“Dream Small” : Language Learning Investment and Discourses in Adult Basic Education in Finland

Abstract

This chapter concerns the Finnish language learning investment of one adult migrant student, Issaka. According to Norton (2013), students invest in language learning to acquire new symbolic resources and gain access to new spaces and communities. The research questions are: What kinds of real or imagined identities guide Issaka’s investment and how have they changed over time? and What kinds of discourses are present in spaces where Issaka negotiates these identities? The ethnographic data come from a longitudinal study among migrant students in adult basic education (ABE) in Finland. The data were analysed using thematic analysis. The findings indicated that a key factor in the participant’s investment was negotiating an attainable imagined identity, including professional and personal goals. Moreover, the findings suggested intergenerational investment, which highlights the importance of investigating matters of identity and investment longitudinally.