Nordic Journal of Language Teaching and Learning

Editorial

Wed, 09 Oct 2024 00:00:00 -0700

Multilingualism in English textbooks in Austria, Norway and Spain

Christian Carlsen — Wed, 06 Mar 2024 01:43:34 -0800

This study analyses to what extent English textbooks from three European countries, Austria, Norway and Spain, reflect curriculum aims about multilingualism in national curricula and educational research on multilingualism more broadly. Six textbooks for lower secondary school were analysed focusing on texts and tasks that encourage students to make use of and reflect on their language repertoire. Findings from the textbook analysis show that the students’ language repertoires are in most cases ignored and only one of the six textbooks analysed contains any tasks that invite students to make use of their whole language repertoire. None of the textbooks contain texts or tasks concerning attitudes towards languages or multilingualism as a resource. The article calls for greater attention among textbook developers to curricular aims and current educational research concerning multilingualism. This is a precondition for textbooks to fulfil the desired function as agents of change promoting key pedagogical developments.

Acquisition of L3 French: The impact of (non-)correspondence of word order in previously acquired languages

Sunniva Strætkvern, Kjersti Listhaug — Mon, 11 Mar 2024 00:00:00 -0700

The current study investigates the acquisition of finite verb placement in L3 French in L1 Norwegian L2 English speakers at university level. We investigate how the (non-)correspondence in surface structure in speakers’ previously acquired languages affects the acquisition of verb placement in specific structures in the L3. Previous research has found that learners performed better with non-subject-initial main clauses (where their L2 English had a corresponding structure) than with subject-initial main clauses with adverbs (where their L1 Norwegian displayed corresponding surface structure) (Listhaug et al., 2021). In the current study, we investigate these same structures, in addition to relative clauses with adverbs, where neither Norwegian nor English surface structure corresponds to French. We expected learners to perform worse on this structure due to two factors: 1) non-correspondence in surface structure in both previously acquired languages, and 2) costliness of verb movement. Participants completed an acceptability judgment task in English and French. Our results show that learners performed better with non-subject-initial main clauses than with the other two structures, where they accepted target and non-target word order to the same degree. No preference for non-movement of the verb in relative clauses emerged. Our results indicate that English acts as the main transfer source in this particular language combination. We propose that our results are best accounted for by property-by-property models, and we argue that decisive factors are typological similarity between the L2 and L3, as well as cognitive economy in terms of verb movement.

(Dis)Engagement and Usefulness:

Elin Ericsson, Sylvana Sofkova Hashemi — Tue, 26 Mar 2024 00:00:00 -0700

This study explored Swedish lower-secondary students’ (N=41) experiences of practicing German speaking skills with filmed native speakers in a low-immersive virtual 360° environment. The students practiced dialogues in everyday-life scenarios, performing authentic tasks such as ordering in a restaurant. We employed various methods to produce data on students’ self-reported experiences related to their speaking activity in order to gain a nuanced understanding of this way of practicing speaking. The data was gathered through logbooks, questionnaires, and interviews, which covered various aspects of the students’ speaking activity. The twofold analysis consists of descriptive statistics on post-trial ratings, and thematic analysis based on the qualitative data. The findings show that the students mostly rated the overall experience as fun and easy. They estimated that they had developed their German speaking skills through practicing pronunciation and dialogue and felt better prepared for speaking. We show that some students felt disengaged even when participating in immersive simulations. There were individual differences regarding sustained engagement and experienced usefulness of the system, mostly linked to technical and contextual issues, being interrupted, misunderstood, feeling uneasy, or finding the speaking activity monotonous, too easy, or too hard. The study found that students sometimes completed dialogues without understanding the meaning of the words. We thus conclude with the need for pedagogical guidance and framing to embed this type of speaking activity in classroom practice.

“English is a language that almost everybody will know or should know:”

Signe Hannibal Jensen — Thu, 18 Apr 2024 02:36:45 -0700

The present study explores young children’s experiences with and perceptions of English in their personal lives in a traditional EFL context. Twenty-one Danish children (between the age of 8-12) participated in the study. A multimodal emic approach was employed using language portraits and interviews. As the only language besides Danish (L1), English figured in all portraits thus illustrating the great importance placed on English by all children, recognizing its status as a global language. However, the participating children experienced and viewed English very differently. Findings of the present study ranged from perspectives where learning and using English was found to be frustrating and difficult, to bilingual perspectives where English was engaged with more or just as much as the first language (Danish). This confirmed arguments that to some English is still a foreign language in traditional EFL contexts. Some implications were connected to this. It seems key that teachers become familiar with the extramural English interest of their students as well as their learning trajectories. This way they will be better able to differentiate their teaching (Sylvén, 2022). Moreover, more longitudinal research is needed to provide insights into children's perceptions of global English and the factors that affect this.

Sproglig opmærksomhed og flersprogethedsdidaktik: Det danske sprogcurriculum ved overgangen fra grundskolen til de gymnasiale uddannelser

Petra Daryai-Hansen, Line Krogager Andersen — Sun, 21 Apr 2024 00:00:00 -0700

Artiklen undersøger, hvordan sproglig opmærksomhed og flersprogethedsdidaktikken indgår i det danske sprogcurriculum i grundskolens 9. klasse og ved overgangen til det tværsproglige forløb Almen Sprogforståelse (AP) på de gymnasiale uddannelser. Datagrundlaget er gældende curriculære dokumenter for grundskolens obligatoriske og fakultative sprogfag og AP-forløbet. Artiklens indholdsanalyse (Mayring, 2014) tager udgangspunkt i to modeller, der er udviklet i rammen af PE-LAL-projektet (Daryai-Hansen et al., 2022): (1) en operationalisering, der med afsæt i van Lier (1998, 2004) skelner mellem en praktisk (PSO), metasproglig (MSO) og kritisk (KSO) sproglig opmærksomhed, der kan rettes mod alle sproglige niveauer (Daryai-Hansen et al., 2019), herunder et transversalt sproglæringsniveau, og (2) en operationalisering af flersprogethedsdidaktikken, der fremhæver hjemmesprog ud over dansk, og er baseret på Candelier et al. (2010), der skelner mellem tre pluralistiske tilgange til sprog (den integrerede sprogdidaktik, interkomprehensionsdidaktikken samt den sproglige opmærksomheds- og anerkendelses-didaktik). Analysen peger på et potentiale i det danske sprogcurriculum, især i AP, dog med tydelige begrænsninger, især i grundskolens store sprogfag dansk og engelsk. Kort sagt manifesterer der sig i grundskolens sprogfag en nogenlunde ligevægt mellem PSO og MSO, mens MSO i 2020 stadig tydeligt prioriteres i AP. KSO er fraværende. I grundskolen ligger fokus på tekstniveauet, det sociolingvistisk/ pragmatiske niveau og sproglæringsniveauet, mens de fleste sproglige niveauer til en vis grad vægtes i AP-forløbet. Den integrerede sprogdidaktik inkluderes i grundskolen til dels og tydeligt i AP, mens de andre pluralistiske tilgange og elevernes hjemmesprog er mere eller mindre fraværende eller begrænses til en integration af de skandinaviske sprog (i dansk) samt latin/græsk (i AP).

Teaching strategies and materials in foreign language teaching in Finland

Toni Mäkipää, Kaisa Hahl, Milla Luodonpää-Manni, Laura Lahti — Wed, 08 May 2024 23:42:54 -0700

The purpose of this study was to investigate what teaching strategies and teaching materials are used in foreign language teaching in Finland. The data were collected with an online questionnaire that was answered by 550 language teachers from primary school to adult education. Descriptive statistics and two-way ANOVA were used to analyse the dataset. The results showed that printed textbooks, mechanical exercises, communicative tasks, and comprehension exercises were widely used in foreign language teaching, while fiction, non-fiction, and national and international collaboration were rarely implemented into teaching. Major differences in the use of teaching strategies and materials were detected across educational levels. The results imply that training for teachers and student teachers is required, and greater attention should be given to diversifying foreign language teaching materials. Providing ready-made materials for teachers and considering the effect of the matriculation examination on teaching strategies and materials are also essential implications of this study.

Redeveloping interactional practices in foreign language classrooms

Suvi Kotkavuori — Mon, 19 Aug 2024 05:44:46 -0700

Developing collaborative skills can help foreign language (FL) teachers to provide diverse and meaningful learning opportunities that reflect today’s increasingly complex and changing communicative situations. This study examined how language teachers collaborated with L1 students to expand meaning-making practices in FL learning in higher education. Individual interviews were conducted with ten Language Centre teachers from three universities, two in Finland and one in the Czech Republic. The qualitative content analysis of the data showed that the teachers involved the L1 students actively across different levels of courses and activities to bring their knowledge, views, and experiences in the classroom. The result was an increase in interactional variety and a positive effect on student participation, particularly when the teachers gave space to learning opportunities afforded by the interactions. However, while collaborating with the L1P’s led the teachers to better understand the students’ needs and interests regarding the quickly evolving subject matter, their role in managing the more complex and shifting classroom situations grew more important. Therefore, creating authentic FL learning experiences with the L1 students requires teachers to combine efficient management skills with flexibility and a willingness to learn.

Keywords: foreign language learning, classroom interaction, relational expertise, mediation, affordance, higher education

How do high-achieving students learn languages online?

Klara Arvidsson, Hugues Engel — Tue, 03 Sep 2024 01:44:52 -0700

The impact of language learning strategy use on achievement has been extensively researched in the traditional foreign language classroom. However, little is known about this topic in the context of online learning. In addition, previous research has focused primarily on English as a foreign or second language. This study fills these gaps by investigating the use of language learning strategies by students taking a beginner-level online course in a foreign language other than English at a Swedish university. The study examined the extent to which students used language learning strategies, whether age was related to the use of language learning strategies, and whether language learning strategy use increased the likelihood of foreign language achievement, operationalised as receiving the highest final course grade. Participants (n= 108), aged 19–76 years (M = 37.6), completed the Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (Oxford, 1990). Three main findings emerged from the study. First, the students used metacognitive strategies most frequently, which could be explained by the fact that the online format requires great learner autonomy. Second, age was negatively but weakly related to the use of memory and affective strategies. Third, the use of cognitive strategies significantly increased the likelihood of foreign language achievement almost tenfold. Thus, this category of strategies appeared to be a strong predictor of achievement among the study participants.