Apples - Journal of Applied Language Studies

Limittäiskielisyys osana kuvataiteen prosesseja

2023-03-01T01:34:38+02:00

Tässä artikkelissa käsittelen kahdeksan Berliinissä asuneen suomalaislähtöisen kuvataiteilijan käsityksiä kielten merkityksestä identiteettiinsä ja taiteeseensa. Vastaan kolmeen tutkimuskysymykseen; ensinnäkin siihen, miten eri kielten käyttö on vaikuttanut taiteilijoiden identiteettiin, toisekseen siihen, miten he käyttävät kieliä visuaalisessa taiteessaan ja lopuksi siihen, mikä rooli kielellä, monikielisyydellä/limittäiskieleilyllä on heidän taiteessaan. Kesällä 2019 ja talvella 2021 kerätty aineisto koostuu kuvataiteilijoiden haastatteluista, ottamistani valokuvista taiteilijoiden työhuoneilta ja heidän töistään sekä heidän julkaisemistaan kirjoista ja nettisivuista. Tässä artikkelissa runsaasta aineistosta on hyödynnetty ensisijaisesti haastatteluja, mutta myös taiteilijoiden teoksia ja ottamiani valokuvia. Menetelmänä hyödynnän soveltavassa kielentutkimuksessa viime aikoina korosteisesti esillä ollutta limittäiskielisyyden käsitettä, jonka piirissä kieliä ei nähdä toisistaan erillisinä, vaan niitä tarkastellaan käyttäjä- ja tilannelähtöisesti. Tavoitteenani on siis tarkastella kuvataiteilijaa ja visuaalista taidetta tieteidenvälisesti soveltavan kielentutkimuksen ja taiteentutkimuksen rajapinnalla.

Negotiating epistemic congruence

2023-02-16T17:26:47+02:00

Based on fieldwork in an upper-secondary school in Sweden, this paper centers on Swedish as two school-subjects: Swedish (SWE) and Swedish as a second language (SSL), as taught in one class. Adhering to separate curricula, and taught by SWE and SSL teachers respectively, they are often implemented as physically separated subjects. By contrast, this paper explores three different learning spaces in relation to everyday negotiations of belonging and participation among the migrant language learners: combined whole-class teaching, a separate SSL group, and combined book-group discussions. Drawing from the notion of the classroom as a contact zone (Canagarajah, 2020) and theory of spatial repertoire (Pennycook & Otsuji, 2014), I discuss how minoritized second language learners negotiated social belonging and linguistic participation in these differently embodied learning spaces. Engaging a linguistic ethnographic approach, the data production consisted of fieldnotes from classroom observations, audio-recorded book discussions and semi-structured interviews. The material was analyzed by means of an epistemic stance analysis. Findings indicate that while an epistemic incongruence prevailed in the combined whole-class teaching, the reverse was found in the separate SSL group. In the space between these opposites, the book-group discussions served as a growing ground for epistemic congruence at the interface of SWE and SSL. The article thus contributes insights into how the organization of SWE and SSL affects how students navigate their multiple and hybrid identities as well as the extent to which they feel a sense of social belonging in order to fully participate in different educational practices.

Mother tongue education in four Nordic countries - problem, right or resource?

2022-05-30T20:32:39+03:00

The Declaration of a Nordic Language Policy stipulates that all Nordic residents have the right to preserve and develop their mother tongue and their national minority languages. Hence, this article investigates the question of mother tongue education for linguistic minority students. Through four ‘telling cases’, the article explores how four Nordic countries, Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden, orient towards mother tongues, Indigenous and national minority languages in their educational policies. Drawing on Ruíz’ (1984) framework of orientations in language planning, we investigate the following question: In what ways are mother tongues framed as rights, resources, or problems in four telling cases of educational policy in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden? The analysis of the telling cases shows that although all four countries provide various forms of mother tongue education, thus apparently aligning with the intentions in the Declaration of a Nordic Language Policy, there are important differences between the provisions. Nevertheless, across the four countries, the official national languages are placed at the top of a language ideological hierarchy. The official national languages are followed by national minority languages as mother tongues. These languages are awarded rights but are not considered resources for the whole population (e.g., Ruíz, 1984). The Danish telling case inserts a supranational layer in the hierarchy, namely mother tongues with status as official languages in the European Union. The hierarchy of mother tongues thus reflects how some types of mother tongues are more readily granted rights and considered to be resources than others.

"In teacher work you must understand others and have empathy for them!”

2023-02-03T15:47:55+02:00

This study investigates the ways in which language teachers perceive the emotional aspects of language teaching and which beliefs they link with these emotions. The study contributes to previous research of language teacher emotions by providing a perspective to emotions and beliefs in two very different socio-political contexts, namely Brazil and Finland and by comparing the differences and similarities between emotions and beliefs in these two contexts. This can add to our understanding about the ways in which language teacher emotions are emerging in different social conditions. The study is based on a small qualitative data from the two countries collected in terms of visual narratives and written explanatory texts.

Speaking French, German and Spanish in Swedish lower secondary school

2023-05-17T14:16:07+03:00

This study investigates levels of oral proficiency in French, German and Spanish attained by Swedish speaking students in lower secondary school. A total of 122 students performed two tasks: one production task and one interaction task. The oral performances were rated using scales from the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. The rating was done in successive steps by researchers in the project and external raters. The results show that slightly less than half of the students’ performances were rated at or above the expected proficiency level at the end of lower secondary school (A2.1). While there was no difference in rated levels between the two tasks, the performances by the students of German were significantly more often rated at or above the A2.1 level than the performances by students of French and Spanish. In the article, we discuss the results in relation to the few previous studies available on the topic, as well as some aspects of the learning conditions that might contribute to the interpretation of the results. In addition, certain structural phenomena regarding language education in Sweden are briefly considered in relation to equity at a general level.