Material scaffolding: Supporting the comprehension of migrant cleaners at work

What is it about?

This research article focuses on communication in cleaning work by analysing how colleagues provide support to migrants working as cleaners in the work tasks. The support is analysed by exploring how material artefacts and body movements are employed to support the comprehension of migrant cleaners. The analysis of these work tasks show that cleaning work can be suggessfully performed with a beginner's level in the work language as long as guided support is available, and especially if the multiple material mediational means in the surroundings are utilized.

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Why is it important?

This article explores material, embodied and spatial aspects of scaffolding, which means an adaptive support, in this case given to the migrants working as cleaners in Finland. This study makes a new opening by combining ethnographic observations to the detailed analysis of interaction in cleaning work tasks. Blue-collar work such as cleaning has not been studied much in applied linguistics before, and therefore, this paper offers insights into a new area of research.