Report: Immigrants do not meet the government’s language requirements

The language level required to pass SFI is basic, but the throughput is still “worryingly low”, according to the report “Alla ska lerar sig Swedish svätt” from the research institute Ratio, which is partly funded by Swedish business. One reason for the deterioration of language skills over time is attributed to changes in the immigrant groups.

– We see that many of today’s migrants have mother tongues with a large linguistic distance to Swedish and not infrequently low reading and writing skills. These factors make language learning slow and difficult, says report author Fanny Forsberg Lundell, professor of French at Stockholm University.

Referring to the OECD survey PIAAC quantifies the group of foreign-born with insufficient reading and writing skills at 35 percent. In other words, a significant portion would lack the ability “to learn Swedish at the level and at the speed required to meet the politically stated objective that everyone should learn Swedish in three years”.

– The purpose of the time limit is to make SFI more intensive. Today, too many skip their SFI studies, causing continuity to suffer. In addition to the time limit, we are introducing the possibility to more easily combine SFI with work. It is important for integration, especially as many companies testify that a lack of language skills is an obstacle to hiring, says Johan Pehrson. in an email to DN.

Already when DN reviewed SFI 2016 it turned out that only 33 percent completed the education and that the percentage was significantly lower among those who only attended primary school in their home country. The connection between completed SFI and more qualified jobs with better wages was also very clear, that is to say that it is profitable for both the individual and society.

– Continuing on the same track as before is not an option. The time spent in SFI for those with the lowest educational background has doubled since 2018 – without a corresponding increase in knowledge. There will be an opportunity to extend the time in SFI further if needed. If you haven’t met the goals after three years, you can also be offered other educational initiatives, says Johan Pehrson.