In the past years, migration and issues related to language learning and education of migrants has gained significant interest in the scientific community. However, research on low-incidence, heterogeneous learner populations in educational settings continues to face significant challenges. This is reflected in the limited availability of studies and educational resources in these areas and is particularly evident in intersectional education research, which explores the overlapping identities of learners from multiple, often low-incidence subgroups.

Disabled people encounter numerous barriers to accessibility and face discrimination and inequalities in their daily lives. The situation is even more complex for migrants with a disability, who have to learn how to navigate a new bureaucratic system. This study focuses on deaf adult migrants and the linguistic and bureaucratic challenges they face in Swedish society. The data consists of interviews with 43 deaf migrants participating in language learning courses in four folk high schools catering to deaf people in Sweden. Crip Theory and Crip Linguistics are used as lenses to explore the impact of able-bodiedness and linguistic norms on this particular group. The findings show that deaf migrants experience infantilisation, that sign language interpreters are often seen as a one-size-fits-all solution without much consideration for other factors influencing communication, and that normative able-bodiedness underlies many of the bureaucratic issues deaf migrants face.

There is a lack of tests available for assessing sign language proficiency among L2 learners. We have therefore developed a sign repetition test, SignRepL2, with a specific focus on the phonological features of signs. This paper describes the two phases of developing this test. In the first phase, content was developed in the form of 50 items with sentence lengths between one and three signs. Then, when a period of teaching revealed a ceiling effect in the first version, a second version was developed with 40 items varying between one and four signs. Test scores revealed increasing proficiency in Swedish Sign Language during education, and that mouth actions have a lower degree of accuracy than manual parameters. 

Det råder stor brist på bedömningsmaterial när det gäller färdigheter i svenskt teckenspåk för andraspåksinlärare. Mot denna bakgrund har vi utvecklat ett teckenspåkstest, SignRepL2, som har ett särskilt fokus på teckens fonologiska egenskaper. Den här artikeln beskriver hur testet har utvecklats i två faser. I den första fasen tog vi fram 50 objekt, bestående av meningar av varierande längd; 30 enstaka tecken och 10 meningar med två respektive tre tecken. Testet implementerades och användes för att testa teckenspåksutvecklingen hos studenter som studerade svenskt teckenspåk som andraspåk. Då konstaterades att testet inte räckte till eftersom en taknivå uppnåddes efter en tids undervisning. Därför vidareutvecklades testet i en andra fas. I denna fas reducerades antalet enstaka tecken till 10 och 10 meningar innehållande fyra tecken vardera lades till så att testet istället kom att bestå av 40 objekt med mer varierande meningslängd. Resultaten fån testet visade hur studenternas kunskaper i svenskt teckenspåk utvecklades under utbildningen. Dessutom konstaterades att icke-manuella munrörelser är svårare att producera korrekt jämfört med tecknens manuella parametrar.

Upon arrival in Sweden, adult migrants are required to learn Swedish at the earliest opportunity. This requirement also extends to deaf migrants, regardless of their linguistic and educational backgrounds. This paper presents findings and experiences derived from a project focused on the multilingual situation of deaf migrants in Sweden. Some deaf migrants have acquired sign language skills from birth and have received formal education, while others have had limited exposure to language and have never attended school. Due to a scarcity of interpreters proficient in different sign languages and many deaf migrants lacking knowledge of such languages, it becomes imperative for them to participate in courses aimed at learning Swedish Sign Language (STS). This enables effective communication with the Swedish Migration Agency and other authorities through STS-interpreters. They are also required, similar to other migrants, to acquire proficiency in reading and writing Swedish. Paradoxically, Sweden imposes the same education duration requirements on deaf migrants as hearing who only learn one language. Consequently, deaf migrants encounter challenges in attaining sufficient language proficiency level for successful integration into Swedish society. The paper highlights challenges and emphasizes the importance of addressing the unique language-learning needs of deaf migrants to facilitate their successful integration.

This article highlight and discuss the complex situation when deaf adults who are emergent readers learn Swedish Sign Language (STS) and Swedish in parallel. As Swedish appears primarily in its written form, they also have to develop reading and writing skills. Study data comes from ethnographically created video recordings of classroom interaction and interviews with teachers and participants. The analysis reveals that while the migrants successively learn basic STS for interacting with other deaf people, learning Swedish takes a different path. The migrants struggle with learning basic reading and writing skills, vocabulary, and grammar. Furthermore, the instruction is highly repetitive, but unstructured and sprawled, using STS to explain and connect signs with written equivalents. The teachers testify in interviews that it seems very difficult for the emergent readers to learn Swedish on a level good enough to cope in Swedish society, which, in turn, puts them in a vulnerable position.

This presentation will highlight and discuss the complex situation when deaf adults who are emergent readers (i.e., with limited or no previous knowledge of print literacy) are expected to learn two new languages in parallel: Swedish Sign Language (STS) and Swedish. Swedish appears primarily in its written form for this group, and therefore, they, apart from learning a new language, also have to develop reading and writing skills. In the hearing context, such learning of print literacy in adulthood is a process that is proven difficult by research (e.g., Bigelow & Vinogradov 2011). In addition, literature on literacy development of deaf children, frequently report obstacles with the learning of print literacy for many students even if many become successful readers (e.g., Hoffmeister & Caldwell-Harris 2014). Our study indicates that this is even more complicated for adult deaf emergent readers.Data comes from ethnographically created video recordings of classroom interaction and interviews with teachers and participants representing this group. The analysis reveals that while the migrants successively learn basic STS skills that allow them to interact with other deaf people in the personal domain and communicate their needs, learning Swedish takes an entirely different path. The migrants struggle with learning basic reading and writing skills, vocabulary, and grammar. Furthermore, although the instruction is highly repetitive, using STS to explain and connect signs with written equivalents, it is unstructured and sprawled without a clear red thread. The teachers testify in interviews that it seems almost impossible for the emergent readers to learn Swedish on a level good enough to cope in Swedish society, which, in turn, puts them in a very vulnerable position. The presentation will conclude with a discussion connecting the results to the Crip Linguistic framework and mark the importance of further research on adult deaf emergent readers.

Föräldrar som får ett dövt eller hörselskadat barn ställs ofta inför en helt ny situation, där deinte bara blivit föräldrar utan också ska lära sig ett nytt sätt att kommunicera utifrån barnetshörselnedsättning. De ska också lära sig om olika tekniska hjälpmedel och ta reda på vilket slagsstöd de kan få på olika sätt. Vad är det för slags stöd och information de då får av olika instanser,såsom professionella från hörselhabilitering, intresseorganisationer, och andra vuxna iomgivningen? Får de också möjlighet att lära sig svenskt teckenspråk (STS) och väljer de att göradet? Används STS sedan inom familjen, eller är det talad svenska, eller kommunikationsformersom TSS eller TAKK som dominerar?

För att undersöka dessa frågor genomfördes hösten 2019 en enkätundersökning vid Institutionenför lingvistik, Stockholms universitet. 138 föräldrar som hade barn med hörselnedsättningsvarade på enkäten. Av dem hade 118 föräldrar barn som var födda under 2000-talet, vilketenkätstudien avgränsades till. Majoriteten av de som svarade på enkäten hade barn under 10 åroch över hälften av dem (52%) hade fått barnets hörselnedsättning konstaterad under dess treförsta levnadsmånader. Det framkom i studien vidare att 53% av föräldrarna hade fåttinformation om STS när barnets hörselnedsättning konstaterades och att denna informationhuvudsakligen kom från hörselhabiliteringen. 55% av de föräldrar som inte redan kunde STSvalde sedan att delta i utbildning för att lära sig språket, för att, som några föräldrar förklarade,ge sina barn de bästa möjligheterna att kommunicera utifrån situation och förutsättningar. Trotsdet visar studien att det vanligaste kommunikationssättet inom familjen är att man använder sigav talad svenska.

En annan sak som studien visar är att 75% av de föräldrar som svarade på enkäten blivit medlemi någon intresseorganisation, framför allt i DHB (Riksförbundet för döva, hörselskadade barnoch barn med språkstörning samt deras familjer) och Barnplantorna. Dock var det ingen av deredan teckenspråkiga föräldrarna som blivit medlemmar i Barnplantorna.

Av enkätsvaren framgår att de föräldrar som inte kunde teckenspråk från början överlag varnöjda med den information och det stöd de erbjudits av hörselhabiliteringen, men inte de redanteckenspråkiga föräldrarna. De senare upplevde istället att de får bristande information ochdåligt bemötande. När det gäller information och stöd från intresseorganisationer upplevde bådagrupperna däremot att de i huvudsak får bra stöd och information därifrån.

Sammanfattning på svenskt teckenspråk: https://video.su.se/media/0_h9epf1cwNyckelordSvenskt

In the last decade, Sweden has received many deaf migrants with very diverse linguistic and educational backgrounds. When arriving in Sweden, they are expected to learn Swedish Sign Language (STS) and Swedish. For this study, we have used data from project Mulder, a four-year research project that aims to generate knowledge about deaf migrants' multilingual situation in Sweden. In this article, we describe how adult education for deaf migrants is organised in Sweden and examine how translanguaging practices are formed there. We found that translanguaging is a natural and common part of the multilingual classrooms, but also that the opportunities to translanguage depend highly on the individual's repertoires and whether particular individuals have one or more languages in common or have a lingua franca. We also found that translanguaging is not always helpful in learning contexts if the teachers are not conscious and insightful when they mix languages.

This presentation will highlight and discuss the complex situation when deaf adults who are emerging readers (i.e., with limited or no previous knowledge of print literacy) are expected to learn two new languages in parallel: Swedish Sign Language (STS) and Swedish. Swedish appears primarily in its written form for this group, and therefore, they, apart from learning a new language, also have to develop reading and writing skills. In the hearing context, such learning of print literacy in adulthood is a process that is proven difficult by research (see, e.g., Bigelow & Vinogradov 2011 for a compilation). In addition, there is a vast amount of literature on the literacy development of deaf children, reporting that some are struggling with the learning of print literacy while others are successful (e.g., Hoffmeister & Caldwell-Harris 2014). Our study indicates that this is even more complicated for adult deaf emerging readers.

Sweden is a country that highly values education and literacy skills. All schools are free for children and youths, as are university education and non-formal education provided by folk high schools. Those who grow up in Sweden thus have at least public school education grades (9-10 years), and most also have upper secondary school exams (3-4 years). Furthermore, print literacy skills in school are essential, meaning that a large focus is on reading and writing. In recent years, Sweden has received a large number of migrants, of which many have completely different educational experiences. Despite this, all migrants (regardless of whether they are deaf or hearing) who arrive in Sweden are expected to participate in education with the primary goal of learning Swedish (Fejes 2019).

In this presentation, we will present findings from an ongoing multilingual project focusing on adult deaf migrants. As a group, deaf migrants are very heterogeneous regarding linguistic, educational, and social background. Here, we will focus on those deaf migrants who are emerging readers, had limited or no access to a (signed or spoken) language in childhood, and had little or no formal education background before arriving in Sweden. Data comes from ethnographically created video recordings of classroom interaction in folk high schools and interviews with teachers and participants representing this group.

The analysis reveals that while the migrants successively learn basic STS skills that allow them to interact with other deaf people in the personal domain and communicate their needs, the learning of Swedish takes an entirely different path. The migrants highly struggle with learning Swedish, including learning basic reading and writing skills besides vocabulary and grammar. Furthermore, the instruction is highly repetitive, using STS to explain and connect signs with written equivalents. The teachers testify in interviews that it seems almost impossible for them to learn Swedish on a level good enough to cope in Swedish society, which, in turn, puts them in a very vulnerable position.

The presentation will conclude with a discussion about future directions for the research and mark the importance of research on adult deaf emergent readers.

References

Bigelow.M, & Vinogradov, P. (2011). Teaching Adult Second Language LearnersWho Are Emergent Readers. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 31, 120–136.

Fejes, A. (2019). Adult education and the fostering of asylum seekersas “full” citizens. International Review of Education, 65, 233–250.

Hoffmeister, R. J., & Caldwell-Harris, C. L. (2014). Acquiring English as a second language via print: The task for deaf children. Cognition, 132(2), 229-242.