Halina Sierocka
According to the United Nation data, the number of international migrants reached 281 million in 2020 for the world as a whole, which means a 46% increase compared to 1990. With these new waves of migration and its diversity one may pose a question whether there is a link between the migration crisis we are facing now and the level of migrants’ integration (particularly linguistic integration) into host societies. Bearing in mind the fact that “knowledge of the ‘host’ language is seen as a barometer of migrants’ integration in a particular society” the presentation endeavours to examine whether the language policies and requirements which have been introduced over recent years, and which are predominantly rooted in political responses to the migration crisis, affect the level of social cohesion and integration of immigrants into host societies.
The presentation commences with discussion on the notion of integration in the context of migration. Language policies implemented in EU states for the integration of adult migrants are then presented together with a list of language requirements imposed on immigrants in specific member states. In addition, apart from addressing the opportunities and services provided to immigrants to facilitate the process of linguistic integration, the paper also tackles some of the incidental challenges that arise. In view of these issues, the paper later proceeds to offer an in-depth analysis of language learning, language requirements and adult migrant integration. Examples from Germany, France and the United Kingdom, the countries which are considered the top three destinations favoured by migrants, provide specific cases for the aforementioned analysis. The paper concludes with some implications and recommendations for actions which might serve to enhance language education for adult migrants thus contributing to their better linguistic integration into society despite the current migration crisis. While this will not provide a solution to the overall problems generated by the present level of mass-migration, it might well assist in mitigating some aspects of its effect.
Keywords: adult migrants, language policies, linguistic integration