Webinar: The role of language for inclusion – How can we strengthen language development in the Nordic languages among students from foreign backgrounds?

Many migrant children and youth demonstrate multilingual competence. However, limited skills in the local language can restrict opportunities and hinder full participation in society – with long-lasting consequences. The webinar highlights the importance of addressing Nordic language development to ensure that individual potential is not lost, benefiting both the individual and the Nordic societies. 

Join us at the webinar to hear more from leading researchers in the field. They will share insights from across the Nordics on how to develop language teaching and learning based on the latest academic and policy-oriented studies. 

Programme: 

Moderator: Mikaela Sonck, Nordic Welfare Centre 

13:00  Introduction and welcoming words 

Language development and participation: barriers and opportunities for newly arrived students in the Nordics 

Professor Nihad Bunar, Department of Special Education, Stockholm University, SWE  

Facilitating second language acquisition in the Nordic countries. Results from a Nordic research review. 

PhD Sabine Wollscheid, researcher, NIFU  

Next steps: comment from the Nordic Council of Ministers  

Multilingual classrooms: from policy to practice in Finland 

Docent Maria Ahlholm, Senior Lecturer, University of Helsinki 

Family, school and educational policies for multilingual students in Iceland 

PhD Renata Emilsson Pesková, Associate Professor, University of Iceland 

Panel discussion: learnings and the way forward 

Final words 

15:00 Webinar ends