Research concept
The study portrays the Kazakhstani student community in Vienna, a few difficulties during the integration process and language using specifics. The aim of the study is to research their language practice and how the Kazakhstani students identify themselves through language. Furthermore, with the help of an online-questionnaire via social media platform and a few narrative interviews having already been conducted, this study also discloses such terms as “transnationalism” and “elite multilingualism” among the students' community from Kazakhstan.
Research questions:
- When do Kazakhstani students prioritize which language?
- With which language do Kazakhstani students identify themselves the most
Theoretical background
Student mobility
In our research project, we focus on the phenomenon of student mobility and try to explain the meaning of the term within the Kazakhstani student minority in Vienna.
We are interested in the new linguistic and social practices of students from Kazakhstan, which have changed due to the new place of residence and education. We examine the current language situation and language identity, trying to figure out which factors influenced them.
Our project also aimed to build an understanding of the main reasons for student mobility and interest in choosing Austria and specifically Vienna for higher education purposes.
Transnationalism
The second, but not the less important phenomenon, transnationalism which had been identified as “one of the fundamental ways of understanding contemporary migrant practices across the multi-disciplinary field of migration studies” [Vertovec, 2010a, p. 3].
It is important to note that this definition distinguishes regular engagement in economic, political, and socio-cultural activities from more occasional or one-off engagement such as the rare trip to the home country or a singular cross-border monetary transaction"[Lima,2010].
Elite multilingualism
Another phenomenon that the research is based on is elite multilingualism. .
Elite multilingualism brings social and/or material capital as well as a sense of belonging, prestige and privilege through to use of specific linguistic resources for certain social groups individuals, but it can´t be achieved by everyone [Barakos, Selleck 2010].
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