Migration, host-country language learning, and the influence of global English

OVERVIEW

For many immigrants arriving in Sweden, English is the default language of communication. An important asset in social interaction, English can also be a barrier to developing fluency and comprehensibility in Swedish. These ‘soft language skills’ are of crucial importance for successful integration. However, they cannot be adequately acquired in formal learning (Derwing & Munro, 2013). Consequently, each time English is used in social interaction, an opportunity to develop communicative competence in Swedish is lost.

Taking a transdisciplinary approach, and using a longitudinal, qualitative design, the project will examine factors influencing the language choices of immigrants with prior knowledge of English. In addition to providing insights into the influences of English on communication in a host-county language, the project extends the research frontier by taking a multilingual perspective.