• Overview
• Research Platforms
• Thematic Area A: Language, Identity and Culture
• Thematic Area B: Language Policy and Planning
• Thematic Area C: Multilingualism and Education
• Thematic Area D: Language and Economy
• European Level
• National Level
• European Level
• Communication, Management, Infrastructure, Training and Gender

Multilingualism, transcultural capital and social exclusion amongst migrant minority populations

(WP11a, 2008–2010)

Summary Results

Multilingualism: Opportunity for Economic Success and Integration?

Vietnamese immigrants in the Czech Republic face a major stumbling block in their integration in the Czech society: their language. Almost every second of them speaks Vietnamese only. Little is done to change this situation. Another group of immigrants, Subsaharan Africans in Germany, face another difficulty: they struggle to find an adequate employment and their multilingualism is mostly worthless in Germany.
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Rationale

As our previous research has shown, migrants from countries outside the EU are struggling to define their place in the societies of their new EU countries of residence, whilst keeping numerous links to their home countries on the one hand and to other countries within or outside of the European Union on the other. In spite of these similarities, our research has identified major differences between the two distinct groups of migrants we mainly researched: in Germany, Francophone Africans who entered as refugees, and in the Czech Republic, Vietnamese business people who entered largely as guest workers or vocational students. African refugees in Germany are largely barred from the job market and professional development in spite of their linguistic expertise and educational/ professional background. For Vietnamese in the CR, on the other hand, language and education emerged as the key relevant factors in upskilling and wealth creation. Hence the explanation for these differences seems to be largely due to the different structural and legal frameworks of the respective countries.

In the next phase of our research, we therefore propose to compare the continuing development of Vietnamese business people according to their multilingual skills, especially in relation to their bilinguality in Czech and Vietnamese, with the occupational opportunities of Africans who do not have to face the legal hurdles of a refugee status. This second group of Africans which is in principle able to enter the job market with the security of a permanent or temporary residence and work permit in Germany provides a better foil for comparison with the Vietnamese, than do the excluded and marginalised refugees. A further comparative dimension will be added by extending the francophone African sample to other black Africans (e.g. anglophone or lusophone).

This new comparison should give insights into the patterns of language use and language choice of migrants, and how these might influence their plans for the choice of present or future countries of residence, and current or future transnational/ global links. A better understanding of the trends in the formation, persistence and transformation of migrant communities and networks is highly desirable.

Objective

To find answers to the following questions:

• How do comparable groups of bi- or multilingual Vietnamese resident in the Czech Republic and bi- or multilingual African resident in Germany narrate their language biographies?
• Which significance do they attach to their language skills when it comes to the job market and to other factors of their social life?
• What other factors (general education level, culture, social status in the countries of origin, wealth, attitudes of the local society in the countries of their residence towards race etc.) are at play when members of such migrant communities seek opportunities in the respective job markets?
• To what extent do Africans of non-refugee status in Germany face similar difficulties to those of refugee status in entering the job market, or inversely to what extent can they grasp new opportunities?
• How do migrants use their previous and newly acquired language skills in making decisions about their future jobs and choices of countries of residence?
• What can be inferred from our focus on language in relation to the wider picture of the continuation of migrant communities and networks, of return migration or migration to other countries in Europe or worldwide?

An in-depth analysis of the position of members of migrants in the job markets of their present country of residence will add important information about the actual role of multilingualism or lack of multilingual skills in the economic future and possible choices of migrant populations. It will also allow an assessment of the structural and legal hurdles compared to those formed purely by social attitudes.

Description of work

Months 19-24: Establishment of samples of approximately 15 to 25 comparable interviewees in each setting, regarding length of stay, motivation, status, education and training, multilingual skills.

Month 25-30: Conducting of 15 to 25 semi-structured interviews in each setting, focusing on the role of language(s) in the individuals' life biographies in general, on their projected life trajectories, and their job-seeking and job-keeping experiences in particular. Analysis and evaluation of existing data relating to the specific categories of migrants and their networks in the two research settings

Outlook on Month 31-36: Comparative evaluation of results

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Contacts WP 11a