This document summarizes research on the relationship between the language spoken at home and school outcomes for children of immigrants from former Yugoslavia and Turkey. The research finds that mostly speaking the destination country's language at home is associated with higher reading scores in some countries, but educational disadvantages remain regardless of language choice. It concludes that more value and support needs to be given to maintaining immigrants' first languages to help with integration.

1. #NewWelfareState
Language choices at home and their
relationship with school-related
outcomes among children with origins
in Former Yugoslavia and Turkey
Elina Kilpi-Jakonen & Jenni Alisaari
INVEST Inequalities, Interventions, and New Welfare State
invest.utu.fi

2. - Language spoken at home by immigrants and their children:
- a measure of integration
- a predictor of integration
- The relationship between language spoken at home and other
dimensions of integration
- Is continuing to speak the parents’ language of origin beneficial or detrimental
for other outcomes related to integration?
- Focus on two immigrant-origin groups that have been identified as
being at a major educational disadvantage in a number of European
countries (e.g., Crul, 2013; Schnell & Fibbi 2016): children of
immigrants with origins in Turkey and former Yugoslavian countries
Language in integration processes

3. - In most cases the pattern of language use at home is not
systematically associated with measures of belonging to
school, resilience or educational expectations.
- However, in a number of countries mostly speaking the
language of destination at home is associated with higher
reading scores.
- Nevertheless, in most countries switching languages does
not bring these groups of children of immigrants on a par
with their majority peers in terms of reading scores.
Conclusions

4. In some countries, maintaining first languages is not valued
-> More value & better support for maintaining first languages
is needed
Educational disadvantages remain regardless of the language
choice
Implications

5. • Killpi-Jakonen & Alisaari (working paper). Does the
language spoken at home matter for the education,
wellbeing, and sense of belonging of the children of
immigrants? And does the answer depend on how we
analyse it? Available in:
https://osf.io/preprints/socarxiv/fh63x/
Other research related to the same topic

6. elina.kilpi-jakonen@utu.fi
jenni.alisaari@utu.fi
Thank you for your interest!