‘The wrong’ kind of students or ‘Santa’s workshop’? Teaching practices for newly arrived migrant students in Swedish upper secondary VET

At some upper secondary schools in Sweden, newly arrived migrant youths can attend vocational courses while studying in the language introduction programme. The teaching practices in relation to language learning for newly arrived migrant students in this kind of school-based VET and how these practices are conditioned are investigated in the article. Eight VET-teachers were interviewed, and the narratives were analyzed using concepts from the theory of practice architectures. Three teaching practices in relation to language learning were identified within the broader project of teaching newly arrived students in VET: i) Swedish language first, ii) second language learning-in-action, and iii) joint VET and second language teaching. These practices were in turn connected to three different approaches to language learning in VET: language learning understood as a) segregated skills instruction, b) as happening ‘naturally’ while participating in VET-practice, c) integrated in VET but requiring explicit instruction and daily interaction with Swedish-speaking students. A conclusion drawn from the study is that newly arrived migrant students are provided unequal opportunities for development of vocational knowing and language competences in Swedish upper secondary schools depending on local conditions. The results also show how economic resources and support from school-leaders provides conditions for re-shaping teaching practices.