“If One Feels at Home, Then Comes Belonging”: Language, Integration and Community-based Learning in Norway

Abstract

With forced migration at an all-time high, language learning is a common area of focus in discussions of social and economic integration. This ethnographic case study explores an educational space that aims to support the aspirations of adult migrants to Norway, including, but not limited to, language learning. Drawing on participant observation and language portrait interviews, we explore whether and how language learning and integration are facilitated within Åpen Møteplass (Open Meeting Place), a free weekly program in Oslo. We found that Åpen Møteplass contributes to both language learning and integration by functioning as a community of practice characterized by informal language socialization and translanguaging practice in which diverse participants can work together to develop cultural knowledge and negotiate their place in Norwegian society, and where immigrant learners can also begin to identify as insiders, experts, and legitimate speakers.