Language integration of labour migrants in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden from a historical perspective

The paper investigates the language integration of adult labour migrants in six major West-European immigration countries (Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden) for the period between 1965 and the mid-1990s. Results reveal quite different national approaches to the problem. Whereas in Sweden, France and Germany, migrants' linguistic integration was addressed by state authorities well ahead of establishing integration policy as a governmental task, the other countries under study ignored immigrants' possible language problems until the early or even late 1980s. Compared... Mehr ...