Suomi toisena kielenä -oppija ainereaalin kirjoittajana ylioppilaskokeessa

Finnish as a second language learner as a writer of natural science subjects in the Finnish matriculation examination

Authors

• Leena Nissilä Institute for the Languages of Finland
• Nina Reiman University of Jyväskylä
• Heidi Vaarala University of Jyväskylä
• Dmitri Leontjev University of Jyväskylä

DOI: https://doi.org/10.30661/afinlavk.127355

Keywords:

Matriculation Examination, Finnish as a second language, natural science subjects, literacy

Abstract

This article focuses on the performance of Finnish as a second language (L2) examinees in the Finnish Matriculation Examination (ME). We explore whether and in what ways students’ L2 reading and writing performance predicts their examination performance in selected subjects in the natural sciences (biology and physics). Our study focuses on the relationship between language and content in disciplinary literacy. The data, obtained from the Matriculation Examination Board, consist of students’ ME performances in 2006 and 2021. The study is a mixed- methods study. We first conducted linear regressions, which showed that the students’ L2 writing and/or reading performance predicted their performance in the biology and physics exams. We then interpreted these results with reference to a qualitative analysis of the students’ responses to the biology and physics exam tasks. Our results have implications for the development of upper secondary education and the ME and thus for strengthening the participation of students with an L2 background in higher education.