This seminar was held at Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, on 27 May 2016. It was jointly organised by BAAL members Nicola Bermingham (Heriot-Watt University) and Gwennan Higham (Swansea University) in collaboration with COST Action IS1306 New Speakers in a Multilingual Europe: Opportunities and Challenges, and supported by the Intercultural Research Centre and the Department of Languages and Intercultural Studies at Heriot-Watt University. Ten papers and two keynote speeches were given. The keynote speakers were Professor Alison Phipps (Glasgow University) and Professor Máiréad Nic Craith (Heriot-Watt University). A round-table discussion was also held, with invited speakers including Ms Mandy Watts from Education Scotland; Professor Bernadette O'Rourke, chair of COST Action IS1306; Dr Cassie Smith Christmas, University of the Highlands and Islands; and Dr Kathryn Jones, Director of Language Policy and Research at the Welsh Centre for Language Planning.
Introduction
The 21st century is witnessing increased discussions on immigration in local, national and international contexts. National citizenship and integration are highly contested issues. Moreover, sub-state nations in the UK and beyond are undergoing expanded devolution powers, localising policies on education and community cohesion. In many minority language contexts, such as Welsh and Gaelic, governments have the double task of regulating their minority language policies as well as mapping cohesion strategies in response to the increased multicultural reality of their societies.
The aim of this seminar was to bridge the study of language and immigration and consider the extent to which immigrants learning new languages (including majority, minority and/or heritage languages) may contribute to a more comprehensive and plurilingual view of integration today. In light of recent research on immigrant language acquisition and translanguaging (Garcia & Wei 2015), immigrants use and claim ownership of language as part of their repertoire, albeit in various ways and for different purposes. This seminar thus brought together academics, government officials and community practitioners such as the Glasgow Refugee, Asylum and Migration Network to share knowledge and to discuss challenges to integration and implications concerning new and plurilingual immigrant speakers of English.
While the seminar encouraged interdisciplinary dialogue, with a variety of papers from different migration and language contexts and cross-sector round table discussions, the proceedings centred on three key questions as follows:
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• What are the opportunities and challenges for new immigrants who learn new languages?
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• To what extent do new immigrant speakers challenge current conceptions of integration, cohesion and citizenship?
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• Which steps or initiatives could facilitate a more comprehensive view of integration, cohesion and citizenship in national and minority language contexts?
Papers and discussion
The first session of the day was delivered by Professor Alison Phipps (University of Glasgow), who gave an insightful and thought-provoking keynote address on the challenges of the refugee crisis (which, as she pointed out, is rather a political crisis) and the demands of hosts on their guests, especially in relation to the function of language.
There were two panels of five papers; one in the morning and the other in the afternoon. The theme of language learning and migration in various contexts – such as migrants in Northern Ireland, Polish migrant learners of Welsh, new migrant speakers of Faroese – were explored. Discussion followed each of the panels, linking some of the themes covered by the presenters such as language socialisation spaces, e.g. theatre productions by hosts and migrants in Italy by Dr Naomi Wells; museums as integration spaces for migrants by Katherine Lloyd; migrants as agents in language learning processes via translanguaging practices of Spanish speakers in the USA (Professor Daniela Wawra); and migrants’ responsibilisation of language learning through turning the monolingual British Citizenship test into a multilingual solution (Dr Kamran Khan).
The second keynote address was delivered by Professor Máiréad Nic Craith, who focused on the opportunities and challenges of language learning and integration in Germany where latterly the highest numbers of refugees have been welcomed. Professor Nic Craith critiqued the one-directional concept of integration, highlighting how cultural diversity and multilingualism are becoming more and more part of this debate.
The seminar ended with a round-table discussion with five invited speakers, including Mandy Watts, ESOL Development Officer for the Scottish Government. Feeding on much of the discussion and debate over the course of the day, the speakers focused on how to initiate cross-sector partnerships and projects throughout the UK and beyond, such as with policy makers, and how policies, through such collaborations, can and need to be reconceptualised to reflect new plurilingual and intercultural realities.
Outcomes and implications for applied linguistics
This seminar contributes to the cross-disciplinary focus of research in applied linguistics, with a vision to generate impact through teaching practice and local and national government policy. This venture has united researchers and practitioners involved with both national and minority languages across the UK and further afield. The seminar demonstrates the common threads with regard to integration and language learning across various contexts and the potential for cross-sector partnerships to facilitate innovation and change.
The seminar closed with co-organisers thanking all attendees and mentioning a follow-on event to be organised at Swansea University, involving further stakeholders from academia and government, and more community practitioners.
