English Is Not Really a Subject
Language Ideologies and Language Learning in an Introduction Program
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 7169409 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Jenny Bergström (0000-0002-1039-0984, Department of Language Studies Umeå University Umeå Sweden, corresponding author), Carla Jonsson (0000-0003-4980-9487, Department of Language Studies Umeå University Umeå Sweden), Annika Norlund Shaswar (0000-0001-9353-2249, Department of Language Studies Umeå University Umeå Sweden) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 59 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 1288-1315 |
| Publication date | 2025-09-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | TESOL Quarterly (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0039-8322 • E-ISSN: 1545-7249 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1002/tesq.3355 |
| OpenAlex | W4402415405 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 30 |
This paper explores the construction of language ideologies and language learning within English‐language education in a Language Introduction Program (LIP) in Sweden. LIP is an individual transitional program for newly arrived migrant students that seeks to quickly transition adolescents into further education or the job market. High proficiency in English is important in Swedish society and insufficient knowledge of English might lead to consequences for individuals, but also long‐term consequences for society regarding inequality and inequity. The methodology is based on linguistic ethnography, with observations and interviews at two schools. Data from interviews with English teachers and principals at LIP are analyzed using Foucauldian perspectives to discuss power and individualization. Our results show that LIP is organized in a manner that reduces teachers' possibilities to cooperate and assist each other in planning, assessing, and in developing teaching practices. To a certain extent, principals withdraw from their responsibility and place a significant amount of organizational responsibility on individual English teachers. Furthermore, monolingual ideologies are prominent in educational practices, and LIP is often positioned as different from the rest of the school which increases isolation
Comprehension approach · English language · Ideology · Language assessment · Language education · Language pedagogy · Language transfer · Library science · Linguistics · Political science · Sociology · Subject (documents · Computer Science · EFL/ESL Teaching and Learning · Multilingual Education and Policy · Philosophy · Psychology · Second Language Learning and Teaching
Signs of Difference
Linguistic Ethnography
Theory and Method in Linguistic Ethnography
Ethnography as Method, Methodology, and “Deep Theorizing”
The Routledge Handbook of Migration and Language
Polylingual Languaging Around and Among Children and Adolescents
Language Ideology
Disinventing and Reconstituting Languages
Conceptual and design thinking for thematic analysis
Reflecting on reflexive thematic analysis
The Challenge of Super Diversity for Education in Europe
Positioning of the recently arrived student
Skilled migration and global English
Education is my passport
Not (yet) ready for the mainstream’ – newly arrived migrant students in a separate educational program
Multilingual study mentoring for critical multilingual language awareness among migrant adolescents
Wasteland revisited
Negotiating Multilingual Resources in English Writing Instruction for Recent Immigrants to Norway
Using thematic analysis in psychology
At the intersection between power and knowledge
The Linguistic Repertoire Revisited
The economics of linguistic exchanges
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1 |
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |