The meaning(s) of practice: Puzzling through performative language practice with refugee learners

Abstract

This article features an investigation into the semantics of the term ‘practice’ coexisting in a multidisciplinary research context. The background of the discussion is a government-funded study with refugees and asylum seekers in Ireland, where process drama, music and dance were used to facilitate second language learning – an approach known as performative language pedagogy. The research is framed by exploratory practice, a methodology that considers ‘practice-as-research’ and ‘understanding-for-practice’ in second language education. An investigation of the meaning(s) of the term ‘practice’ was imperative as a semantic gap existed between the use of the term ‘practice’ in exploratory practice (the research methodology underpinning the study) and the concept of ‘practice’ in performative language pedagogy (the teaching approach used in the study). This article presents findings from twelve qualitative interviews with teacher/artists and practitioners that point towards a shared understanding of practice when working with refugees in language education settings.