| 1. |
- Alisaari, Jenni, et al.
(författare)
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Learning of intercultural competences and languages at school and their influence on global competences and immigrant-origin peers’ sense of belonging
- 2022
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Ingår i: Apples - Journal of Applied Language Studies. - : Apples - Journal of Applied Language Studies. - 1457-9863.
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In this study, we use PISA 2018 data to analyze (1) how language learning and teaching of intercultural issues are associated with global competences (GC) both in terms of knowledge and skills aspects as well as attitudes towards diversity, (2a) how the teaching of languages and intercultural issues in the school are related to sense of belonging among young people with migration backgrounds, and (2b) how peers’ global knowledge and skills as well as attitudes are related to migrant origin students’ sense of belonging at school. Aspects of global competences related to attitudes and cognitive skills are investigated separately. The teaching of intercultural competences was found to be positively associated with the four attitudinal aspects of global competences but negatively associated with the knowledge and cognitive skills associated with GC. Students studying two (or more) world languages tended to display more negative attitudes than those studying just one, in particular for respect for people from other cultures. Furthermore, learning two (or more) world languages versus one also tended to be associated with lower knowledge and cognitive skills related to GC. At the school-level the teaching of intercultural competences or languages were not associated with the sense of belonging of children of immigrants. Peers’ attitudes, in particular their awareness of intercultural communication, were more strongly associated with children of immigrants’ sense of belonging than their peers’ cognitive competences. Thus, we argue that the measurement of global knowledge and skills may be in need of critical reconsideration. Furthermore, it would be beneficial to define more explicitly, which aspects are related to effective intercultural training.
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| 2. |
- Alisaari, Jenni, et al.
(författare)
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Mother tongue education in four Nordic countries : problem, right or resource?
- 2023
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Ingår i: Apples - Journal of Applied Language Studies. - : University of Jyväskylä. - 1457-9863. ; 17:2, s. 52-72
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Jenni Alisaari, University of Stockholm, Sweden & University of Turku, Finland Line Møller Daugaard, VIA University College, Denmark Joke Dewilde University of Oslo, NorwayRaisa Harju-Autti, Tampere University, Finland Leena Maria Heikkola, Åbo Akademi University, FinlandJonas Yassin Iversen, Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences Niina Kekki, University of Turku, Finland Sari Pesonen, University of Stockholm, SwedenAnne Reath Warren, Uppsala University, Sweden Boglárka Straszer, Dalarna University, Sweden Maija Yli-Jokipii, Tampere University, FinlandThe 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.
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| 3. |
- Alisaari, Jenni, et al.
(författare)
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Positive stances toward cultural and linguistic diversity in Finnish schools after educational reforms
- 2023
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Ingår i: Apples - Journal of Applied Language Studies. - : Apples - Journal of Applied Language Studies. - 1457-9863.
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This study examined students’ (N = 659) and teachers’ (N = 74) stances toward linguistic and cultural diversity in Finland after national educational policy reforms. The students’ and teachers’ stances were positive, and the students felt appreciated at school; however, differences were found based on the gender, age, and first language of the students and between teacher groups. Positive stances toward languages and language use seemed to decrease with age, and older students and students with other L1 than Finnish had a lower sense of belonging. Targeted attention should be paid to further increasing culturally sustaining and linguistically responsive school cultures.
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| 4. |
- Amir, Alia, et al.
(författare)
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Pupils Doing Language Policy : Micro-interactional insights from the English as a foreign language classroom
- 2014
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Ingår i: Apples - Journal of Applied Language Studies. - : Centre for Applied Language Studies, University of Jyväskylä. - 1457-9863. ; 8:2, s. 93-113
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In this paper, we examine instances of the methods pupils deploy to do language policy in an English as a foreign language classroom in Sweden, where there is a locally practised English-only rule. Although we exemplify some more tacit methods of constructing a monolingual classroom (Slotte-Lüttge 2007), we focus primarily on instances where pupils police other pupils and on occasion even the teacher, when they are perceived not to be upholding the rule. This blatantly explicit method of pupils doing language policy, which we term language policing, generally serves to (re-)establish and maintain English as the medium of interaction and instruction. The data for this study consists of video-recordings of 18 EFL lessons in an International Swedish school and was collected in grade 8 and 9 classes (15-16 year olds) between the years 2007-2010. In order to reveal the interactional orientations of the participants in situ (Seedhouse, 1998:101), conversation analysis has been used to identify and analyse naturally occurring cases of pupils doing language policy. By discussing the analyses with reference to different policing trajectories, how participants employ a range of initiator techniques, and the nature and distribution of their policing methods, for example, we elucidate the empirical basis for our subcategories of pupil- initiated policing. We also relate language policing practices to the maintenance of a monolingual classroom and conclude that establishing and maintaining the English-only rule “sufficient[ly] for all practical purposes” is a routine matter (cf. Zimmerman 1971:227), since little language policing is needed to maintain it. In cases where the language rule is breached, both pupils and teacher play an active role in (re-)establishing themonolingual classroom.
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| 5. |
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| 6. |
- Baldwin, Richard, et al.
(författare)
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Can Do and Cannot Do – CEFR inspired examination and assessment in a Swedish higher education context
- 2018
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Ingår i: Apples - Journal of Applied Language Studies. - : Apples - Journal of Applied Language Studies. - 1457-9863. ; 12:2, s. 19-35
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The focus in this paper is on the introduction and implementation of learning outcomes based on the descriptors in the Common European Framework of References for Languages (CEFR). It discusses reaction to the introduction by teacher educators as well as the influence on teacher assessment practice in courses for prospective teachers of English as a foreign language. The paper presents some of the results from a case study concerning changes made in connection with the Bologna process in a department of education within a university college in Sweden. The results show that the adoption of the CEFR descriptors was contested and had a minimal influence on assessment practice. The aim of the paper is to explore possible reasons for the lack of influence, something that was not developed fully in the original case study.
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| 7. |
- Bardel, Camilla, 1963-, et al.
(författare)
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Learning, teaching and assessment of second foreign languages in Swedish lower secondary school – dilemmas and prospects
- 2019
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Ingår i: Apples - Journal of Applied Language Studies. - : Apples - Journal of Applied Language Studies. - 1457-9863. ; 13:1, s. 7-26
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This paper presents an overview of second foreign language (SFL) education in Sweden, especially at lower secondary level. It offers a survey of the historical development of the study of other languages than English as well as a reflection over the current state of the subject. Currently, there is a shortage of research on the circumstances and conditions of the learning, teaching and assessment of the Swedish school subject Modern languages, as well as on young people’s proficiency in other languages than English in Sweden. In order to contribute to a knowledge base for further research, the current paper reviews work considering the Swedish context concerning: a) frame factors, policy issues and organization of SFL studies b) attitudes towards plurilingualism and SFL motivation, c) teacher education and recruitment policies, and d) levels of attainment at the end of compulsory school. Throughout the paper, the European context is also taken into account. The paper ends with a discussion of the general status of the subject Modern languages in Swedish school and society, the fact that this subject is not mandatory, and the consistently high dropout rate that characterizes the current situation.
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| 8. |
- Berglund, Jenny, 1968-
(författare)
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Liturgical literacy as hidden capital : Experiences from Qur’an education in Sweden
- 2019
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Ingår i: Apples - Journal of Applied Language Studies. - : Apples - Journal of Applied Language Studies. - 1457-9863. ; 13:4, s. 15-25
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This article focuses on a form of supplementary Islamic education that centres on Qur’an studies and examines the reported experiences of Muslim students that regularly shift between this and their mainstream secular school. Its aim is to better comprehend the dialectical interplay between this type of supplementary education and mainstream secular schooling. Within this framework, the article explores how the traditional way of reading, reciting, and memorizing the Qur’an might relate to the type of teaching and learning that occurs within mainstream public schools. It also explores the possibility of a secular bias within the Swedish school system, the contribution of Qur’an studies to mainstream schooling (and vice versa), Qur’an-based vs. mainstream notions of “reading”, especially in relation to the idea of “understanding” and “meaning”, and how competency in Qur’an recitation becomes valuable secular “capital” when translated from language of “liturgical literacy” to the language of “skills”. To balance and enhance our understanding of student experiences, this article employs a constructive understanding of Pierre Bourdieu's concepts of cultural capital and habitus as well as Andrey Rosowsky’s notion of liturgical literacy.
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| 9. |
- Bergström, Jenny, 1979-
(författare)
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English as a gatekeeper : power through discourses in a language introduction program
- 2024
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Ingår i: Apples - Journal of Applied Language Studies. - : University of Jyväskylä. - 1457-9863. ; 18:1, s. 21-44
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This paper investigates power structures in English-language education within Sweden's Language Introduction Program (LIP). In Swedish society, a high proficiency in English plays an important role in accessing further education and the job market. Inadequate proficiency in English can lead to inequality in education, and thus to inequality in society in a long-term perspective. The methodology of this study is based on linguistic ethnography using interview data from seven semi-structured individual interviews with principals, mentors, a student counselor, and a special-needs educator involved in LIP at a Swedish school. Foucauldian perspectives of power and Fairclough’s critical discourse analysis are used to examine power structures and language ideologies within the organization. The results show how LIP’s organizational structures disadvantage the international language of English. Furthermore, power structures of governmentality within the organization steer students towards vocational programs rather than of theoretical program
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| 10. |
- Borger, Linda, 1976
(författare)
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Assessing interactional skills in a paired speaking test: Raters’ interpretation of the construct
- 2019
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Ingår i: Apples - Journal of Applied Language Studies. - 1457-9863. ; 13:1, s. 151-174
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The operationalization of interactional competence (IC) within the paired speaking test format allows for a range of interactional skills to be tested. However, in terms of assessment, challenges are posed with regard to the co-constructed nature of IC, making investigations into raters’ perceptions of the construct essential to inform test score interpretation. This qualitative study explores features of IC that raters attended to as they evaluated performances in a paired speaking test, part of a Swedish national test of English as a Foreign Language (EFL). Two groups of raters, 17 EFL teachers from Sweden, using national standards based on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), and 14 raters from Finland and Spain, using CEFR scales, rated six audio-recorded paired performances, and provided written comments to explain their scores and account for salient features. The findings of the content analysis indicate that raters attended to th ree main interactional resources: topic development moves, turn-taking management, and interactive listening strategies. As part of the decision-making process, raters also considered the impact of test-takers’ interactional roles and how candidates’ performances were interrelated. In the paper, interaction strategies that were perceived as more or less successful by raters are highlighted. The findings have implications for our understanding of raters’ operationalization of IC in the context of paired speaking tests, and for the development of
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