Language requirements for Swedish citizenship : Adult language learners' attitudes towards the Swedish language test for immigrants

Sammanfattning: In line with the global trend of increased language requirements for naturalization, the Swedish government decided in 2019 to introduce a language test for citizenship. Drawing on Norton Peirce’s (1995) notion of investment and Fraser’s (2000) definition of participatory parity, this study investigates adult second language learners’ attitudes towards the test and analyzes how investment in language learning and perception of possibilities for participatory parity influence their views. Furthermore, the study considers some of the potential consequences of the new policy, for example, for acts of linguistic citizenship (Stroud, 2018). Eighteen SFI-students at level 3C, one of the highest levels at the language course, responded to a questionnaire. Nine respondents favored the test, four opposed it, four were neutral, and one was unsure. Interviews were conducted with six volunteers out of these participants, five out of six were supporters of the language test. The qualitative data was analyzed thematically. While all participants were motivated to learn Swedish, the findings indicate how diverse forms of capital, ideologies, and desired or actual identities in Swedish, that is, the nature of their investment and perceived possibilities for economic and social participation, influenced their attitudes towards the language test. Furthermore, supporters of the test considered that the language requirement would improve possibilities for participatory parity, whereas the opponents emphasized the risk of misrecognition and misrepresentation. The policy redefines Swedish citizenship: by making a test of Swedish language mandatory for prospective citizens, it formally demands that immigrants learn Swedish provided they want to integrate. As the results suggest, however, the participants in this study were engaged in a wide range of acts of linguistic citizenship in Swedish and had similar reported proficiency levels, regardless of their opinions of the Swedish test. The study calls for more research on the effects of language requirements for naturalization to examine to what extent and in what ways a language test for citizenship affects already motivated language learners.