it meant a pay increase?

5.If the British Government introduces a test of English as part of the requirement for UK residence, would you take it? Why/why not?

6.Does your employer give you any help with your English?

7. How useful is (was) it?

8.Has your employer or have colleagues identified any areas of English where you need to improve?

Value judgements

Please rate you judgments on the following according to the following scale : 1 agree strongly 2 agree 3 no opinion 4 disagree 5 disagree strongly

1. Should companies employing foreign nationals who use English in their work be obliged to make applicants pass an English test before being hired?

Any further comments you wish to make?

Thank you very much for your time.

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Declaration

I hereby declare that the text of this dissertation is substantially my own work.

Signature: Date: