Teachers’ reflections on linguistic diversity in the linguistic and semiotic landscapes of Swedish-medium ECEC units in Finland

Kirjoittajat

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.58955/jecer.130115

Avainsanat:

Swedish-medium ECEC in Finland, linguistic and semiotic landscapes, linguistic diversity, teacher reflections

Abstrakti

This article examines teachers’ reflections on their practices regarding linguistic diversity in linguistic and semiotic landscapes (LSLs) in Swedish-medium early childhood education and care (ECEC) in Finland. Data comprising 14 videos and written assignments were collected during in-service training for ECEC staff. Based on a qualitative thematic analysis, four practices related to the interplay between the language of instruction and children’s other languages were identified and related to different spatial frameworks in the physical learning environments. The findings reveal a distinct promotion of the language of instruction throughout the landscapes. Linguistic and semiotic resources were produced or emplaced by the teachers to enhance interaction in and learning of the language of instruction for all children. Other languages were displayed, especially in the entrance hall, with caregivers as the primary audience, welcoming the families to the unit and providing a means of disseminating information, but not as a learning resource for the whole group. While the study reveals that teachers are aware of the potential of using LSLs as a part of their pedagogical work, it also reveals a lack of systematic planning when it comes to developing the landscape to support language awareness for all children.

Lähdeviitteet

Aleksić, G., & García, O. (2022). Language beyond flags: Teachers misunderstanding of translanguaging in preschools. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 25(10), 3835–3848. https://doi.org/10.1080/13670050.2022.2085029

Alstad, G. T., & Sopanen, P. (2021). Language orientations in early childhood education policy in Finland and Norway. Nordic Journal of Studies in Educational Policy, 7(1), 30–43. https://doi.org/10.1080/20020317.2020.1862951

Bergroth, M., & Alisaari, J. (2023). Barnets eget modersmål i pedagogernas beskrivningar av goda praktiker för att utveckla språk i finländsk småbarnspedagogik. Nordand, 18(1), 50–65. https://doi.org/10.18261/nordand.18.1.4

Bergroth, M., & Hansell, K. (2020). Language-aware operational culture: Developing in-service training for early childhood education and care. Apples - Journal of Applied Language Studies, 14(1), 85–102. https://doi.org/10.17011/apples/urn.202006043978

Bergroth, M., & Palviainen, Å. (2016). The early childhood education and care partnership for bilingualism in minority language schooling: Collaboration between bilingual families and pedagogical practitioners. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 19(6), 649−667. https://doi.org/10.1080/13670050.2016.1184614

Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2022). Thematic analysis: A practical guide. SAGE Publications.

Brown, K. D. (2005). Estonian schoolscapes and the marginalization of regional identity in education. European Education, 37(3), 78–89. https://doi.org/10.1080/10564934.2005.11042390

Brown, K. D. (2012). The linguistic landscape of educational spaces: Language revitalization and schools in Southeastern Estonia. In D. Gorter, H.F. Marten & L. Van Mensel (Eds.), Minority Languages in the Linguistic Landscape (pp. 281–298). Palgrave Macmillan.

Brown, K. D. (2018). Shifts and stability in schoolscapes: Diachronic considerations of southeastern Estonian. Linguistics and Education, 44, 12–19. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.linged.2017.10.007

Constitution of Finland (1999/731). Ministry of Justice. https://www.finlex.fi/fi/laki/kaannokset/1999/en19990731.pdf

Creutz, K., & Helander. M. (2012). Via svenska: Den svenskspråkiga integrationsvägen. Magma-studie 2013(1). https://magma.fi/via-svenska-den-svensksprakiga-integrationsvagen-magma-studie-1-2013/

Dressler, R. (2015). Signgeist: Promoting bilingualism through the linguistic landscape of school signage. International Journal of Multilingualism, 12(1), 128–145. https://doi.org/10.1080/14790718.2014.912282

Finnish National Agency for Education (2014). The National Core Curriculum for Basic Education 2014. Finnish National Agency for Education.

Finnish National Agency for Education (2022). National core curriculum for early childhood education and care. Finnish National Agency for Education. https://www.oph.fi/sites/default/files/documents/National%20core%20curriculum%20for%20ECEC%202022.pdf

Finnäs, F. (2015). Tvåspråkiga familjer och deras betydelse för demografin [Bilingual families and their demographical relevance]. In M. Tandefelt (Ed.), Gruppspråk, samspråk, två språk (pp. 201–220). Svenska litteratursällskapet i Finland.

Garvin, R. (2010). Responses to the linguistic landscape in Memphis, Tennessee: An urban space in transition. In E. Shohamy, E. Ben-Rafael & M. Barni (Eds.), Linguistic landscape in the city (pp. 252–271). Multilingual Matters.

Gorter, D. (2018). Methods and techniques for linguistic landscape research: About definitions, core issues and technological innovations. In M. Pütz & N. Mundt (Eds.), Expanding the linguistic landscape, linguistic diversity, multimodality and the use of space as a semiotic resource (pp. 38–57). Multilingual Matters.

Gorter, D., & Cenoz, J. (2015). Linguistic landscapes inside multilingual schools. In B. Spolsky, M. Tannenbaum & O. Inbar (Eds.), Challenges for language education and policy: Making space for people (pp. 151–169). Routledge.

Gorter, D. & Cenoz, J. (2021). Linguistic landscapes in educational contexts: An afterword. In E. Krompák, V. Fernández-Mallat & S. Meyer (Eds.), Linguistic landscapes and educational spaces (pp. 277–290). Multilingual Matters.

Gottdiener, M. (2012). Adam Jaworski and Crispin Thurlow (eds): Semiotic landscapes: language, image, space. Applied Linguistics, 33(1), 107–111. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/amr046

Granly, A., & Maagerø, E. (2012). Multimodal texts in kindergarten rooms. Education Inquiry, 3(3), 371–386. https://doi.org/10.3402/edui.v3i3.22041

Hansell, K., & Björklund, S. (2022). Developing bilingual pedagogy in early childhood education and care: Analysis of teacher interaction. Journal of Early Childhood Education Research, 11(1), 179–203. https://journal.fi/jecer/article/view/114013/67209

Hansell, K., Palojärvi, A., Björklund, S., & Pärkkä, M-M. (2020). Kielirikasteinen varhaiskasvatus ja toinen kotimainen kieli avaimina kielitietoisuuteen ja monikielisyyteen. Kieli, koulutus ja yhteiskunta, 11(3). https://www.kieliverkosto.fi/fi/journals/kieli-koulutus-ja-yhteiskunta-toukokuu-2020/kielirikasteinen-varhaiskasvatus-ja-toinen-kotimainen-kieli-avaimina-kielitietoisuuteen-ja-monikielisyyteen

Harris, L., Cunningham, U., King, J., & Stirling, D. (2021). Landscape design for language revitalisation: Linguistic landscape in and beyond a Māori immersion early childhood centre. In E. Krompák, V. Fernández-Mallat & S. Meyer (Eds.), Linguistic landscapes and educational spaces (pp. 55–76). Multilingual Matters.

Heleniak, T. (2016). The cool embrace: Recent migration trends into the Nordic region. Nordregio News, 3/2016 Migration and Integration, 14–16. urn:nbn:se:norden:org:diva-4647

Heller, M. (1999). Linguistic minorities and modernity: A sociolinguistic ethnography. Longman.

Jaworski, A., & Thurlow, C. (2010). Introducing semiotic landscapes. In A. Jaworski & C. Thurlow (Eds.), Semiotic landscapes: Language, image, space (pp. 1–40). Continuum.

John Benjamins Publishing Company (2023, December 19). Linguistic Landscape. An international journal. https://doi.org/10.1075/ll

Kallen, J. (2008). Tourism and representation in the Irish linguistic landscape. In E. Shohamy & D. Gorter (Eds.), Linguistic landscape (pp. 310–324). Routledge.

Kallen, J. (2010). Changing landscapes: Language, space and policy in the Dublin linguistic landscape. In A. Jaworski & C. Thurlow (Eds.), Semiotic landscapes: Language, image, space (pp. 41–58). Continuum.

Kovero, C. (2012). På spaning efter den nya finlandssvenska identiteten. Magma-Studie 2012(3). https://magma.fi/pa-spaning-efter-den-nya-finlandssvenska-identiteten-magma-studie-3-2012/

Krompák, E., Fernández-Mallat, V., & Meyer, S. (2021). The symbolic value of educationscapes – Expanding the intersections between linguistic landscape and education. In E. Krompák, V. Fernández-Mallat & S. Meyer (Eds.), Linguistic landscapes and educational spaces (pp. 1–28). Multilingual Matters.

Laihonen, P., & Szabó, T. P. (2017). Investigating visual practices in educational settings: Schoolscapes, language ideologies and organizational cultures. In M. Martin-Jones & D. Martin (Eds.), Researching multilingualism: Critical and ethnographic perspectives (pp. 121–138). Routledge.

Laihonen, P., Szabó, T. P. (2023). Material change: The case of co-located schools. In J. Ennser-Kananen & T. Saarinen (Eds.), New materialist explorations into language education (pp. 93–110). Springer.

Laihonen, P., & Tódor, E.-M. (2017). The changing schoolscape in a Szekler village in Romania: Signs of diversity in rehungarization. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 20(3), 362–379. https://doi.org/10.1080/13670050.2015.1051943

Language Act (2003/423). Ministry of Justice. https://www.finlex.fi/fi/laki/kaannokset/2003/en20030423.pdf

Lähdesmäki, T., Koistinen, A., & Ylönen, S. (2020). Intercultural dialogue in the European education policies. Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-41517-4

Menken, K., Pérez Rosario, V., & Guzmán Valerio, L. A. (2018). Increasing multilingualism in schoolscapes: New scenery and language education policies. Linguistic Landscape, 4(2), 101–127. https://doi.org/10.1075/ll.17024.men

Mård-Miettinen, K., Hansell, K., & Kvist, M. (2023a). Kaksikielinen varhaiskasvatus toisen kielen oppimisen ympäristönä [Bilingual ECEC as an environment for learning a second language]. In A. Pitkänen-Huhta, K. Mård-Miettinen & T. Nikula (Eds.), Kielikoulutus mukana muutoksessa (pp. 141–162). AFinLA-teema, 16. Suomen soveltavan kielitieteen yhdistys ry. https://doi.org/10.30660/afinla.126171

Mård-Miettinen, K., Palojärvi, A., Hansell, K., Skinnari, K., & Moate, J. (2023b). The Multiplicity of Pre-primary CLIL in Finland. In A. Otto & B. Cortina-Pérez (Eds.), Handbook of CLIL in Pre-primary Education (pp. 169–183). Springer international Handbooks of Education. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-04768-8_11

Nummela, Y. & Westerholm, A. (2020). ”Det är bra att börja i tid” – Undervisningen i finska i de svenskspråkiga skolorna (rapporter och utredningar 2020:5) ["It is good to start early enough" - Finnish language instruction in Swedish-medium schools]. Utbildningsstyrelsen. https://www.oph.fi/sites/default/files/documents/det_ar_bra_att_borja_i_tid.pdf

Official Statistics of Finland (2023, April 28). Population structure [Data set]. Statistics Finland. https://stat.fi/en/statistics/vaerak

Pachné Heltai, B., & Bartha, C. (2017). Ideologies and practices in a kindergarten offering early education in Northern Sámi outside the Sámi homeland. Apples – Journal of Applied Language Studies, 11(3), 7–28. https://doi.org/10.17011/apples/urn.201712104582

Pakarinen, S. (2020). Språkbadselevskap i Finland och på Irland: En studie om språkpolicy och två- och flerspråkighet i skollandskap och hos elever i tidigt fullständigt svenskt och iriskt språkbad [Being a pupil in Swedish immersion in Finland and in Irish immersion in Ireland: A study of language policy and bi- and multilingualism in schoolscapes]. [Doctoral dissertation, University of Jyväskylä]. JYX. http://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-951-39-8347-5

Pakarinen, S., & Björklund, S. (2018). Multiple language signage in linguistic landscapes and students’ language practices: A case study from a language immersion setting. Linguistics and Education, 44, 4–11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.linged.2017.10.005

Pappenhagen, R., Scarvaglieri, C., & Redder, A. (2016). Expanding the linguistic landscape scenery? Action theory and ‘Linguistic Soundscaping’. In R. Blackwood, E. Lanza & H. Woldemariam (Eds.), Negotiating and contesting identities in linguistic landscapes (pp. 147–162). Bloomsbury.

Pesch, A. M. (2017). Å skape rom for flerspråklighet. En studie av diskursive vilkår for barnehagens språklige praksis med flerspråklige barn [Creating space for multilingualism. A study of discursive conditions for ECEC-teachers’ linguistic practice with multilingual children]. [Doctoral dissertation, UiT The Arctic University of Norway]. UiT Munin. https://hdl.handle.net/10037/12202

Pesch, A. M. (2021). Semiotic landscapes as constructions of multilingualism – a case study of two kindergartens. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 29(3), 363–380. https://doi.org/10.1080/1350293X.2021.1928725

Pesch, A. M., Dardanou, M., & Sollid, H. (2021). Kindergartens in Northern Norway as semiotic landscapes. Linguistic Landscape, 7(3), 314–343. https://doi.org/10.1075/ll.20025.pes

Saarela, J. (2021). Finlandssvenskarna 2021 – en statistisk rapport [Swedish-speaking Finns 2021 – a statictical report]. Svenska Finlands folkting. https://folktinget.fi/Site/Data/1597/Files/Finlandssvenskarna%202021_statistisk%20rapport_Folktinget_KLAR.pdf

Savela, T. (2018). The advantages and disadvantages of quantitative methods in schoolscape research. Linguistics and Education, 44, 31–44. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.linged.2017.09.004

Scarvaglieri, C., Redder, A., Pappenhagen, R., & Brehmer, B. (2013). Capturing diversity: linguistic land- and soundscaping. In J. Duarte & I. Gogolin (Eds.), Linguistic superdiversity in urban areas: Research approaches (vol. 2, pp. 45–74). John Benjamins.

Straszer, B. & Kroik, D. (2021). Promoting indigenous language rights in Saami educational spaces: Findings from a preschool in Southern Saepmie. In E. Krompák, V. Fernández-Mallat & S. Meyer (Eds.), Linguistic landscapes and educational spaces (pp. 127–146). Multilingual Matters.

Szabó, T. P. (2015). The management of diversity in schoolscapes: An analysis of Hungarian practices. Apples: Journal of Applied Language Studies, 9(1), 23–51. https://doi.org/10.17011/apples/2015090102

Szabó, T. P. (2018). Reflections on the schoolscape: Teachers on linguistic diversity in Hungary and Finland. In M. Palander, H. Riionheimo & V. Koivisto (Eds.), On the border of language and dialect (pp. 156–190). Finnish Literature Society. https://doi.org/10.21435/sflin.21

Wagner, J. T., & Einarsdottir, J. (2006). Nordic ideals as reflected in Nordic childhoods and early education. In J. Einarsdottir & J. T. Wagner (Eds.), Nordic childhoods and early education. Philosophy, research, policy, and practice in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden (pp. 1–12). International perspectives on educational policy, research, and practice. IAP-Information Age Publishing.

Lisätiedostot

Julkaistu

2024-02-08