My doctoral research offers insights into the under-researched area of linguistic integration in multilingual societies. Taking a qualitative approach informed by linguistic ethnography, I investigated the language learning and integration experiences of five men who, fleeing war and
violence, sought international protection in Luxembourg.
New arrivals to Luxembourg are expected to integrate into a society that is structured around the widespread circulation of people and their linguistic repertoires. This raises crucial questions: How can people’s existing language resources be validated and used to aid language learning? What are the politics of language and integration in settings of complex linguistic diversity? What role do language ideologies play in their creation and/or perception? What types of individual trajectories emerge?
This talk will address each of these questions in more detail. It will also include a detailed discussion of the complexities of researching in a multilingual context.