Diverse Language Policies and Practices of Immigrant Families in Iceland: Opportunities and Challenges

• In Event: Valuing Community Cultural Wealth: Building on Family Language Policies and Knowledge for Learning

Abstract

Iceland has recently seen rapidly changing demographics as a result of growing immigration. This qualitative research aims at exploring the language policies and practices of diverse immigrant families. The theoretical framework includes family language policy and linguistically appropriate educational practices. Data was collected from 2020 to 2021 and included semi-structured interviews with parents in nine families, principals and teachers in their children’s three preschools. The findings indicate that the parents have diverse language policies and different opinions on the importance of their heritage languages, Icelandic and English. While the preschools in the study emphasize linguistically appropriate approaches, these are not well developed and there is lack of dialogue between the preschools and the families on the children’s multilingualism.

Author

• Hanna Ragnarsdottir, University of Iceland