Milli mála - 2023, Qupperneq 112

MILLI MÁLA
112 Milli mála 15/2/2023
3. Literature review: Immigrant language
acquisition and the role of language courses
There exists a considerable body of literature on the relation between
language acquisition and immigrants’ integration into receiving soci-
eties (Chiswick and Miller 2001; Esser 2006; Norton and Toohey
2011). In short, the literature pertaining to language proficiency and
integration strongly suggests that a higher level of proficiency in the
receiving country’s language is linked to immigrant integration.
However, if this link between language and integration is more
closely studied, research indicates that other factors must be taken
into consideration. The idea that language leads to access to the labor
market has been described as a “shaky promise” by Heinemann (2017,
177). Studies on the link between language proficiency and immi-
grants’ incorporation into receiving societies vary with respect to how
integration is measured. Approaches include economic integration
(Lochmann et al. 2019), social incorporation, e.g., in terms of inter-
group contact (Tip, Brown, and Morrice 2018), or combinations of
economic and non-economic aspects (Kristen et al. 2015). Numerous
studies investigate predictors of language acquisition among immi-
grants. Many of them refer to three key groups of factors defined by
Chiswick and Miller (2001):
• exposure factors, such as language acquisition pre- or post-migra-
tion, length of stay in the receiving country, and frequency of use
of the language,
• efficiency factor, such as educational attainment, age at migration,
and linguistic distance, and
• economic incentives, such as employment status, income, and intend-
ed duration of stay.
A review of literature shows that a higher level of exposure to the
language both pre- and post-migration, a longer length of stay in the
receiving society and a higher frequency of use are linked to a higher
proficiency in the language of the receiving society among immi-
grants (Chiswick and Miller 2001, 393).
PREDICTORS OF SATISFACTION / DISSATISFACTION WITH ICELANDIC LANGUAGE
COURSE AND ICELANDIC PROFICIENCY AMONG ADULT IMMIGRANTS IN ICELAND
10.33112/millimala.15.2.5