Learning and maintaining languages in the workplace : migrant NGO practitioners in Finland

This is an elec onic ep in o he o iginal a icle. This ep in may di e om he o iginal in pagina ion and ypog aphic de ail. Au ho (s): Ti le: Yea : Ve sion: Please ci e he o iginal e sion: All ma e ial supplied ia JYX is p o ec ed by copy igh and o he in ellec ual p ope y igh s, and duplica ion o sale o all o pa o any o he eposi o y collec ions is no pe mi ed, excep ha ma e ial may be duplica ed by you o you esea ch use o educa ional pu poses in elec onic o p in o m. You mus ob ain pe mission o any o he use. Elec onic o p in copies may no be o e ed, whe he o sale o o he wise o anyone who is no an au ho ised use . Lea ning and main aining languages in he wo kplace : mig an NGO p ac i ione s in Finland Sah adyan, Sonya Sah adyan, S. (2017). Lea ning and main aining languages in he wo kplace : mig an NGO p ac i ione s in Finland. In J.-C. Beacco, H.-J. K umm, D. Li le, & P. Thalgo (Eds.), The Linguis ic In eg a ion o Adul Mig an s / L’in ég a ion linguis ique des mig an s adul es : Some lessons om esea ch / Les enseignemen s de la eche che (pp. 329-334). Mou on de G uy e . h ps://doi.o g/10.1515/9783110477498-045 2017 SonyaSah adyan Lea ning and main aining languages in he wo kplace: mig an NGO p ac i ione s in Finland Abs ac : This a icle epo s on alinguis ic e hnog aphic s udyexplo ing mi- g an NGO p ac i ione s’languagelea ning and main enance a wo k. The ind- ingssugges ha he mig an slea n no only he languageo he ecei ing soci- e y,in his case Finnish, bu also English as an addi ional language h ough wo k. The na a i es also show ha he wo kplace suppo ed mig an sinmain- aining bo h hei homelanguageand addi ional languages. O e all, he s udy highligh s he impo ance o languagelea ning and main enance, which p o- mo e he linguis ic in eg a ion and social inclusion o mig an NGO p ac i ione s in he wo kplace. Résumé : L’a icle end comp ed’une é udee hnog aphique su l’app en issage e la consolida ion de la langue des p a iciens qui a aillen dans des ONG de mig an s. Elle conclu que les mig an s on app is non seulemen la langue du pays d’accueil –danscecas, le innois –mais aussi l’anglais comme langue sup- plémen ai e, pa le biais du a ail. Lesau eu s mon en égalemen que le a- ail aide les mig an sàconsolide la ois leu langue ma e nelle e des langues é angè es.De açon géné ale, l’é ude souligne l’impo ance de l’app en issage e de la consolida ion de la langue pou a o ise l’in ég a ion linguis ique e so- ciale des p a iciens mig an s dansles ONG su le lieu de a ail. 1In oduc ion In Finland, languagehas inc easinglybecome apolicy p io i y,and linguis ic e- sea ch has ecen ly ocused on a ious mig an g oups wo kingindi e en sec- o s.The Finnish in eg a ion policy suppo s mig an s in lea ning na ionallan- guages, Finnish and Swedish, and in main aining hei mo he ongue, ega dlesso hei legal s a us (Ac on he P omo ion o Immig an In eg a ion 1386/2010). In addi ion, scien i ics udies ha e e ealed ha mig an s ha e an oppo uni y o de elop hei Finnish languageskills in he wo kplace (e.g. SonyaSah adyan,Cen e o AppliedLanguageS udies, Uni e si yo Jy äskylä, Finland, E-mail:sonya.s.sah ady[email p o ec ed] DOI 10.1515/9783110477498-045, ©2017 Sonya Sah adyan, published by De G uy e . This wo k is licensed unde he C ea i e CommonsA ibu ion-NonComme cial-NoDe i s3.0 License. B ough o you by | Jy äskylän Yliopis o Uni e si y Au hen ica ed Download Da e | 3/29/17 6:37 AM Suni 2010;Ta nanen, Rynkänen, and Pöyhönen 2015).Se e al s udies ha e also indica ed ha he wo kplace enables mig an s o main ain hei homelanguage wi hin he Finnish con ex (e.g. Rynkänen e al. 2014). E en hough language lea ning and main enanceha ebeen s udied among mig an s wo kingin he Finnish public and p i a esec o s, ela i elyli le esea ch has been conduc ed on mig an swo kingin he hi d sec o ,namelyanon-go e nmen al o ganiza- ion (NGO), o hei languagelea ning and main enancea wo k. This a icle, he e o e, a emp s o ill he abo e-men ionedgap by p o iding answe s o he ollowing ques ion: “How do mig an NGO p ac i ione slea n and main ain languages in he wo kplace?”The linguis ic e hnog aphic s udyp e- sen ed in his pape is conduc ed in asupe di e se NGO basedinFinland. The key pa icipan s in he s udya e mig an NGO p ac i ione s, ha is, employees, app en ices, ainees, in e ns,and olun ee s. 2Asociocul u al app oach In my esea ch, Id awupon he sociocul u al pe spec i e on languagelea ning. F om his pe spec i e,languageissi ua ed in acon ex co-c ea ed in social in e - ac ion and is lea ned om o he s wi hin his in e ac ion (Vygo sky 1978). In ad- di ion,Ibuild on wo kplace lea ning esea ch, which emphasises ha lea ning is ap oduc o in ol emen in social p ac ices, o example, happening in wo k- places (Bille 2002).The s udyconduc ed by Bille also highligh s ha lea ning is o med by “wo kplace pa icipa o y p ac ices”and can be “co-pa icipa i e” (2002: 1). Mo eo e ,Malloch and he colleagues shedligh on he ac ha lea n- ing and pe o mance a e “embodied phenomena”(Malloche al. 2011:24). By combining hese wo s ands o esea ch, Iconside languagelea ning o be si u- a ed in di e en se ingsand o ake place h ough social in e ac ion and pa - icipa iona wo k (seeTa nanen, Rynkänen, and Pöyhönen 2015), which con- ce ns languagemain enancein he wo kplace as well(see Rynkänen, Sah adyan, and Ta nanen2014). 3In o man s,da a, and me hods The s udy ocuses on mig an NGO p ac i ione s (n =22) who we e i s -gene a- ion adul mig an s. They we ewo kingaspa -o ull- ime employees, app en- ices, ainees, in e ns,o olun ee s in he supe di e se o ganisa ion loca ed in Jy äskylä,Finland. The in o man s had a ious cul u aland socio-economic backg ounds,and hey all spoke mo e han wo languages. A he ime o he 330 Sonya Sah adyan B ough o you by | Jy äskylän Yliopis o Uni e si y Au hen ica ed Download Da e | 3/29/17 6:37 AM in e iews, he in o man s we ebe ween 23 and 61 yea s old, and hey had esid- ed in Finland o be ween h ee and 29 yea s. The le el o educa ion he in o m- an s had ecei edbe o e mo ing o Finland anged om p ima y o uni e si y, whe eas hei le el o educa ion ob ained in Finland anged om in eg a ion aining o uni e si y educa ion. Wi hin he amewo k o linguis ic e hnog aphy, Icollec ed di e en ypes o da a h ough mul i-si ee hnog aphic ieldwo k o aone-yea pe iod in he NGO. In addi ion, Iconduc ed in e iews wi h he in o man s. In his pape ,only he in e iew and obse a ional da a a e epo ed. Na a i e analysis is applied o he mul ilingual da a accumula edin ou di e en languages: Finnish, English, Russian, and A menian. 4Languagelea ning and main enancein he wo kplace All he mig an s pa icipa ingin his s udywe emul ilingual, and hey had di - e en p o iciencyle els in di e en languages. In he case o Finnish, he in- o man s’p o iciencyle els anged om basic o ad anced, and hey lea n Fin- nish bo h wi hin and ou side o mal educa ional se ings. Based on he da a analysis, he NGO as awo kplace p o ided he in o man s wi h oppo uni ies o de elop hei Finnish languageskills. In hei na a i es, he in o man s e- pea edly alked abou Finnish languagelea ning a wo k, which is illus a ed in he ollowing quo e: “Iwas lea ning Finnish e e y single day om colleagues and isi o s, om job- ela ed ac i i ies, asks and pape wo k”(Hudi, ainee). Like Hudi, mos o he o he in o man s also ecognised he impo ance o he wo kplace o lea ning Finnish. Howe e ,whe he hey could imp o e hei w i - en o o al skills o bo hinFinnish dependedon hei ype o employmen . In gene al, he in o man s lea n Finnish by pa icipa ing in a ious ac i i- ies and e en s o ganised in he wo kplace. One o hem is ABC-Basic Finnish languagelea ning,p o ided o mig an lea ne s, especially onewlya i ed, el- de ly, and illi e a e mig an s as well as o s ay-a -homemo he s. The in o man s we ein ol edin his ac i i y as media o s and had an oppo uni y oenhance hei Finnish skills while helping wi h he in e p e a ion o elabo a ion o wha is said by mig an lea ne s and Finnish olun ee s ac ingas eache s. The homewo k club is ano he impo an ac i i y in which he in o man s’Fin- nish languagelea ning ook place du ing he comple ion o youngmig an s’ homewo k o di e en school subjec s. Howe e ,du ingcul u ale enings, he in o man sde elopedno onlyFinnish bu also English skills by p esen ing Lea ning and main aining languages in he wo kplace 331 B ough o you by | Jy äskylän Yliopis o Uni e si y Au hen ica ed Download Da e | 3/29/17 6:37 AM and discussing he his o y,cul u e, language, and eligion o hei homecoun- ies. Simila ly, e hno-ca és suppo ed he in o man s in lea ning bo h Finnish and English while cooking adi ional ood oge he wi h Finns and mig an s om di e en pa s o he wo ld. Almos all he in o man salso ound s a mee ings e y use ul o de elop- ing hei languageskills in Finnish, and some in o man smen ioned ha he mee ingscould help hem o o e come challenges ela ed o unde s anding and communica inginspoken Finnish. One o he in o man ssaid: “We usually had s a mee ingse e y week in o de o plan and o ganise ac i i ies wi h col- leagues …I was good o be he e, ’cause Ihad di icul ies in suomen puhekieli [spoken Finnish], bu in mee ingsIcould lea n puhekieli [spoken language] and e en could use i ou side o wo k”(Sa a, in e n). Such ana a i e is common in he s o ies o mig an sand, in pa icula ,in e ns’and ainees’s o ies.Addi- ionally,ano he in o man ga e he ollowing desc ip ion: “Mee ings ha we had wi h au ho i ies we eonlyinFinnish, bu mee ingswi h pa ne p ojec s o o ganisa ions we esome imes in Finnish and some imes in English o bo h in Finnish and English …In hosemee ings Ip ac ised Finnish as well as Eng- lish”(Fabian, employee).Asseen om he las wo exce p s, he mee ings wi h inside s suppo ed he in o man s in imp o ingmainlyFinnish skills, whe eas he mee ings wi h ou side s enabled hem o enhance bo h Finnish and English skills. In addi ion o languagelea ning, he wo kplace conside ably in luenced he main enanceo in o man s’languages, especially hei home language. Fo ex- ample,i isillus a edinBela’sna a i e: “A wo k Iuse also my mo he ongue, Russian …A he beginning o my wo k, i was abi di icul o emembe рус- ские слова [‘Russianwo ds’]asa e mo ing o Finland IusedEnglish and hen Finnish дома или сдрузьями [‘a homeo wi h iends’]…I hink Iwas g aduallylosing my mo he ongue be o e ge ing his job”(Bela, employee). Apa om he in o man s’s o ies,myobse a ional ield no es e eal ha he wo kplace also suppo ed in o man sinmain aining hei addi ional languages. One o he pa icipan ’sobse a ional ield no es a e p esen ed he e: One a e noon we we e discussingdi e en coun ies’holidays in ou Russian discussion g oup. The g oupleade , Лаура [‘Lau a’], was Russian and we, he pa icipan s,we e bo h Finns and mig an s.Lau a was helpingus ouse aco ec քերականական խոնարհում [‘g amma ical conjuga ion’(A menian)] and was gi ingasho explana ion in Russian and/o Finnish. Du ing he con e sa ion, Kla awho had amig an backg ound askedLau a o explain in English as well, i possible,because, she old, ha she had only basic le el in Finnish. Lau asmiled and eplied “Well, i ’sbe e o me o sayalso in Eng- lish, Ican e esh my English and can keep i ali e”(Lau a, olun ee ). 332 Sonya Sah adyan B ough o you by | Jy äskylän Yliopis o Uni e si y Au hen ica ed Download Da e | 3/29/17 6:37 AM 5Conclusions In his a icle, Iha eadd essed one main ques ion ela ed o he languagelea n- ing and main enance o mig an NGO p ac i ione s in he wo kplace. The analy- sis epo ed abo esugges s ha he wo kplace suppo ed he in o man s in de- eloping addi ional languages, such as Finnish, he languageo he hos socie y, and English. Also, i was ound ha he in o man s had an oppo uni y o p e- se e hei home and addi ional languages wi h he help o hei wo k. Fu he - mo e, he na a i es show ha languagelea ning (seealsoTa nanen,Rynkänen, and Pöyhönen 2015) as well as languagemain enance(seealso Rynkänen, Sah- adyan, and Ta nanen2014) a e si ua ed, and hey akeplace h ough social in- e ac ion and pa icipa ion in di e en wo kplace se ings. The s udy hus illus- a es ha languagelea ning and main enance os e he in o man s’linguis ic in eg a ion and social inclusion a wo k. In he ligh o hese indings, he pape gi esnew insigh s in o mig an s’wo kplace languagelea ning and hei languagemain enance h ough wo k. Acknowledgemen s The s udyispa o bigge esea chp ojec s “T ans o ming P o essional In eg a- ion”(p incipal in es iga o ,P o esso Sa i Pöyhönen)(2011−2014 /h p://in eg a ion.jyu. i)and “Language andSupe di e si y: (Dis)iden i ica ioninSocial Media”(p incipal in es iga o P o esso Si pa Leppänen)(2012–2016;h ps:// www.jyu. i/hum/lai okse /kiele / u kimus/hankkee /lgsd), undedby he Acad- emyo Finland andimplemen ed a heUni e si yo Jy äskylä. Thepape d aws on heempi ical da a collec edby he au ho o he doc o al disse a ion,which is unded by he Kone Founda ion and he Cen e o Applied LanguageS udies, Uni e si y o Jy äskylä. Re e ences Bille , S ephen. 2002. Wo kplacepedagogic p ac ices:Pa icipa ion and lea ning. Aus alian Voca ional Educa ion Re iew 9(1). 28–38. In eg a ion Ac . 2010. Ac on he P omo ion o Immig an In eg a ion 1386/2010. Minis y o In e io ,Finland. Uno icial ansla ion. Malloch, Ma ga e ,Len Cai ns, Ka en E ans&B idge N. O’Conno (eds.). 2011. 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