Lives on Hold: ESL in a Restructured Society

Abstract

A survey of ESL in Auckland, New Zealand, in the light of the pervasive restructuring of society and education in the last 15 years finds that the lives of adult immigrants are difficult and precarious. Many realize their previous training and experience are unsuitable for their chosen occupations, and so they have to make drastic career changes. Their main contact with fluent English is largely limited to ESL classes rather than the English environment around them. New Zealand government immigration policies seem opportunistic and discriminatory. Institutions face difficulties in funding some ESL programs and so encounter problems in planning and continuity.