Professor Ingela Holmström is a leading Deaf scholar and Professor of Sign Language at Stockholm University, where she directs the Swedish Sign Language section in the Department of Linguistics. Her research focuses on bilingualism, language acquisition, multilingualism, and interaction in Deaf contexts.
Academic Background and Institutional Role
Holmström earned her Doctorate in Education from Örebro University in 2013, with a dissertation which addressed how hearing-rehabilitation technologies influence Deaf participation over time[1]. She joined the Department of Linguistics at Stockholm University in 2014 and now holds a full professorship directing sign language education and research programmes[1].
Research Focus and Major Projects
Holmström investigates how Deaf, hard-of-hearing, and hearing people use multiple linguistic resources in educational and institutional settings. Her work spans topics such as Swedish Sign Language L2 instructional methods, sign bilingual education, Deaf migrants, and the politics of language recognition[1]. She has directed key projects including UTL2 (Teaching Swedish Sign Language as a second language to interpreting students) and MULDER (A Swedish Research Council–funded study on deaf adult refugees’ multilingual integration and language acquisition)[1][2].
Selected Publications and Impact
Holmström is highly cited and ranked among the top Deaf Studies and sign language scholars in Sweden and Europe[3]. Holmström's 2024 article Language learning challenges for adult deaf migrants in Sweden further builds on her multilingual refugee research, using ethnographic and sociolinguistic methods to examine barriers to language acquisition and integration[2].
Teaching, Leadership, and Legacy
At Stockholm University, Holmström teaches courses on Deaf education, sign language theory, and bilingual/multilingual pedagogy. She also mentors Deaf and hearing teachers in sign language instruction and leads the development of sign language resources and lexica[1].
Through her Deaf-led scholarly practice, Holmström actively challenges deficit-based language ideologies and promotes equitable policies for language access, education, and social participation. Her interdisciplinary approach combines sociolinguistics, disability studies, and educational research to center Deaf voices in academic knowledge production[1][2].
- Stockholm University. (n.d.). Ingela Holmström – Professor of Sign Language and section director, Department of Linguistics.
- Stockholm University. (n.d.). Multilingual situation of deaf refugees in Sweden (MULDER) – research project details.
- AD Scientific Index. (n.d.). Ingela Holmström – rankings in Deaf Studies and linguistics, h-index and citations.
- Holmström, I., & Bagga-Gupta, S. (2021). Patient or citizen? Participation and accessibility for deaf and hard-of-hearing people in the context of interpretation in Sweden. Scandinavian Journal of Disability Research, 23(1).
- Haualand, H., & Holmström, I. (2019). When language recognition and language shaming go hand in hand–sign language ideologies in Sweden and Norway. Deafness & Education International, 21(2-3), 99-115.
