Challenges and Possibilities in Multilingual Swedish Classrooms

• In recent years, the increased globalization has led to Swedish science classrooms, just as in the rest of Europe, involving a variety of languages and cultures, which places particular demands on science education. The use of the functionally scientific language is characterized by complexity, which often hinders students’ learning in science. For students whose first language is different than the language of instruction, this can be a great challenge. In this presentation, we relate to two studies – (1) a web-based vocabulary test, and (2) an ethnographic study of a translanguaging science classroom – to illustrate how multilingual students’ use of translanguaging can constitute a resource for science learning. The studies reveal that multilingual students move in loops between discursive and national languages in their conversations about the scientific content. The students commonly use their first language (Arabic) when moving toward an everyday discourse and use their second language (Swedish) when approaching the scientific discourse. Moreover, analyses show how the students often use both Swedish and Arabic to clarify semantic relationships between scientific words and concepts in translanguaging science classrooms (TSC). The students commonly express the subject-specific words in Swedish, while the descriptive, clarifying, interconnecting words and phrases describing the semantic relationships often are expressed in Arabic. In this way, both Arabic and Swedish become linguistic and cognitive tools when students learn science. With increased awareness of the complex subject-specific language and multilingual students’ use of their entire linguistic repertoires in a TSC, increased conditions for the development of significant pedagogical tool can be created that can help science educators frame learning in linguistically and culturally diverse classrooms and give students greater opportunities to participate in the science instruction contexts, to influence their learning situation and to put students in a position as co-constructors of their own learning.

Subject headings

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Utbildningsvetenskap (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Educational Sciences (hsv//eng)

Keyword

Multilingualism

The role of Language in Science Education

Naturvetenskapernas didaktik

Science education

Publication and Content Type

vet (subject category)

kon (subject category)