Postdoc in Second Language Learning in Danish Social and Healthcare Education, Department of Educational Anthropology and Psychology, University of Aarhus, Emdrup Campus, Denmark. Deadline: 10 June 2024.
The research project Sociolinguistic Barriers and Potentials among Second Language Learners in Danish Social and Healthcare Education explores social and linguistic barriers and potentials among second language learners in Danish social and healthcare education (‘SOSU-hjælperuddannelsen’ and ‘SOSU-assistentuddannelsen’), an educational field which has attracted increasing political attention due to a drastic projected shortfall in healthcare personnel in coming years and high dropout rates. More than 30% of SOSU students are assumed to have Danish as a second language, representing more than 109 different nationalities and a vast array of linguistic repertoires.
The project focuses on the linguistic practices of students with Danish as a second language, the linguistic barriers and demands associated with different parts of their healthcare training, and how students respond to these barriers and demands in everyday interaction, drawing on linguistic and sociocultural registers of healthcare, education and care. The SOSU programme includes a variety of educational arenas for linguistic minority students, including healthcare training, language lessons and internships across nursing homes, hospital wards and private homes, where students are expected to interact with teachers, supervisors and co-students along with patients, elderly citizens, relatives and various kinds of healthcare personnel. An in-depth linguistic-ethnographic approach is applied, including extensive digital sound recordings, qualitative interviews and participant observation, to explore students’ linguistic practices, barriers and potentials, along with the various linguistic skills and sociocultural registers associated with becoming a ‘good SOSU worker’ across different institutional arenas.
Center for Intercultural Dialogue 