Special issue on the cultural and educational challenges of migration and language acquisition

Abstract

Migration and language education remain pivotal concerns in multilingual societies shaped by mobility, labour markets, and policies of inclusion and exclusion. This special issue brings together three empirical studies that, from distinct theoretical and institutional vantage points, interrogate how language training, language education, and communicative participation intersect with power relations, social positioning, and professional identities in contexts of migration and professional integration. The articles critically examine (1) refugee English language training in Australia, (2) the marginalisation of heritage languages and teachers in Italy, and (3) linguistic participation in medical workplace placements in Sweden. Each article advances our understanding of language education beyond proficiency outcomes to encompass structural inequalities, institutional practices, and communicative realities that shape migrants’ linguistic trajectories.