The use of language in migrant stay-at-home parents’ process of integration

Experiences of inclusion and exclusion

Abstract

This paper examines the use of language and how it contributes to the experiences of inclusion and exclusion of recent migrant stay-at-home parents in Finland. The study shows how the use of language facilitates the integration process of newly arrived stay-at-home parents of migrant background and affects their experiences of social inclusion and/or exclusion. The study uses the translingual approach (Canagarajah, 2013) to shed light on the multilingual reality migrants are faced with in their new surroundings. The approach is ethnographic and the data is interpreted using data-driven conventional content analysis (Tuomi & Sarajärvi, 2009, pp. 108–113). The results suggest that English works quite well as a lingua franca, although to become “fully” integrated, migrants feel that they need to develop a command of the local language.