Literacy in Refugees and Applicants for International Protection: Determining Factors of Writing in Spanish as a Second Language

Literacidad en refugiados y solicitantes de protección internacional: Factores determinantes de la escritura en español como segunda lengua

Abstract

This study focuses on the literacy of refugees and applicants for international protection from China, Ukraine, Eritrea, and Syria. More precisely, it seeks to analyse the determinants of written production in Spanish of this group. To this end, two written tasks were used, and participants’ written production was assessed in terms of the overall quality of the texts they produced and the amount and type of writing errors. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, correlation coefficients, and comparison of means tests. In general, the results revealed an influence of gender, class attendance rate, educational level and age on participants’ written competence.