"I learn on the streets with friends" young adult immigrants categorizing the opportunities for using and learning Finnish as L2
Keywords:
beliefs, Finnish as a second language, immigrants, membership categorization analysis, second language learningAbstract
This paper analyses the beliefs that young adult immigrants have about the Finnish language, the learning process and the places of using and learning Finnish. The analysis is based on interview data and the data is analyzed by combing the methods of content analysis and membership categorization analysis.
The analysis shows that in the interviews, the category of a friend becomes important, and especially Finnish friends are regarded central in facilitating the language learning process. The absence of Finnish friends is connected to the lack of possibilities to use Finnish in everyday situations. The place categories of the school and outside of school are also frequently oriented to as important in the interview talk. The language practices in school are regarded as very different from the language practices outside of school by the interviewees. The analysis show how this contrast is constructed and how it also reflects language ideologies and beliefs about what kind of language is needed to be able to integrate into the social groups the young interviewees regard as meaningful and relevant for their everyday life.
