This article investigates the roles of language teachers in a language and integration
programme in Denmark. The results show that the teachers’ work goes
beyond the role of language teacher per se. The teachers are shown to take on
the role of integration workers, who, as part of the integration system, contribute
to socializing the students into a marginalized position. At the same time,
the teachers also use their agency to bend the rules and help their students.
While the teachers fulfil the role of mediators who set aside time to help students
find their way in the Danish bureaucracy, they also struggle to set boundaries
for their students. Finally, the teachers balance the role of cheerleaders
who keep the students’ hopes up, with the role of realists who bring a sobering
outlook on refugees’ prospects in the labour market. This study contributes to
the field of applied linguistics by highlighting the daily positioning work done
by teachers in language and integration programmes in a delicate balancing act
between marginalizing and empowering students.