Journal of Languages for Specific Purposes (Mar 2017)
SPRACHLICHE UND KULTURELLE INTEGRATION VON FLÜCHTLINGEN – NEUE HERAUSFORDERUNGEN FÜR DIE ERWACHSENENBILDUNG IN EUROPA DES XXI. JAHRHUNDERTS / LINGUISTIC AND CULTURAL INTEGRATION OF REFUGEES – NEW CHALLENGES FOR ADULT EDUCATION IN XXIST CENTURY EUROPE
Abstract
Following study deals with the chances of integrating immigrants into European culture. Therefore several aspects are to be analysed like: is there any linguistic and above all cultural integration possible at all, which are the factors potentially playing an important role in this respect, what are the plans for accomplishing the assimilation process, what kind of tools are there or should be developed for measuring the degree of success in integrating immigrants, what is the planned time frame for the whole project? Having a didactic approach the study tries to answer to all of the above questions and to propose methods or tools for supporting the integration process and enhancing its expected outcomes. There are numerous studies upon cultural, economic and overall integration of immigrants in Europe analysing the situation for the last five to six decades, i.e. measuring the integration rate of respective people until the end of the first decade of the XXIst century. Although these studies come to the conclusion that second-generation immigrants mostly present a native-like behaviour as a sign for successful integration, only Muslim people having some deficiencies in this respect, these findings are not by all means valid for the new wave of immigrants with mainly Muslim background flooding in Europe since 2015. Thus according to my opinion an optimistic view upon the success of the integration of newly come people is not founded at all. From the various factors supporting integration present study deals with motivation and intermarriage. The internal motivation of each individual to language acquisition necessary for every day and professional life and to adopt a behaviour pattern according to European values could be enhanced by external motivation resulting from political-institutional measures. In immigrants’ integration process not only linguistic, but above all cultural integration should play a crucial role because integration cannot be accomplished in lack of this component. That’s why study materials should be conceived according to the principles and tools of CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning) where content should hint at role and legal position of women and children in European societies. Beside language classes combining linguistic and country-specific cultural elements, intercultural training conducted by experts in this field would be of great help. By measuring the degree of integration both linguistic and cultural integration rate should be taken into consideration. While in language acquisition advances are much easier to observe and measure, for the time being we lack adequate tools for evaluating the degree of cultural integration. These tools are still to be developed. Albeit the outcomes of the whole process are not predictable, one thing is sure, in this project collaboration among education policy makers, sociologists, psychologists, education experts and representatives of other scientific branches is needed.
