Parental motives in English-medium school choice in Sweden : Linguistic aspirations and imagined outcomes

• This study explores the linguistic aspirations and imagined outcomes behind the parental choice of English-medium instruction (EMI) in Swedish schools. Five parents were interviewed about factors influencing their EMI choice, e.g.,impressions of the school and beliefs about language use in the school context. The analysis was framed in Darvin and Norton’s model of investment (capital, ideology,and identity) and informed by theories of language ideologies, linguistic hierarchies,and parental aspiration. The findings reveal that the perceived benefits of fluency in English, high academic achievement, and calm environments interconnect with first, linguistic aspirations, as seen in the parents’ investment in the assumed capitalafforded by the English language; second, an ideology of the English language asconnected to a better academic situation than the Swedish language; and third , an identity ascribed to their children as able to accept the challenges of instruction through another language. Tensions in the three areas of investment are evident, as parents struggle with the effects that EMI may have on their children’s use and development of English and Swedish. Understanding parental motives is of interest to educators and policymakers in all contexts where EMI is offered to young learners.

Ämnesord

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Utbildningsvetenskap -- Pedagogik (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Educational Sciences -- Pedagogy (hsv//eng)

HUMANIORA  -- Språk och litteratur -- Jämförande språkvetenskap och allmän lingvistik (hsv//swe)

HUMANITIES  -- Languages and Literature -- Comparative Language Studies and Linguistics (hsv//eng)

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Utbildningsvetenskap (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Educational Sciences (hsv//eng)

HUMANIORA  -- Språk och litteratur -- Studier av enskilda språk (hsv//swe)

HUMANITIES  -- Languages and Literature -- Studies of Specific Languages (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Parental motives

Model of investment

Linguistic aspirations

Imagined outcomes

Language ideology

Linguistic hierarchy

Swedish compulsory school

Publikations- och innehållstyp

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