New words, new lives: employing interpretative phenomenological analysis integrated with strategies from ethnography in researching the lived experience of multilingualism and vulnerability in survivors of torture and modern slavery

Few studies in applied linguistics address the methodological and ethical issues encountered in studying asylum seekers and refugees. Moreover, more research is needed on the lived-experience of multilingualism and vulnerability to understand better the interrelations between multilingualism, vulnerability, and empowerment. Based on a study which combines Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis with ethnographic approaches this paper explores the impact of multilingualism on the rehabilitation of survivors of torture and human rights violations. It provides researchers with reflections and insights on how to do effective research with vulnerable multilinguals and better understand the role language plays in contributing to lived-experiences of vulnerability.