Does timing matter? Language course participation and language outcomes amongst new immigrants

Host country language acquisition is widely considered an important factor to prevent the social and economic exclusion of immigrants. High-income countries invest considerably in language courses for new immigrants, yet hitherto our understanding of when participation in such courses seems to stimulate language acquisition remains limited. As a result, this article addresses whether the timing of language course enrolment is related to course outcomes in terms of credentialed language proficiency. This study benefits from longitudinal population data including all new migrants entering Flanders (Belgium) in 2009–2021, to assess whether associations between language course timing and outcomes persist, for different legal categories of immigrants, when controlling for compositional factors. Findings indicate that for most immigrant categories, negative associations between course postponement and host country language attainment are explained by migration background and human capital. However, amongst family and humanitarian migrants, a negative association between course timing and outcomes persists. This persistent negative linkage suggests a stronger vulnerability to less effective (informal) learning trajectories and downward spiralling opportunities and motivation in the case of language course postponement, but also highlights the need for future research using causal estimation strategies. As such, research on language course timing and outcomes contributes to the literature highlighting that timing – e.g. regarding asylum procedures, housing, but also language programmes – matters in immigrants’ trajectories of integration in host countries.