Congratulations to SCOOP PhD researcher Eline Heikamp on her first published article, “Integration Benefits of Intimate Intergroup Contact in an Online Language Buddy Program for Migrant Newcomers”, published in Social Psychology.
Written with SCOOP colleagues Nina Hansen, Sabine Otten, and Liesbet Heyse, the article investigates how language buddy programs can enable integration. Eline and her co-writers found that Het Begint met Taal’s Kletsmaatjes initiative plays an important role in facilitating positive contact between newcomers and locals, stimulating both language learning and cultural exchange. The positive interactions between newcomers and their Dutch language buddies is heightened by self-disclosure (the exchange of personal experiences, which helps form a personal bond). You can read the article here.
This article is the product of close collaboration between Eline, Nina, and Het Begint met Taal. Eline and Nina have previously collected data from the Kletsmaatjes volunteers, in a social-psychological research report they conducted, which you can read here (in Dutch).
You can learn even more about Eline and Nina’s research collaboration with Kletsmaatjes in this video, “Samenwerking Rijksuniversiteit Groningen en Kletsmaatjes”.
