This article presents a qualitative, empirical study of two educational programmes for immigrants that integrate languageinstruction and vocational training. In the context of migration, social inclusion is often conceptualised as access to socialcapital. Proficiency in the national language is considered key for employment and fast integration into working life hasbecome a primary goal in Swedish migration policies. This article examines the two programmes from the perspectiveof inclusion into an (imagined) future professional community of practice (CoP), focusing specifically on the participants’possibilities to invest in a professional linguistic repertoire. The article is dedicated to empirical analyses and positive factors,recognising the need for research. Data consists of interviews with students and teachers, observations, and videorecordings of course activities. Organisational aspects of the courses, such as the teachers’ backgrounds and the courses’proximity to future CoPs, as well as relational aspects of the learning environments, are considered essential for the participants’inclusion in a future professional CoP. Analyses of the programmes’ content demonstrate that participants areassumed to lack context‐specific, vocational knowledge, including professionally related vocabulary. The article contributesto knowledge on how inclusion can be managed in practice in educational settings for adult immigrants and promotesan understanding of how vocationally adapted courses can assist immigrants in becoming members of a future professionalCoP.

This chapter addresses vocationally adjusted language courses in Swedish for adult immigrants. We focus on individualisation, which is stipulated in the curriculum and other syllabus documents, and argue that individually adapted feedback could be considered a tool (out of several potential tools) for “doing” individualisation in a pedagogical practice. We discuss different understandings of individualisation in policy documents and research literature, and define individualisation as an educational practice in teaching, carried through in dialogue. In an empirical study, we apply the definition by analysing feedback sequences in video recordings from two vocational courses (designed for outdoor maintenance workers and medical doctors, respectively) using the linguistic method of interaction analysis. We demonstrate (1) how individualisation in terms of feedback is managed in interaction involving teacher and students, and (2) the vocational and linguistic skills that materialise as important for the individual students in these feedback sequences. Our results demonstrate that feedback is a functional educational tool for individualisation, providing learning opportunities for both language acquisition and professional knowledge. However, this requires authentic assignments that are designed to promote opportunities for more developed dialogues. Another conclusion is that a professional experienced teacher who can provide feedback on both professional skills and language use is particularly important.