NorPol project kick-off seminar

We have invited a group of international speakers involved in research related to the NorPol project. They have already inspired the NorPol research group, and we believe that their contributions, as well as input from all interested participants, will help us pointing to the future and success for the NorPol project.

 

The seminar consists of a workshop with invited speakers and a guest lecture by Professor and Distinguished University Scholar Bonny Norton, free of charge and open to all, but we kindly ask you to fill in a registration form. (Deadline for registration 19 February)

You can download a pdf version of the program here.

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Program

Part I Workshop

14.15 Welcome. Presentation of the NorPol project. Toril Opsahl (MultiLing, UiO)

14.30 Practices for doing work together: observations from a multilingual construction site. Linda Kahlin and Hedda Söderlundh (Södertörn University, Sweden) and Matylda Weidner (Kazimierz Wielki University, Poland)

Chair: Paweł K. Urbanik

15.00 Stereotypes of migrant workers and language in the Norwegian construction industry. Kamilla Kraft (Copenhagen University, Denmark)

Chair: Magdalena Solarek-Gliniewicz

15.30 Break (15 minutes)

15.45 “Why should I make my life harder?” – Identity and name change in a narrative of a Polish migrant in Norway. Maria Obojska (MLing, University of Luxembourg)

Chair: Oliwia Szymańska

16.15 Participating in a conversation in Norwegian L2. Paulina Horbowicz (Adam Mickiewicz University, Poland)

Chair: Piotr Garbacz

16.45–17.15 General discussion and closing of the first part of the program.

Chair: Jan Svennevig

Part II Guest lecture

18.30–19.30 Identity, Language Learning, and the Multilingual Workplace.

Professor Bonny Norton (Department of Language and Literacy Education, University of British Columbia, Canada)

Chair: Anne Golden

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About the NorPol project

Second-language communication in workplace settings – the case of Polish migrants in Norway) (NorPol) (RCN Fripro scheme 2020–2024)

Being the largest migrant group in Norway, without official Norwegian language training, and speaking a first language in many ways structurally different from Norwegian, Poles constitute a highly relevant case to gain better understanding of the interplay between language skills, inclusion and welfare in professional settings. Communication challenges are most likely not only a result of linguistic differences, but also socio-cultural and attitudinal differences. Hence, the project adapts an ambitious multi-layered approach, including: a) a socio-cultural level of analysis, which focuses on cultural representations and their role in L2 communication; b) an interactional level of analysis, which focuses on the structural organization of L2 communication; and c) a linguistic level of analysis, which focuses on the lexical, grammatical and stylistic characteristics of L2 communication. Data will involve a triangulation of methods, including focus group interviews, audio- and video-recordings of naturally occurring interactions involving Polish users of Norwegian as a second language in and across professional settings, as well as personal narratives elicited as responses to media representations of stereotypical perceptions of Poles. The body of knowledge generated by NorPol is likely to have impact on policy and practice pertaining to inclusion, welfare and secure working life for all citizens.