”Mä tiiän et mä kuulun kielikurssille!” Osallisuuden kokemukset kielten etäopetuksessa monikielisyyden näkökulmasta
“I know I belong in the language class!” Experiences of sense of belonging in remote language teaching from a multilingual perspective
Avainsanat:
monikielisyys, osallisuuden kokemus, etäopetusAbstrakti
In this paper, we explore students’ sense of belonging in online language education through thematic interviews and a small stories perspective (Georgakopoulou 2015). We address two research questions: 1) What senses of belonging emerge in online language education? 2) How is multilingualism related to this sense of belonging? The study aims to enhance understanding of belonging and multilingualism in the context of a university language center’s online programs. The findings reveal three interconnected types of belonging. The first pertains to belonging within the course, focusing on student responsibility and safety. The second concerns belonging in language learning environments beyond the course. The third involves expressing personal identity in shared learning spaces, integrating visual and auditory markers of individual identities and interdisciplinary interactions. The results show that the sense of belonging extends beyond the course into various external communities. The study highlights that embracing multilingualism significantly influences students’ sense of belonging.
