The influence of educational background and initial level of proficiency in Finnish language learning in integration training
Keywords:
Finnish as a second language, Integration Training, immigrants, language learning, language proficiencyAbstract
This article examines language proficiency achieved in Finnish language during Integration Training for Adult Immigrants in Finland. In addition, the connections between language learning, educational background and initial level of Finnish are investigated. A total of 33 learners participated in the study; data were collected mainly by interviews and from Koulutusportti register. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics, Pearson’s chi-square test and Spearman’s rank-order correlation. The analyses were complemented with examples of individual participants.
The findings confirmed the results of previous studies. Only few learners achieve the target level B1.1 set by law by the end of the Integration Training. In this study writing appeared to be the most challenging of the four skills that were assessed. The findings showed also that educational background is associated with learning outcomes: the language proficiency of adults with elementary or vocational education was lower than the language proficiency of adults holding a university degree. Ten participants knew Finnish before they participated in the Integration Training, and their proficiency prior to the training predicted the oral language levels they reached.
The findings are relevant for organising and assessing the Integration Training. The finding support the view that the educational background of the participants’ should be taken into account when the training is organised and evaluated. Additionally, the effectiveness of Integration Training should not be evaluated from the viewpoint of an unrealistic target level. Further, for several participants, the educational background information obtained from the interview differed from the Koulutusportti register information, which should be taken into account when using the register.
