A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal
Finnish Teachers’ Beliefs About Students' Home Language Use
Authors: Alisaari Jenni, Hurme Tarja-Riitta, Heikkola Leena Maria, Routarinne Sara
Publisher: Department of German Studies, University of Arizona
Publication year: 2021
Journal: Critical Multilingualism Studies
Volume: 9
Issue: 1
First page : 46
Last page: 76
eISSN: 2325-2871
Web address : https://cms.arizona.edu/index.php/multilingual/article/view/223
This study examined Finnish teachers’ (N = 691) beliefs about students using their home languages in learning tasks and teachers’ preparedness to implement the requirements of the Finish curricula. The teachers’ beliefs related to students’ use of their home languages were mainly positive; however, only 7% of the teachers reported encouraging home language use, while 20% of the teachers reported preventing it. The teachers who reported tolerating the use of home languages in the classroom were more interested in whether the students accomplished the task than what language they used. However, many of the teachers (39%) required that the students report on their discussions in the language of instruction. The results indicate varying language practices, some of which are not aligned with the Finnish curricula.