The role of language in integration: a longitudinal study of migrant parents’ trajectories

Abstract

This study is an ethnographically oriented longitudinal exploration of the language learning and integration trajectories of eight migrant parents. The study offers a unique perspective on how migrant parents’ varied language resources are received and evaluated in Finland. The study focuses specifically on how proficiency in English attained pre-migration affected participants’ processes of language learning and integration. The study seeks to understand the fluid and situational nature of language learning and use in various contexts. This study adopts a translingual practice approach to language informed by research on English as a (multi)lingua franca (ELF) and investment in language learning. The study comprises three sub-studies and an overview. The participants were eight migrant parents, two senior and five junior nurses working at Finnish family clinics. The data was collected between 2015 and 2019, and consists of interviews with the migrant parents and family clinic representatives. Sub-study 1 focuses on the parents’ experiences of inclusion and exclusion shaped by language use during their initial period of settlement in Finland. In Sub-study 2, the concept of investment is employed to explore how two migrant parents narrativize their language learning and integration trajectories, and how their investment in language learning has contributed to more satisfactory working-life integration. Sub-study 3 sheds light on how family clinic nurses categorize their migrant clients based on the clients’ perceived proficiency in English and whether this conforms to the native speaker norm. This study shows that being able to use English is helpful at the beginning of a person’s stay in Finland. However, the findings highlight the fact that in order to feel that they are integrated and, above all, to achieve professional satisfaction, migrants need to develop proficiency in the local language. In addition, the study shows how strongly native speaker ideology is reflected in the evaluation of foreigners’ language proficiency. The study therefore has important practical implications for both general education and for the training of various professionals, such as teachers and family clinic nurses. Keywords: ethnography, English as a lingua franca, family clinic, immigrant, investment, language learning, migrant, native speaker ideology, stay-at-home parent