Strategies and Tools in Formal and Informal L2 Learning: Adults with Migration Backgrounds Attending Swedish for Immigrants (SFI)
摘要
In the context of the global refugee crisis, L2 learning is a crucial aspect for settlement. L2 learning is often seen as challenging for adults with migration backgrounds, while it also opens possibilities for labour market inclusion and empowerment. In Sweden, all newly arrived adults are offered free basic language education in the Swedish for Immigrants (SFI) programme. However, for migrants, L2 learning often takes place largely outside the classroom, for instance using digital applications (Kukulska-Hulme & Pegrum, 2018). This chapter explores how adult learners with migration backgrounds manage their L2 learning. We performed interviews with women learners participating in SFI education as well as their teachers to study L2 learning strategies and tools in and outside the classroom. With our point of departure in an ecological perspective on L2 learning (van Lier, 2004) and the concepts of formal and informal learning (Morrice, 2007), we based our analysis on Akkerman and Bakker’s (2011) framework of learning at the boundary. The framework contributed to illuminate how the interplay between formal and informal learning, mediated by boundary-crossing experiences, enables learners with migration backgrounds to become L2 users and active participants in their new environment.