A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal
Spoken word choreographies in additional language learning practices in upper secondary school: Entanglements between languaging-and-dancing
Authors: Jusslin, Sofia; Kaarla Lotta; Korpinen, Kaisa; Lilja, Niina
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Publication year: 2024
Journal: Modern Language Journal
First page : 1
Last page: 22
ISSN: 0026-7902
eISSN: 1540-4781
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/modl.12949
Web address : https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/modl.12949
Self-archived copy’s web address: https://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/457406123
There are calls for developing ways to teach language that can inspire and motivate students to study additional languages. While previous research has pointed toward benefits of arts-based activities in language learning, combining language and dance has mainly been studied with younger language learners. Contextualized within the course “Dance with language,” this study explores spoken word choreographies—word- and movement-based choreographies—that combine dance and the learning of Swedish as an additional language at a Finnish upper secondary school. The study engages with new materialist theories to understand languaging as an activity and relational, embodied, and material processes. Using diffractive analysis with comics-based research strategies, the analysis suggests that languaging-and-dancing become entangled through four doings: exploring, re-working, co-creating, and negotiating-and-switching. The spoken word choreographies offer a potentially valuable way to teach language in their move beyond students’ potential restrictions of vocabulary, structure, and grammar in the language to emphasize playfulness and creative explorations as part of language-learning processes. In conclusion, the study proposes that dancing and spoken word, and the combination thereof, bring specific qualities to creating smooth languaging spaces that embrace wild, playful, creative, and unpredictable forces and movements in language-learning practices.
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Funding information in the publication:
The research project Embodied language learning through the arts (2021−2024) and the current study were funded by Kone Foundation, Svensk-Österbottniska samfundet, and Harry Schaumans stiftelse. Sofia Jusslin had a research grant from Högskolestiftelsen i Österbotten during the data production. The authors thank the external reviewers for helpful feedback on the manuscript.