The aim of the study is to delineate the social networks of immigrant students at secondary upper-school level (Swedish gymnasium) in order to see to what extent the social networks are (1) oriented toward the own immigrant group, (2) oriented toward Swedes, and (3) oriented toward immigrant groups other than the own group. After the social networks were delineated, the results were correlated to the language proยฎciency of the students.
Results from the delineation of the informants' social networks showed certain dierences in network characteristics, for example, from a general point of view, higher multiplexity, strengthened by higher frequency in interaction in Swedish-oriented networks in the provincial arena.
Introduction: bilingual students, language proยฎciency, and school success According to the National Agency for Education in Sweden (Skolverket 1996), bilingual students make up 13 percent of upper secondary students in Sweden. A full 39 percent of students who attend individual programs (programs designed as alternatives for students who for one reason or another do not follow one of the national programs) have immigrant backgrounds. The fact that these students choose individually tailored programs to a much greater extent than do monolingual Swedish students may indicate that immigrant students' integration into the majority community is not yet complete. Delineating the social networks of bilingual students, describing how the networks are structured, and learning how the interactants and cultures of the networks inยฏuence linguistic ecologies should generate valuable knowledge for decision-making in public education, especially concerning the situation of children and 0165ยฑ2516/02/0153ยฑ0053