"The Door You Can Walk Through to Society": Social Inclusion and Belonging in Vocational Programmes for Immigrants

This article presents a qualitative, empirical study of two educational programmes for immigrants that integrate language instruction and vocational training. In the context of migration, social inclusion is often conceptualised as access to social capital. Proficiency in the national language is considered key for employment and fast integration into working life has become a primary goal in Swedish migration policies. This article examines the two programmes from the perspective of inclusion into an (imagined) future professional community of practice (CoP), focusing specifically on the participants’ possibilities to invest in a professional linguistic repertoire. The article is dedicated to empirical analyses and positive factors, recognising the need for research. Data consists of interviews with students and teachers, observations, and video recordings of course activities. Organisational aspects of the courses, such as the teachers’ backgrounds and the courses’ proximity to future CoPs, as well as relational aspects of the learning environments, are considered essential for the participants’ inclusion in a future professional CoP. Analyses of the programmes’ content demonstrate that participants are assumed to lack context‐specific, vocational knowledge, including professionally related vocabulary. The article contributes to knowledge on how inclusion can be managed in practice in educational settings for adult immigrants and promotes an understanding of how vocationally adapted courses can assist immigrants in becoming members of a future professional CoP

English in Nordic universities: ideologies and practices

It is by now a well-documented fact that English is being used to a much greater extent at Nordic universities than was the case a couple of decades ago. With the proviso that cross-country comparisons are difficult because of differences in educational systems and methods of measurements, the proportion of academic articles which are published in English at Nordic universities is in the order of 70 to 95%; for doctoral dissertations, the order is 80–90%. The use of English as a medium of instruction differs at undergraduate and graduate level; at the former level some 10–25% of programmes are taught in English and at the latter the range is some 20–40%. The proportion of non-Nordic students is around 5–15%, though for all these areas, there are considerable differences between the disciplines, with the technical and natural sciences typically exhibiting a much greater degree of Englishization (Godenhjelm, Saarinen & Östman, 2013; Hultgren, 2013; Kristoffersen, Kristiansen & Røyneland, 2013; Kristinsson & Bernharðsson, 2013; Salö & Josephson, 2013). Universities in the Nordic countries, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland, may be seen as being on the forefront in this process of Englishization, but we believe that the trend is universal and that the causes and consequences of the development are therefore relevant far beyond the region. It is against this backdrop of greater English language usage in key university activities that the present volume is set. The purpose of this volume is to explore and contrast the ideologies and practices associated with the Englishization of Nordic universities. By ideologies we understand the ways in which English at Nordic universities is explicitly or implicitly talked and written about in the Nordic debate. By practices we understand the ways in which the phenomenon of language choice unfolds on the ground in the situated interactions of the social actors directly involved in it, i.e. primarily those who conduct their daily working lives at Nordic universities: students, faculty and other staff. As it shall be clear in the chapters to come, this dichotomy is, of course, a simplification, not least because practice and ideology influence each other. The primary difference between ideology and practice, as we use the terms, is thus that ideology is either explicitly or implicitly value-laden discourse about what ought or ought not to happen, while practices are what actually happens. Of course, nothing is ever just as it seems, so the account of practices that we offer in this book will extend only as far as the particular research methods employed. It seems to us that in the case of language choice at universities in the Nordic countries these two types of realities – ideologies and practices – have become exceptionally far removed from one another, in a way that we would suggest has become unproductive and unhelpful. At the ideological level, two opposing discourses may be distinguished. On the one hand, we have what might be called the “internationalist” discourse. This is typically represented by politicians committed to making the nation internationally competitive. At the institutional level, the discourse may be carried on by university leaders concerned with internationalizing and advancing the rank of their universities. To these actors, language is often a non-issue (see, e.g., Phillipson, 2009; Phillipson & Skuttnabb-Kangas, 1999; Saarinen, this volume; Ljosland, this volume). In contrast to these arguments, we have what might be called the “culturalist” discourse. This is typically represented by politicians committed to safeguarding national culture and the heritage of the welfare state. Other representatives of this discourse may be characteristically Nordic institutions charged with the task of monitoring and regulating the national language, such as national language councils, or members of the cultural elite and professional linguists. To these actors, language is often highly salient. Ironically, they may be affiliated with both right and left-wing politics, albeit for different ideological reasons (see Salö, this volume). Safeguarding the national language in right-wing politics becomes a surrogate for protecting the nation state. In left-wing politics, it is a shield against commercialization and global homogenization. Thus, the ideological level is fraught with contradictions between “internationalists” and “culturalists” and even among the culturalists themselves. As far as the practices are concerned, there has over the years been a growing body of work aimed at exploring this phenomenon (Haberland et al., 2013; Kuteeva, 2011; Mortensen & Haberland, 2012; papers in the special issue of Iberica, vol. 22, edited by Kuteeva, 2011). Some of the issues which have been explored at the level of practice have been how teaching and learning is affected by it taking place in a language that is not one’s first (Airey, 2009, 2010; Thøgersen & Airey, 2011), patterns of language choice (Ljosland, 2008; Söderlundh, 2010; Haberland et al., 2013), the emergence of new and non-native ways of using English (Mortensen & Fabricius, this volume) and the attitudes of students and staff to Englishization (Hellekjær, 2005; Jensen & Thøgersen, 2011; Tange, 2010). In the chapters to come, we shall have a more detailed look at how Englishization plays out at the level of ideologies and at the level of practices. Before we go on to consider this in more detail, we will take a step back in time and consider how the role of universities have changed over time before considering the linguistic and cultural implications of these changes

International universities – local language choices : On spoken Swedish in English-medium course environments

The thesis deals with the use of spoken Swedish on six English-medium university courses in Sweden. The courses are taken by both Swedish and foreign students, with English as the common language of instruction. The aim of the study is to describe and understand the oral use of Swedish, by students in particular, in the type of linguistic environment that arises when English is the medium of instruction. Language use is studied from three angles: the use of spoken Swedish, the functions of Swedish in interaction, and participants’ attitudes to Swedish and English and to the choice of one language or the other. The analysis is based on observations and recordings of naturally occurring talk on courses in the subject areas business studies, engineering and computer science, and on interviews with students and teaching staff. Close analysis of the Swedish spoken is combined with ethnographic knowledge of the broader social context of the courses, and in both theory and method the thesis combines the research fields of sociolinguistics and ethnography. The study shows that Swedish is spoken on all the courses observed. It is used primarily outside whole-group teaching, in interactions not involving foreign students. The language occurs both in talk relating to the course subject and in private conversations. Thus, English-medium education does not by definition mean that English is the only language employed; Swedish, too, has a more or less prominent place. In the thesis, attitudes and patterns of language choice are attributed to the national, rather than international, character of the courses, and to the fact that most of the students and lecturers have experience of and routines from Swedish-medium education. The old routines are carried over into the nominally English-medium courses, giving Swedish a special position and local prestige in these environments.Avhandlingen handlar om hur svenska används i den muntliga interaktionen i sex engelskspråkiga universitetskurser i Sverige. Kurserna följs av både svenska och utländska studenter och engelska är det gemensamma språket i undervisningen. Undersökningen utgår från studenternas språkbruk och syftet är att beskriva och förstå särskilt studenters muntliga användande av svenska i den typ av språkmiljö som uppstår då engelska är undervisningsspråk. Språkbruket undersöks från tre infallsvinklar: den talade svenskans användning, svenskans funktioner i interaktionen samt deltagarnas attityder till dels svenska och engelska, dels valet av språk. Analysen utgår från observationer och inspelningar av naturligt förekommande samtal i undervisning inom ämnesområdena företagsekonomi, teknik och datavetenskap samt från intervjuer med studenter och lärare. Näranalyser av den talade svenskan kombineras med etnografisk kunskap om kursernas bredare sociala sammanhang, och i teori och metod kombineras forskningsfälten sociolingvistik och etnografi. Resultatet visar att svenska förekommer i alla undersökta kurser. Svenska används främst utanför helklassundervisningen i samtal där utländska studenter inte deltar. Språket talas både i samtal som rör studieämnet och i privata samtal. Att kurserna är nominellt engelskspråkiga betyder alltså inte att engelska är det enda språk som används i samband med undervisningen, också svenskan har en mer eller mindre framträdande plats. I avhandlingen förklaras attityder och språkvalsmönster med att kurserna till sin karaktär är nationella – i motsats till internationella – och att majoriteten studenter och lärare har erfarenhet och rutiner från svenskspråkiga utbildningar. De gamla rutinerna förs över till de nominellt engelska kurserna och ger svenskan en särställning och lokal prestige i miljöerna

Föräldrars och elevers upplevelse av samverkan kring hemmasittare i Östersund : En skola för alla när inte skolan, socialtjänsten, BUH och BUP är frånvarande

Studien syftar till att undersöka elever och föräldrars upplevelse av insatsen från ”Närvaroteamet”, en samverkansform mellan olika myndigheter för elever med skolfrånvaro i Östersunds kommun. Den har ett systemiskt perspektiv och belyser även familjens påverkan av skolfrånvaron samt skillnaden för familjen utifrån kontakten med ”Närvaroteamet”. Metoden är en enkätstudie med VAS-skala och öppna frågor till föräldrar och barn som deltagit mellan oktober 2011 och mars 2015. Föräldrarna är i huvudsak positiva till insatsen och samverkan mellan myndigheter medan eleverna har en mer blandad upplevelse. Måendet i familjerna har förädrats i positiv riktning utifrån insatsen. Resultatet visar även på att skolklimatet har en stor betydelse för elevers upplevelse av och återgång till skolan. Skolfrånvaro i form av hemmasittare infattar en komplex problematik där BUP:s kunskap är viktig och familjeterpins domän kan ha en central betydelse för familjer och elever

Global policies and local norms : sociolinguistic awareness and language choice at an international university

As part of the internationalization of higher education, more and more European university courses are being taught in English. Exchanges between universities have grown, and students from different parts of the world now often study together. What does this international environment look like in linguistic terms? Do students and teaching staff speak only the course language English, or are other languages also used, and if so, in what situations and contexts? These questions are discussed on the basis of an ethnographic study of an English-medium university course in Sweden. Extended examples of interaction show that participants adapt their use of languages to place-bound needs and conditions, giving rise to local norms. The national language Swedish holds a special position, as the first language of the majority and the lecturer. The course language English is dominant as a de facto lingua franca, but local social and linguistic needs and conditions leave room for other languages as well. Overall, course participants orient to three competing principles of language use: (a) English as a lingua franca, (b) the speaker's orientation to her or his own language and (c) the special position of Swedish, as the first language of the majority and the lecturer

International universities – local language choices : On spoken Swedish in English-medium course environments

The thesis deals with the use of spoken Swedish on six English-medium university courses in Sweden. The courses are taken by both Swedish and foreign students, with English as the common language of instruction. The aim of the study is to describe and understand the oral use of Swedish, by students in particular, in the type of linguistic environment that arises when English is the medium of instruction. Language use is studied from three angles: the use of spoken Swedish, the functions of Swedish in interaction, and participants’ attitudes to Swedish and English and to the choice of one language or the other. The analysis is based on observations and recordings of naturally occurring talk on courses in the subject areas business studies, engineering and computer science, and on interviews with students and teaching staff. Close analysis of the Swedish spoken is combined with ethnographic knowledge of the broader social context of the courses, and in both theory and method the thesis combines the research fields of sociolinguistics and ethnography. The study shows that Swedish is spoken on all the courses observed. It is used primarily outside whole-group teaching, in interactions not involving foreign students. The language occurs both in talk relating to the course subject and in private conversations. Thus, English-medium education does not by definition mean that English is the only language employed; Swedish, too, has a more or less prominent place. In the thesis, attitudes and patterns of language choice are attributed to the national, rather than international, character of the courses, and to the fact that most of the students and lecturers have experience of and routines from Swedish-medium education. The old routines are carried over into the nominally English-medium courses, giving Swedish a special position and local prestige in these environments.Avhandlingen handlar om hur svenska används i den muntliga interaktionen i sex engelskspråkiga universitetskurser i Sverige. Kurserna följs av både svenska och utländska studenter och engelska är det gemensamma språket i undervisningen. Undersökningen utgår från studenternas språkbruk och syftet är att beskriva och förstå särskilt studenters muntliga användande av svenska i den typ av språkmiljö som uppstår då engelska är undervisningsspråk. Språkbruket undersöks från tre infallsvinklar: den talade svenskans användning, svenskans funktioner i interaktionen samt deltagarnas attityder till dels svenska och engelska, dels valet av språk. Analysen utgår från observationer och inspelningar av naturligt förekommande samtal i undervisning inom ämnesområdena företagsekonomi, teknik och datavetenskap samt från intervjuer med studenter och lärare. Näranalyser av den talade svenskan kombineras med etnografisk kunskap om kursernas bredare sociala sammanhang, och i teori och metod kombineras forskningsfälten sociolingvistik och etnografi. Resultatet visar att svenska förekommer i alla undersökta kurser. Svenska används främst utanför helklassundervisningen i samtal där utländska studenter inte deltar. Språket talas både i samtal som rör studieämnet och i privata samtal. Att kurserna är nominellt engelskspråkiga betyder alltså inte att engelska är det enda språk som används i samband med undervisningen, också svenskan har en mer eller mindre framträdande plats. I avhandlingen förklaras attityder och språkvalsmönster med att kurserna till sin karaktär är nationella – i motsats till internationella – och att majoriteten studenter och lärare har erfarenhet och rutiner från svenskspråkiga utbildningar. De gamla rutinerna förs över till de nominellt engelska kurserna och ger svenskan en särställning och lokal prestige i miljöerna

Treating sewage water from carwashes using a filter of peat and carbon-containing ash : an evaluation of efficiency and waste handling from an environmental perspective

Filtermaterial av 75 % torv och 25 % kolaska har använts under 2 respektive 4 år för rening av avloppsvatten från två biltvättar. Jämförelse med Kristianstads kommuns riktvärden för avloppsvatten från fordonstvättar visar att filtren fungerat. För avfallsklassning krävs kunskap om innehåll av miljöfarliga ämnen i produkter som använts i tvätthallarna. I brist på kunskap om innehåll av ej analyserade miljöfarliga ämnen i filtren anses förbränning vara ett bra omhändertagande ur miljösynpunkt, då energi och aska återvinns.Sewage water from two car washes has been treated during 2 and 4 years respectively, using a filter made of 75 % peat and 25 % carbon-containing ash. A comparison with the guiding values for car wash sewage water in Kristianstad municipality shows that this type of filter works well. Classification of the filter as waste requires knowledge about the content of environmentally harmful substances in products used in the car washes. Because of the lack of knowledge about the content of non-analyzed substances in the filters, combustion must be regarded as an environmentally good way of disposing the filter material, as both energy and ashes are recycled