In recent Danish integration policy focus has been on getting refugees quickly into the labour market. Learning Danish is seen as the prerequisite for entering the labour market, and at the same time, participation in the... [ view full abstract ]
In recent Danish integration policy focus has been on getting refugees quickly into the labour market. Learning Danish is seen as the prerequisite for entering the labour market, and at the same time, participation in the labour market is seen the best way to learn Danish. Under the current law, refugees who are granted asylum have to participate both in Danish classes and in work internships, often referred to as ‘language internships’. Studies show, however, that it is far from certain that such internships lead to jobs or that access to the labour market leads to Danish competence because the refugees in many cases work in ‘language-marginal’ jobs such as cleaning or factory work where the nature of the work does not allow for much language use in any language (McCall 2003, Piller and Lising 2014, Strömmer 2016).
Drawing on data from an ethnographic study of refugees in a 5-month project that combines Danish language classes and language internships in Danish workplaces, the study investigates the discourses and positionings surrounding the language internships in the classroom. The data includes participant observation in the classroom and in the workplaces, recordings of interactions in the classroom and in the workplaces as well as interviews with the refugees, teachers, case workers, employers and co-workers. As such the study combines ethnographic analysis of the classroom and workplaces with discourse analyses of the ideologies and discourses surrounding the language internships. The comprehensive data set allows for comparative analyses of the perspectives of different participants (refugees, case workers, teachers).
The study finds evidence of an employability discourse which emphasises individual responsibility for employment while downplaying structural factors. From this perspective, refugees will become employable once ‘gaps’ in skills and knowledge have been removed through educational interventions. Lack of local language competence constitutes such a gap. Analyses also reveal a discrepancy between an opportunities discourse and some refugees’ experiences of carrying out menial tasks without opportunities for language learning. Finally, analyses also show that while the teachers not surprisingly focus on language learning, the refugees are more focused on getting access to the labour market immediately.
