Integrating the lived experience of language with discursive approaches to policy: an exploration of Luxembourgish primary school students’ accounts of German language education policy

This paper expands on discursive approaches to language policy by incorporating the notion of the lived experience of language (Busch, 2015). More specifically, I analyse young people’s lived experience of language education policy by focusing on students in Luxembourg who are educated in a language that is not their main or home language. Indeed, in this educational context, a diverse student population navigates German-medium primary education. I explore the case studies of two students whose descriptions of their lived experience of German language education policy are marked by the themes of (negative) affective orientations, (low) language proficiency, educational difficulty, (low) academic performance and internalised views of deficiency. Data for this research was generated through qualitative, semi-structured interviews. The thematic analysis highlights the emotional ramifications and educational difficulties young people may face when there is a disconnect between their own linguistic repertoires and the language regime at school, and when they are not highly proficient in the medium of instruction. This provides insight into a larger phenomenon as educational contexts around the world can constitute sites of struggle for young people who are educated in languages in which they are still developing proficiency. Thus, foregrounding the lived experience of language (education) policy contributes to language policy scholarship by pushing understandings of policy beyond its social and discursive nature to include its individually lived, emotional dimension.