Finnish Teachers’ Beliefs About Students' Home Language Use




Alisaari Jenni, Hurme Tarja-Riitta, Heikkola Leena Maria, Routarinne Sara

PublisherDepartment of German Studies, University of Arizona

2021

Critical Multilingualism Studies

9

1

46

76

2325-2871

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.



Last updated on 2024-26-11 at 13:50