Migrant women, work, and investment in language learning: Two success stories

Abstract

In the media, migrant mothers are often portrayed as uneducated, having trouble learning a new language, and preferring to stay at home rather than entering paid employment. This article offers a contrasting point of view as a result of examining how two migrant women narrativize their experiences of language learning and working-life-related integration during a three-year period. Specific attention is paid to how the women make sense of their language use over time, and how this may have contributed to their integration into working life and the wellbeing of their families. Interview data was analyzed using the short story analytical approach, focusing on both the content and the various scales of context portrayed in the stories. The analysis is informed theoretically by the concept of investment. The findings indicate that, first, English was used when interacting with members and institutions of the Finnish society, but gradually the use of English was replaced by an emerging Finnish proficiency. At first with the help of English and later, by deciding to invest in learning Finnish, both key participants managed to build new careers and meaningful lives for themselves and their families in a new environment.

“Only this time in English”

“…Both participants brought English as their linguistic capital when they moved across borders and it served as a "head start" in the new country (Iikkanen, 2019). However, although English proficiency is often regarded as a key to success in professional life, this value shifted in some Norwegian workplaces as Norwegian is considered more valuable and used as an additional working language.…”

‘Somewhere Between Engineering and Humanities’: Discourses of Investment in Additional Language Learning Among Students of Higher Education in Finland

“…The interviews showed different discourses at play at the same time as well as tensions between them: On the one hand, a student may enjoy language learning in its own right and have a personal aspiration for it, while on the other hand, they may struggle in their learning efforts and view their skills in negative terms (not being good at it, not having done well at it, not knowing the language) while simultaneously seeing the benefits and profits to be gained from their investment. The investment in additional language learning is hence a multifaceted phenomenon which should be understood in relation to various scales and where the analysis of individuals' own accounts and their reflections of their past, present, and future aspirations becomes important (see also Iikkanen, 2019).…”

“…By implication, by investing in and committing themselves to developing and learning specific skills and semiotic resources such as languages, individuals expect to gain returns on their investment-that is, an accumulation of their capital. These expected returns can be instrumental ones; they can also relate to identity and the aim to become part of a(n imagined) community (see Iikkanen, 2019;Karhunen et al, 2023;Ros i Solé, 2013). The returns may come in the form of career advancement, an imagined identity, and aspired community membership (Darvin & Norton, 2015).…”

Kielikoulutus valmistamassa monikieliseen työelämään

“…Yrittäjyys voi näyttäytyä houkuttelevana työllistymisen muotona erityisesti silloin, kun työtä on muuten vaikea löytää (Joronen 2012;Fornaro 2018). Yrittäjyyteen liittyvät tehtävät, kuten liiketoimintasuunnitelman laatiminen ja asiakaspalvelu sekä vakuutus-ja pankkiasiat, vaativat melko hyvää suomen kielen taitoa (Iikkanen 2019b). Lisäksi yrittäjyydessä korostuvat henkilökohtaisten verkostojen merkitys ja paikallisen yhteiskunnan tuntemus.…”