Kieltä, toimintaa, sisältöjä

In this introduction, we highlight common interests within research in three related educational contexts: language immersion, content and language integrated learning (CLIL) and Finnish or Swedish as second language education in Finland. Although each has their specific foci of interest and have developed as independent research fields, they all share an interest in language learning through meaningful language use as well as in simultaneous learning and teaching of language and content. These issues can be approached from multiple viewpoints as demonstrated by the individual contributions in this volume, introduced briefly in this article. The contributions are organised into three themat…

Content and language integrated learning

This special issue of The Language Learning Journal is devoted to Content and Language Integrated Learning, frequently referred to by its acronym CLIL in Europe, but also elsewhere of late. CLIL is...

On the role of peer discussions in the learning of subject-specific language use in CLIL

Introduction: Language learners’ discourse, the theme of this volume, is approached in this chapter from the viewpoint of content and language integrated learning, known as CLIL (e.g. Coyle, Hood & Marsh 2010). The context is Finland, with data from secondary level history classes taught in English. More specifically, this chapter explores learner discourse in a hitherto underexplored context: group-work situations where students are involved in peer discussions without the presence of the teacher. While reaching a research-based understanding of the dynamics of teacher-student interaction in CLIL settings continues to be important for the whole CLIL enterprise and a goal worth pursuing fur…

Redesigning the Curriculum to Develop Multilingual Academic Literacies: An Analysis of Language Conceptualizations

Teaching and learning languages for academic purposes have for a long time had an important role in Finnish Higher Education. In this chapter, we analyse the curriculum for multilingual and disciplinary language and communication studies developed at the University of Jyvaskyla, which can be seen as one initiative to rethink the ways of organizing the development of language and communication skills at the university level. We are especially interested in how the curriculum is discursively constructed and what kinds of conceptions of language are built into the description of learning outcomes in the curriculum across different disciplines. Our results indicate that multilingual approach is…

Diversity in CLIL as experienced by Finnish CLIL teachers and students : matters of equality and equity

This article focuses on how Finnish CLIL teachers and students orient to and experience diversity in CLIL. The data consist of teacher and student interviews that were analysed using qualitative content analysis to identify recurrent themes with regard to diversity. The findings indicate that the theme of equality in the sense of ‘the same for all’ in both teaching, assessing and homework was readily brought up by both groups, reflecting the ethos of equality prevalent in Finnish education. Equity, however, was not similarly highlighted even though it is a guiding principle alongside equality in the Finnish Core Curriculum for Basic Education. Teachers were found reluctant to topicalise div…

“But big is a funny word”: a multiple perspective on concept formation in a foreign-language-mediated classroom

In recent years, foreign-language mediated instruction (immersion, content-based language learning and teaching) has been studied from various perspectives. In the following study, a single event from a Finnish third-grade EFL-mediated geography lesson is studied by combining insights from three research approaches: sociocultural, socio-cognitive, and discourse-pragmatic. The data analysis focuses on how during concept formation, the participants use commonplace means present in every classroom – textbook and chalkboard, spoken and written, verbal and nonverbal communicative means – to construct knowledge and its social context. The results indicate that there exist strong parallels among t…

Kansallinen kyselytutkimus englannin kielestä Suomessa : käyttö, merkitys ja asenteet

English as an object and tool of study in classrooms: Interactional effects and pragmatic implications

Abstract This paper analyses classroom discourse in Finnish EFL classrooms where English is the object of study and content-based (Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL)) classrooms where non-language subjects are taught in English. The students in both groups are Finnish teenagers. Approaching the data from a discourse-pragmatic perspective, the paper investigates how these two settings compare with each other in terms of local practices of using English. In particular, attention is paid to how both choices between English and Finnish and ways of using English reflect the way participants perceive and construct their social relationships in the classrooms. The findings show differ…

CLIL classroom discourse

Under the label of Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) the teaching of curriculum subjects through the medium of a foreign language has become a widely accepted feature in mainstream education systems in Europe and other parts of the world. After contextualizing its subject matter in CLIL research as a whole, this article focuses on research into classroom discourse. In order to unravel the complexities involved, three different takes on CLIL classroom discourse are discussed as an evidence-base for (a) language learning, (b) language use and social-interactional aspects of L2-interaction, and (c) processes of knowledge construction in and through a second or foreign language. T…

Kieli koulussa: kohti kokonaisvaltaista kielikäsitystä [pääkirjoitus]

‘What’s the Moment Thingy?’– On the Emergence of Subject-Specific Knowledge in CLIL Classroom Interaction

Situated in the European CLIL context where mainstream schools may opt for teaching content subjects through the medium of a foreign or second language, this paper explores secondary school physics classrooms, taught through English in Finland. The focus is on the role of classroom interaction in the emergence of subject-specific knowledge during six consecutive lessons, with particular attention to how one key concept in physics, ‘moment’, is handled. This micro-longitudinal approach shows that while the students are struggling between the everyday and the academic meanings of the word ‘moment’ throughout, there are also clear signs of progression. These signs show, for example, in student…

Young People's Translocal New Media Uses: A Multiperspective Analysis Of Language Choice And Heteroglossia

The aim of this paper is to shed light on the particularities of the linguistic, social and cultural action of young Finns in translocal new media spaces, and the ways in which they themselves make sense of and account for their actions. We present findings from 4 case studies, each of which illustrates aspects of translocality in young Finns' new media uses. Theoretically and methodologically the case studies draw on sociolinguistics, discourse studies, and ethnography, making use of the concepts of language choice and linguistic and stylistic heteroglossia. Through the 4 cases in focus, the paper shows how young people's linguistically and textually sophisticated new media uses are geared…

Ainekohtaisen kielen käyttö ja oppimisen mahdollisuudet CLIL-tuntien tehtäväpohjaisissa tilanteissa

This article is concerned with subject-specific language in the context of CLIL education. More specifically, the focus lies in exploring hands-on tasks in CLIL physics and chemistry lessons as sites for using and learning subject-specific language. Following Lorenzo (2007), attention is paid to the role of subject-specific language in both pre-task phases, during the tasks, and in post-task phases. The findings indicate that while teachers’ strategies differ somewhat, the pretask and post-phases provide learners more exposure to subject-specific language than the task performance itself where language use is highly context-dependent. Throughout the phases, there is also some evidence of te…

Identity construction in ELF contexts: a case study of Finnish engineering students working in Germany

This paper explores connections between identity and language use in lingua franca contexts by investigating identity construction among Finnish users of English as revealed in interviews conducted both before and after a period spent in Germany. The focus is on the users' own stories of their language use and learning, and on the discursive construction of identities. The study draws on poststructuralist theories of identity construction, combining them with research that focuses on language learners' identity construction or on identity issues in contexts with English as a lingua franca. This paper illustrates how language users actively draw on different discourses in constructing their …

Rhizoanalysis of Sociomaterial Entanglements in Teacher Interviews

AbstractThis chapter explores how the entangled relationship between the material and social in teachers’ perceptions of change can be empirically investigated. More specifically, the chapter adopts a DeleuzoGuattarian rhizoanalytic assemblage approach and the notion of becoming to capture the dynamic and fluid nature of social and material affects. The study re-analyses three teacher interviews from data sets originally collected for different research purposes but with the theme of change relevant in each interview. The findings show that rhizomatic analysis and approaching interviews as assemblages can yield important insights about material realities. For example, they indicate how teac…

Englanti oppimisen kohteena ja välineenä : katsaus luokkahuoneinteraktioon

This paper approaches classroom interaction from a pragmatic perspective. More specifically, it concentrates on two different types of classrooms where English is either the object or the medium of study. Rather than assessing students’ linguistic skills, the purpose is to analyse how English is put to use in these two settings, for what kinds of social and interactional purposes. The fi ndings show how the different institutional role of English is refl ected at the level of interaction. In brief, in EFL classes English is constructed as the focus of attention through abundant use of Finnish and the materials dependent use of English which renders English pragmatically rather detached from…

Linguistic Diversity as a Problem and a Resource – Multilingualism in European and Finnish Policy Documents

Societies in Europe and across the world are under constant pressure to cope with increasing multilingualism and multiculturalism. This development has its roots in different global and local societal and economic processes. On the one hand, globalization is putting pressure on the economy in that more varied language resources are needed in society. On the other hand, immigration is constantly on the increase, giving rise to what Vertovec (2006) has termed super-diversity, a ‘condition distinguished by a dynamic interplay of variables among an increased number of new, small and scattered, multiple-origin, transnationally connected, socio-economically differentiated and legally stratified i…

Practising applied linguistics and the change agenda

Forum Discussion

Implicit policy, invisible language: Policies and practices of international degree programmes in Finnish higher education

“You Can Stand Under My Umbrella”: Immersion, CLIL and Bilingual Education. A Response to Cenoz, Genesee & Gorter (2013)

Classrooms the world over are full of people who, for different reasons, are learning additional languages and/or are studying through languages that are not their first. Gaining insight into such contexts is complicated for researchers and practitioners alike by the myriad of contextual variables that come with different implementations and make comparison and generalization a tricky business. We welcome Cenoz et al.’s (2013) article as an important contribution to the debate on how best to tackle this problem. In this Forum piece we would like to, however, redress the balance on two issues: the fact that terminologies have histories and the emphases on the research agenda suggested for fu…

Identity construction in ELF contexts: a case study of Finnish engineering students working in Germany

This paper explores connections between identity and language use in lingua franca contexts by investigating identity construction among Finnish users of English as revealed in interviews conducted both before and after a period spent in Germany. The focus is on the users' own stories of their language use and learning, and on the discursive construction of identities. The study draws on poststructuralist theories of identity construction, combining them with research that focuses on language learners' identity construction or on identity issues in contexts with English as a lingua franca. This paper illustrates how language users actively draw on different discourses in constructing their …

Speaking English in Finnish content-based classrooms

:  CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning) is a term widely used in Europe to refer to different forms of content based education, often conducted in English. Earlier research on CLIL has tended to focus on matters of language learning or content mastery rather than on details of classroom interaction. This paper investigates how English is used in Finnish biology and physics CLIL classrooms. Classrooms are approached from a discourse-pragmatic perspective which involves close attention to social and interpersonal aspects of language use as it unfolds in authentic settings. The findings suggest that CLIL students claim ownership of English by the way they confidently use it as a res…

Teachers’ perceptions on the changing role of language in the curriculum

AbstractThis article is concerned with the role of language(s) in education from the viewpoint of secondary school subject teachers in Finland at the time of transition to a new curriculum. The curriculum highlights the role of language throughout education and makes reference to changes in society that foreground multilingualism. Seven mainstream and CLIL content teachers of different subjects were interviewed and employing qualitative content analysis, the data were scrutinised under four language-related themes: multilingualism, multiliteracy, subject-specific language, and the role of language in knowledge construction. The results indicate teachers as reasonably well aware of subject-s…

Introduction to the special issue: On the transgressive nature of translanguaging pedagogies

As translanguaging gains traction in language education, its political and ideological implications are becoming central considerations to researchers and practitioners. In this introductory article to the special issue, “Translingual and Multilingual Pedagogies” for the EuroAmerican Journal of Applied Linguistics and Languages, we provide a conceptual point of departure on the notion of translanguaging by revisiting Li Wei’s (2011) threefold description of its prefix trans- (i.e., transcending, transformative, transdisciplinary), which we expand by adding a new definitional element, transgressive, to reflect our understanding of translanguaging as politically charged and disruptive by virt…

Emerging themes, future research directions

Introduction to the special issue: On the transgressive nature of translanguaging pedagogies

As translanguaging gains traction in language education, its political and ideological implications are becoming central considerations to researchers and practitioners. In this introductory article to the special issue, “Translingual and Multilingual Pedagogies” for the EuroAmerican Journal of Applied Linguistics and Languages, we provide a conceptual point of departure on the notion of translanguaging by revisiting Li Wei’s (2011) threefold description of its prefix trans- (i.e., transcending, transformative, transdisciplinary), which we expand by adding a new definitional element, transgressive, to reflect our understanding of translanguaging as politically charged and disruptive by virt…

Exploring translanguaging in CLIL

After reviewing the concepts of Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) and Translanguaging, this article presents an exploratory study of translanguaging in CLIL contexts. Employing illustrative extracts from a collection of CLIL classroom recordings in Austria, Finland and Spain, we argue that both pedagogic and interpersonal motivations can influence language choices. We suggest that the L1 should be appreciated as a potentially valuable tool in bilingual learning situations and that there is a need for increased awareness-raising around this question. peerReviewed

CLIL: A European Approach to Bilingual Education

Content and language integrated learning (CLIL) is a term used especially in Europe for forms of bilingual education where an additional language, in most cases English, is used as the language of instruction in non‐language school subjects. This chapter outlines the development of CLIL, embedded both in European level policies and in growing awareness of the new orientations to language learning introduced, for example, in language immersion research. Because of its potential to serve as a context for meaningful language use and situated language learning, CLIL has been regarded by EU institutions as an important instrument to foster European citizens’ bi‐ and multilingualism, to be offere…

Hands-on tasks in CLIL science classrooms as sites for subject-specific language use and learning

This paper is concerned with content and language integrated learning (CLIL), i.e. classrooms where a foreign or second language (L2) is used as the means of instruction and where content and language learning objectives merge. More specifically, it explores the potential of hands-on tasks in CLIL chemistry and physics lessons to serve as sites for using and learning subject-specific language, conceptualised as both special concepts and terminology as well as subject-specific ways of constructing meaning. Using discourse analysis, attention was directed to hands-on tasks as well as pre-task and post-task phases. The findings indicate that despite the evident content orientation in the tasks…

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