Policies for the Linguistic Integration of Migrant Adults
As the continuation of the Capacity Building Series, the European Basic Skills Network presents its second open education resource unit in the theme of integrating migrant adults from a linguistic perspective. The OER contains case studies from various countries (Denmark, Germany, The Netherlands) and also gives an overall view of key policy documents in the European Union.
Facing the challenges of migration
European societies are increasingly multicultural and diverse. Although large scale immigration is a comparatively recent phenomenon for Europe, the percentage of European inhabitants born outside the continent has increased steadily since the 1960s. Europe is currently also facing a refugee crisis that started in 2015 and has not abated.
According to Eurostat, 2.4 million immigrants entered the EU from non-EU countries in 2017, and 22.3 million people (4.4 %) of the 512.4 million people living in the EU on 1 January 2018 were non-EU citizens.
For countries to be able to accept asylum seekers and other migrants, systems and programs need to be created that support the integration of these newcomers into their host communities. Integration is not a simple task, and it does not imply assimilation. To assimilate is to totally adopt the values and common identity of a host country and can imply a loss of identity. To integrate implies no such loss of cultural identity. Instead, the identity of the newcomer is respected in a multicultural diverse society. Successful integration relies on migrants having a good level of knowledge of the new country, its values and systems. A basic tool to acquire this knowledge is proficiency in the national language. Other basic skills, such as literacy, numeracy and digital are essential to ensure a successful inclusion in the new society.
The aim of this collection of open education resources is to give you an overview of current European policy and statistical data about this issue, provide you some insight into different national policies and programs, and give you background for reflection on your own country’s policy development.
List of structural units
This unit presents significant EU policy documents that have an overall impact on the integration of migrants. The documents introduced in this chapter have a general approach to immigration covering a wide variety of topics besides linguistic integration. The section outlines major studies, reports and working group activities.
Chapter 2 includes three national case studies whereby major training programs, policy developments and initiatives are introduced in the field of social integration of migrant adults. The Danish case focuses on providing a horizontal overview of training programs that focus on basic skills and other preparation courses dedicated to helping migrants succeed in joining education or the labour market. The German and the Dutch case focuses on government initiatives and other training programs for literacy.
The presentation of the LIAM project of the Council of Europe gives a great opportunity to go deeper into the educational perspectives of linguistic integration of migrants. It presents key terms, principles and resources too in this topic.
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