A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal
Monolingual ideologies confronting multilingual realities. Finnish teachers’ beliefs about linguistic diversity
Authors: Jenni Alisaari, Leena Maria Heikkola, Nancy Commins, Emmanuel O. Acquah
Publisher: Elsevier
Publication year: 2019
Journal: Teaching and Teacher Education
Volume: 80
First page : 48
Last page: 58
Number of pages: 11
ISSN: 0742-051X
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2019.01.003
This study
examined Finnish teachers’ (N=820) beliefs related to multilingualism and
teaching multilingual Finnish language learners. Teachers’ beliefs were mainly positive. However, teachers did not always consider home
languages as learning resources. There
were three categories of multilingual ideologies: advocacy for, allowance and
denial of multilingualism in the classroom. Factors influencing the teachers’ beliefs were
experience in teaching migrants, teaching area, training in linguistically
responsive teaching and language awareness. The results indicate a need for professional
development for all teachers to promote a move away from maintaining monolingualism
to advocating for multilingualism to better reflect the realities of the
classrooms.
