Socioemotional Skills and Refugees' Language Acquisition

Arbeitspapier

This paper contributes to the existing literature by extending Chiswick and Miller's (2001) model to include socioemotional skills. While the theoretical model predicts that exposure, efficiency, and incentives determine language proficiency, we additionally assume that socioemotional skills influence these three constructs and thereby language proficiency. Specifically, we seek to answer the following research questions: How do socioemotional skills affect the language attainment of recent refugees? What is the relative importance of socioemotional skills in refugees' language learning process? Given the findings of the prior literature that personality traits may compensate for socioeconomic adversity (e.g. Damian et al. 2015), we further ask whether socioemotional skills may compensate for refugees' resource disadvantages. Empirically, we rely on growth curve models and recent longitudinal data from the IAB-BAMF-SOEP Refugee Sample.

Object Details

• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Series: CReAM Discussion Paper Series ; No. 30/21

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft ; Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination ; Micro-Based Behavioral Economics: Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making‡ ; Returns to Education ; Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
• Subject: language acquisition ; refugees ; socioemotional skills ; Big Five ; risk aversion ; locus of control ; Germany

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Kosyakova, Yuliya
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): Centre for Research & Analysis of Migration (CReAM), Department of Economics, University College London
• (where): London
• (when): 2021

Further information

• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:45 AM CET