Dialect use in students´ translanguaging in s Swedish-speaking classroom in Finland
Keywords:
kieleily, limittäiskieleily, luokkahuonevuorovaikutus, monikielisyys, murre, ruotsin yleiskieliAbstract
This qualitative study examines a multilingual classroom context where 9–10-year-old students in grade
3 and their teacher interact using a Finnish-Swedish dialect and standard Swedish in interaction with
each other. By using methods from interactional sociolinguistics, the aim is to describe and extend the
knowledge of how students use their dialect in translanguaging in whole-class teacher-student interaction.
The objective is also to investigate the role of teacher-directed interaction in how the dialect
is used. The material includes transcribed audio and video material and field notes from a 45-minute
lesson. The analysis shows that translanguaging is a natural practice in teacher-directed teacher-student
interaction in whole-class: The students use dialect and standard Swedish dynamically and freely
to create meaning, and the teacher, who knows the dialect, builds on this meaning-making. The study
shows a translanguaging space in the classroom where students can move freely between dialect and
standard Swedish, and the teacher also considers both resources in their teaching.
