This book explores the social, educational and linguistic acculturation of a group of Saudi wives and mothers sojourning in New Zealand while their husbands undertook full time study. The book explores their background, the challenges they faced and the changes they made during their sojourn, and their preparation for returning home post-sojourn.

PART ONE: THE BACKGROUND OF THE BOOK

Chapter 1. Adjusting to a New Culture

Chapter 2. Saudi Arabia: Religion, Culture and the Role of Women

Chapter 3. The Case Study of Saudi Mothers Sojourning in New Zealand

PART TWO: THE MOTHERS TELL THEIR STORIES

Chapter 4. The Women's Lives in Saudi Arabia

Chapter 5. The Participants' Initial Experiences in New Zealand

Chapter 6. Maintaining Children's Arabic Language and Religious Identity

Chapter 7. The Women Adapt through a Community of Social Practice

INTERLUDE: Focus Groups

PART THREE: THE MOTHERS DISCUSS THEIR BELIEFS

Chapter 8. The Parents' Beliefs about Parenting

Chapter 9. Comparing New Zealand and Saudi Arabia

Chapter 10. Looking Towards Repatriation 

PART FOUR: THE AUTHORS REFLECT ON THE STUDY

Chapter 11. Discussion of the Findings

Chapter 12. Two Conceptual Models

Chapter 13. Implications of the Study

Gary Barkhuizen: Afterword: Coping Over Time

Esra Yaghi is an English Language Developer at the University of Waikato, New Zealand. Her research interests include issues in ethical research and second culture identity.

Roger Barnard is a recently retired Associate Professor of Applied Linguistics at the University of Waikato, New Zealand. His research interests include second language education and language policy. His most recent book is Narratives of Qualitative PhD Research: Identities, Languages and Cultures in Transition (co-edited with Y. Gurney and Y Wang. Routledge, 2023).