Milli mála - 2023, Page 133

Milli mála 15/2/2023 133
The results presented in this study demonstrate that language
courses in Iceland do not seem to address the needs of immigrants in
Iceland. This confirms the notion that formal language training (i.e.,
whether an immigrant has attended courses and how many) is very
limited as an indicator whereas other factors, such as socio-demo-
graphic factors are more significant indicators.
6.3 Limitations
The data for this study has been collected in 2018. The results there-
fore primarily reflect the opinions of participant at that time and,
thus, do not necessarily reflect immigrants’ language proficiency and
attitudes towards language courses in 2023. Additionally, it has been
argued in prior research that self-reporting of language skills is an
insufficient measure of language proficiency (Edele, Seuring, and
Kristen 2015). However, this method is well established and espe-
cially practical for large-scale studies, even though the extent to
which it accurately represents language proficiency remains debatable
(Adamuti-Trache et al. 2018). An important limitation is also that
the question about the number of language courses attended by
immigrants was misunderstood by some respondents and should be
clarified in further research. Another limitation of our study is that
we did not collect data on the time frame when participants attended
Icelandic courses and where they took them. Our discussion and con-
clusion, therefore, can only give an indication of Icelandic courses in
Iceland in general, not a certain type of courses.
7. Conclusion
Immigration to Iceland has increased significantly in recent years.
Since 2007, language proficiency has been a criterion for permanent
residence and citizenship in Iceland. It is therefore of relevance to
investigate factors determining self-reported language proficiency
and satisfaction with language courses among immigrants in Iceland.
The main contribution of our study is that we show that factors
influencing self-reported language proficiency and satisfaction with
LARA W. HOFFMANN, YVONNE HÖLLER, MARKUS MECKL