Milli mála - 2023, Side 129

Milli mála 15/2/2023 129
6.1 Icelandic proficiency
The results relating to language proficiency need to be interpreted
considering the circumstance that we measured Icelandic language
proficiency as self-reported language proficiency, which is only a lim-
ited indicator of actual language proficiency (Edele, Seuring, and
Kristen, 2015). However, our results are broadly in line with prior
studies because most factors associated with exposure, efficiency, and
economic incentives (Chiswick and Miller 2001) turned out to be
relevant predictors of self-reported language proficiency in the pre-
sented case of Iceland.
In accordance with the model developed by Chiswick and Miller
(2001), our results show that most exposure factors were related to a
higher proficiency in the language of the receiving society. A longer
length of stay in Iceland and more social contacts with Icelanders are
positively linked to higher levels of Icelandic proficiency. These re-
sults are also in line with prior quantitative research in Iceland indi-
cating that the length of stay in Iceland had a positive effect on
language proficiency (Ólafsson and Meckl 2013). More exposure to
the language in terms of daily interactions in Iceland was, however,
associated with lower self-reported proficiency in Icelandic. This re-
sult is contrary to the assumption that a higher frequency of using
the language is related to being more proficient in the language.
Finding a possible reason for this result could be a question for fur-
ther research. One explanation might be that both language profi-
ciency and language use were measured through self-reported langu-
age proficiency. This might reflect participants’ confidence in their
abilities to use the language rather than their actual language use.
Another considerable result relating to exposure to the language was
that we found no link between numbers of Icelandic courses attended
and self-reported Icelandic proficiency. In this respect, our data dif-
fers significantly from previous research which showed that language
courses are positively linked to the acquisition of language skills,
even though the effect is generally reported to be relatively small
(Esser 2006; Hoehne and Michalowski 2016). The number of langu-
age courses attended might not tell the whole story of immigrants’
language proficiency. Some immigrants might have attended multi-
LARA W. HOFFMANN, YVONNE HÖLLER, MARKUS MECKL