Conference Agenda

Languages serve as communicative and social tools that are the foundation of all learning and communication. Therefore, language competences in the workforce are strategically important to develop and maintain external contacts, such as with national and international customers, clients and patients. In addition, they are of importance internally within companies and work teams, where often people with different language backgrounds work together. VET programmes that prepare learners for future work situations, attract linguistically diverse cohorts. These can include young people who have resided in a particular country from birth or for a long time, as well as those who have arrived more recently in a country.

Typically, many languages come in contact in VET programmes, such as the instructional language, any curricular foreign languages, learners’ family languages, and further languages that might be present in the workplace.

Especially those learners who have newly arrived from abroad, often struggle linguistically and may drop out before completion of their course (Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research, 2021). Therefore, considering how languages are learnt, used and perceived in VET programmes is not just a practical concern, but also one of social justice and one related to equal opportunities for individual VET learners, and the wider economy (Blixen & Hellne-Halvorsen, 2022).

Representatives of the LiVE network (Languages in Vocational Education) will present findings from four projects (Norway, Switzerland, Liechtenstein) that shine a light on technical, healthcare and trade-oriented vocational programmes, addressing the following questions:

• What language resources do learners bring to their VET programmes?
• How can newly arrived young people enrolled in VET programmes be supported to develop communicative competence in the locally dominant language?
• What additional languages do young people enrolled in VET programmes learn privately or desire to learn in the future?
• What is the role of English as a curricular subject, a language of instruction or a communicative tool in VET programmes in non-English dominant countries?

Drawing on qualitative and quantitative data from VET learners, as well as classroom and work-place educators, we discuss our findings with the help of critical perspectives and socio-culturally informed theoretical frameworks.

The findings presented in our symposium confirm for instance that, on the one hand, VET cohorts are likely to be highly international and multilingual (Meier & Styger), and on the other hand, that learners require language support not only to develop the language of learning where necessary (Andreassen; Brekke & Kjelaas) but also additional languages in which they may already have competences or in which they desire to develop competences (Andersen; Meier & Styger). Languages are also tied to identities (Meier & Styger; Andreassen), while apprentices’ language competences enable internal and external work communication and socialisation (Meier & Styger).

Our work has implications for VET colleges and workplaces that may not always be aware of their learners’ language competences or communicative needs. Our joint findings and considerations lead us to formulate a series of recommendations, which we will present in our symposium, above all that this research area deserves greater attention by VET programme leaders, teachers, workplace instructors, as well as respective employers, business leaders, policy makers and researchers. This is of significance, because linguistically diverse VET cohorts and work contexts are a realty for many; because workplace integration and learning is related to wider social participation and inclusion; and because multilingualism is a potential asset for individuals, employers and the wider economy.

Two thirds of young people in Switzerland (WBF, 2017) and half in the Principality of Liechtenstein (LFL, 2021) choose a vocational programme rather than academic-focussed education. These cohorts are often rather multilingual, in our study 71% of surveyed apprentices (n=674) reported that they can speak three or more languages. However, the role of language diversity, language use and language socialisation more widely in vocational programmes seems severely under-researched (Coray & Duchêne 2017). Guided by language socialisation (Meier, 2018) and social cohesion frameworks (Meier & Smala, 2022), we developed the following questions: What languages do apprentices bring to their VET? How do they develop and use their languages? What role do languages play in their linguistic socialisation in different professions? We explored these questions with technical and trade-focussed apprentices, such as masons, electricians, mechanics and hairdressers. VET programmes in Switzerland and Liechtenstein are of the dual-track variety. In our case, the apprentices all attended a vocational college in eastern Switzerland right on the border to Liechtenstein. Their workplace training thus took place at a host company in either Switzerland or Liechtenstein, where German dialects are the predominant mode of communication. In Spring 2022, we collected 674 survey responses and conducted 11 interviews with apprentices in nine professions. In Autumn 2022, we then invited academics, employers, teachers and policy makers to respond to our first findings via a survey (n=90). Consequently, we analysed and interpreted these findings together. Findings related to apprentices (Meier & Styger, 2022) show that the participants in our study have 42+ nationalities, and they can use 56 languages and varieties at different levels of proficiency, thus constituting a very international and multilingual group that brings much linguistic capital to their work and learning. The learner findings further suggest that a majority of apprentices are interested in learning an additional language in the future, but that language learning opportunities at present (at college, at work and privately) are distributed rather unevenly. Similarly, apprentices in some professions are likely to be exposed to more than one language at work, where many mediate and translate between languages, thus smoothing communication in work teams and with customers. Alternatively, in other professions exposure to several languages is less likely, as German, or dialect, is often deemed predominant in their work. In this talk, we will unpack and discuss these results, taking into account stakeholder views, and draw conclusions for practice, policy and research.

Corary, R. & Duchêne (2017). Mehrsprachigkeit und Arbeitswelt: Literaturübersicht. Wissenschaftliches Kompetenzzentrums für Mehrsprachigkeit. Universität Fribourg. LFL (2021) Satistikportal. Bildungsverläufe. Landesverwaltung Fürstentum Liechtenstein. https://www.statistikportal.li/de/themen/bildung/bil-dungsverlaeufe Meier, G. (2018). Multilingual socialisation in education: Introducing the M-SOC approach. Language Education and Multilingualism: the Langscape Journal, 1, 103-125 Meier, G. & Smala, S. (2022). Languages and Social Cohesion: A Transdisciplinary Literature Review. Routledge. Advances in Sociology. Meier, G. & Styger, E. (2022). Zwischenbericht zum Projekt Mehrsprachigkeit in der gewerblich-industriellen Berufsbildung: Erste Analysen und Erkenntnisse zur Perspektive der Lernenden aus der Schweiz und dem Fürstentum Liechtenstein. https://sites.exeter.ac.uk/m-voc/reports-and-surveys/ WBF (2017). Förderung des Fremdsprachenerwerbs in der beruflichen Grundbildung. Eidgenössisches Departement für Wirtschaft, Bildung und Forschung WBF. www.sbfi.admin.ch/sbfi/de/home/dienstleis-tungen/publikationen/publikationsdatenbank/fremdsprachen.html

In Norway, a high proportion of newly arrived immigrant students (NAIS) are enrolled in vocational education (Blixen & Hellne-Halvorsen, 2022). Oral communicative skills in Norwegian are foundational in the professions that these students are training for (Batenburg et al., 2020). Therefore, a strong emphasis on oracy in the locally dominant language is important in VET in general, and in VET for NAIS in particular. However, to our knowledge, research on oracy in vocational education is scarce. Whereas the emphasis on literacy and literacy skills in both academic education and VET has increased over the last 10-20 years (e.g., Visén, 2021; Hellne-Halvorsen, 2019), oracy has received far less attention both in research and classroom practice (Batenburg et al., 2020). Thus, it is crucial to explore what characterizes the oracy demands in various professions, as well as what role these abilities play in the training of the students. In this study, we therefore investigate the following questions: What do educators in VET perceive as the key requirements for oral skills in Norwegian in their professions? What part does oracy in Norwegian play in the training of students? And how are Norwegian oral communicative skills assessed? The study started in January 2023. Qualitative data was collected from seven upper secondary schools with vocational programmes, mainly in the Healthcare, Childhood and Youth development-programmes as well as in Technical and Industrial production-programmes. Both educators (N=30) and students (N=30) participated in our study. The data analysis is guided by a sociocultural framework, especially the principles of Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) (e.g., Gibbons, 2015). This will enable us to develop insights into the oracy demands and training in VET, crucial for both educational policy and practice, especially with regards to better targeted pedagogies for newly arrived and linguistically diverse immigrant students. We will share first findings and main themes in this talk.

Batenburg, E. v. Oostdam, R., Gelderen, A. v., Fukkink, R & Jong, N. d. (2020). The effects of instructional focus and task type on pre-vocational learners’ ability in EFL oral interaction. ITL - International Journal of Applied Linguistics 171(2), pp. 153–190. Blixen, T. B. & Hellne-Halvorsen, E.B. (2022). All teachers are language teachers – A Norwegian Study on How Teachers in Vocational Education and Training Programs Experience and Reflect on Complementary Literacy Practices and Didactic Strategies in Multicultural Classrooms. In: L. M. Herrera, M. Teräs, P. Gougoulakis & J. Kontio (eds). Migration and Inclusion in Work Life – The Role of VET. Emerging issues in Research in Vocational Education and Training, vol. 7. Gibbons, P. (2015). Scaffolding Language, Scaffolding Learning. Heineman. Hellne-Halvorsen, E. B. (2019). To kontekster – to skrivepraksiser? Skriving i skole og bedrift i fag- og yrkesopplæringen. Nordic Journal of Vocational Education and Training (NJVET) 1 (2019). Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research (2021). Norwegian White Paper 2020-2021 The Completion Reform [Norwegian: Fullføringsreformen]. Visén, P. (2021). Tricks of the trade or situated literacy – disciplinary reading literacy practices in vocational education. Nordic Journal of Literacy Research 7(1).

In Norway, workplaces are becoming increasingly multilingual, and the use of English is more prevalent than ever in the professional sphere (Språkrådet, 2018). Still, Norwegian proficiency is a significant factor in employability and success across professional settings (e.g. Staalesen et al., 2018). In line with national language and education policies (e.g. Innst. 253 L, 2020) and requirements in the professional realm, Norwegian is the dominant language in mainstream VET. However, exceptions exist, and in this paper I explore such a case: A hairdressing class where the teaching materials are in English rather than Norwegian, even though teaching, assessments and the students’ future working lives are mainly Norwegian-monolingual. I report from a VET class in which I conducted linguistic-ethnographic fieldwork in 2020-2021. The participants are ten linguistically diverse students and one teacher in the hairdressing program. The teacher reports that the students overall are not advanced English users. Despite this and the Norwegian-monolingual education context, the class uses a mainly English-language digital multimodal learning platform when working with the hairdressing/vocational subject. The platform replaces the subject’s textbooks, and offers a range of resources, e.g. instruction videos, vocabulary quizzes, etc. in English. I investigate how the hairdressing teacher and the students orient to the digital platform in their work with the vocational subject. Core questions are: What are the perceived benefits and challenges of the digital learning resource? Are the affordances of the digital resource perceived to outweigh the (primarily linguistic) limitations and challenges it poses in a diverse vocational classroom? Analytically, the study adheres to a linguistic-ethnographic methodology (Copland & Creese, 2015). The theoretical framing includes language ideologies and elite multilingualism (e.g. Barakos & Selleck, 2019), and Bourdieu’s (1986, 1991) capital. Preliminary results suggest that the digital platform is viewed as an asset in the teaching of the vocational subject, especially by the vocational teacher, despite the language-related challenges some students experience. This speaks to the relative anglonormativity in Norwegian educational settings (e.g. Beiler, 2021). The students’ positions vis-a-vis the platform vary more. The use of the English-language digital platform (and its specialized vocational vocabulary) is arguably incongruent with the linguistic profile of the student group and the established norm of using Norwegian in the classroom. Moreover, it contrasts the formal curricular framework of the vocational program subject, which has a Norwegian-monolingual form and intention.

Barakos, E., & Selleck, C. (2019). Elite multilingualism: Discourses, practices, and debates. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 40(5), 361–374. https://doi.org/10.1080/01434632.2018.1543691 Beiler, I. R. (2021). Marked and unmarked translanguaging in accelerated, mainstream, and sheltered English classrooms. Multilingua, 40(1), 107–138. https://doi.org/10.1515/multi-2020-0022 Bourdieu, P. (1986). The Forms of Capital. In J. Richardson (Ed.), Handbook of Theory and Research for the Sociology of Education (pp. 241–258). Greenwood. Bourdieu, P. (1991). Language and symbolic power. Polity Press. Copland, F., & Creese, A. (2015). Linguistic ethnography: Collecting, analysing and presenting data. Sage. Innst. 253 L. (2020). Innstilling frå familie- og kulturkomiteen om Lov om språk (språklova). Familie- og kulturkomiteen. https://www.stortinget.no/no/Saker-og-publikasjoner/Publikasjoner/Innstillinger/Stortinget/2020-2021/inns-202021-253l/?all=true Språkrådet. (2018). Språk i Norge – kultur og infrastruktur. https://www.sprakradet.no/globalassets/diverse/sprak-i-norge_web.pdf Staalesen, P. D., Heglum, M. A., & Berg, H. (2018). Arbeidsgiverperspektivet i inkludering. En undersøkelse blant NHOs medlemsbedrifter. (Rapport No. 2018–12). Proba samfunnsanalyse. https://www.nho.no/contentassets/b36417854c2749d48b243abd4ccf4f34/190322_probarapport-18047-arbeidsgiverperspektivet-i-inkludering-.pdf

In Norway, most newly arrived minority language speaking students choose the vocational path in upper secondary school. Only half of this group complete their education within 6 years and for those who have a limited school background, the completion rate is expected to be even lower (Integrerings- og mangfoldsdirektoratet, 2021; Thorud, 2017). Migrant students are faced with several challenges when entering the mainstream school system and linguistic barriers have been identified as a major obstacle (Bakken & Hyggen, 2018; Dewilde & Kulbrandstad, 2016; Lunga et al., 2020). The education of newly arrived students has been a relatively under-researched area, particularly when it comes to the students’ own experiences and to the many transitions they go through in the educational system (Jama, 2018; Nilsson Folke, 2017). Furthermore, vocational education has overall received little attention in research and theory development (Hellne-Halvorsen, 2014; Herrera et al., 2022). This study attempts to address these voids by investigating one student’s experiences with transitioning from an introduction class for newly arrived migrants to vocational school. I investigated this student’s experiences related to first language use in the two school contexts by asking: 1) what characterizes his experiences concerning first language use in the transition from introduction class to vocational school? And, 2) How can these experiences be understood? I will share findings from a relevant study drawing on data material from critical linguistic ethnographic fieldwork where I followed 22-year-old Hamid in his transition from an introduction class for newly arrived migrants to vocational school. Connections, or potentially disconnections, with language practices in students’ previous school contexts appeared as a key element towards understanding linguistic challenges experienced in vocational school. The use of first languages as a resource to both second language and subject content learning became an increasingly important factor as Hamid transitioned to vocational school. Data material consists of fieldnotes from participatory observation and transcripts of in-depth interviews with the student, his teachers, and school leaders. I consider ideological and pedagogical underpinnings influencing the student’s experiences by drawing on critical sociolinguistic theory on language and language learning.

Bakken, A., & Hyggen, C. (2018). Trivsel og utdanningsdriv blant minoritetselever i videregående. Hvordan forstå karakterforskjeller mellom elever med ulik innvandrerbakgrunn? NOVA. Dewilde, J., & Kulbrandstad, L. A. (2016). Nyankomne barn og unge i den norske utdanningskonteksten. Nordisk tidsskrift for andrespråksforskning, 11(2), 13–33. Hellne-Halvorsen, E. B. (2014). Skrivepraksiser i yrkesfaglige utdanningsprogrammer [Universitetet i Oslo]. I Norbok. https://urn.nb.no/URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2019091977070 Herrera, L. M., Teräs, M., Gougoulakis, P., & Kontio, J. (Red.). (2022). Migration and inclusion in work life—The role of VET (Bd. 7). Atlas Akademi. Integrerings- og mangfoldsdirektoratet. (2021). Gjennomføring av videregående opplæring blant unge innvandrere. IMDi. https://www.imdi.no/om-integrering-i-norge/kunnskapsoversikt/gjennomforing-av-videregaende-opplaring--blant-unge-innvandrere/ Jama, H. (2018). Nyankomne elever i det norske utdanningssystemet: Overgangen fra innføringstilbud til ordinær undervisning [Masteroppgave, Universitetet i Oslo]. https://www.duo.uio.no/bitstream/handle/10852/64321/Masteroppgave-Hibo-Jama---v-r-2018.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y Lunga, W., Bislimi, F., Momani, F., Nouns, I., & Sobane, K. (2020). Barriers to access to education for migrant children. G20 Insights. https://www.g20-insights.org/policy_briefs/barriers-to-access-to-education-for-migrant-children/ Nilsson Folke, J. (2017). Lived transitions: Experiences of learning and inclusion among newly arrived students. Department of Child and Youth Studies, Stockholm University. Thorud, E. (2017). Immigration and Integration 2016–2017 (s. 180). regjeringen.no/contentassets/005e1d69ad5141958451b8770552dab9/immigration-and-integration-20162017.pdf