Overview

Abstract (English)

Gaining proficiency in one of Canada’s official languages is perhaps the most important task of immigrants during their first years in the new country. In this paper, I put forward the idea that ability to communicate in one of Canada’s official languages is not only a condition for full social and economic integration of immigrants, but it also facilitates immigrant understanding of culture and customs, and finally contributes to shaping a sense of belonging to the host country. first, this study demonstrates the variability in pre-migration language capital among recent adult immigrants to Canada and the increase in language capital within four years of arrival. Second, it examines various opportunities for language acquisition and it identifies vulnerable groups such as women, older immigrants and less educated immigrants who have limited access to such opportunities. Third, the analysis points to the relationship between language capital and immigrants’ socio-economic integration. The study emphasizes the centrality of practice (i.e., formal and informal education and training, labour market participation, social networking) to language acquisition and immigrant integration within the host society.

Abstract (French)

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