Suomi toisena ja vieraana kielenä - tutkittua ja keskusteltua

• Eija Aalto
• Sirkku Latomaa
• Minna Suni

Avainsanat: suomi toisena ja vieraana kielenä

Abstrakti

Finnish as a second and foreign language: a subject of research (englanti)

4/1997 (101)

Eija Aalto Sirkku Latomaa Minna Suni

FINNISH AS A SECOND AND FOREIGN LANGUAGE: A SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

As immigration and internationalization have increased in Finland, research concerning the Finnish language has taken on a new dimension: Finnish from the viewpoint of speakers of other languages. Finnish has long functioned as both a second and foreign language, but only during the last decade has research in this field developed to such an extent that it could be termed one of the most important areas of current Fennistic research.

The article provides a general overview of the research that has been carried out on Finnish as a second and foreign language (hereafter referred to as FSL), focusing on the types of subjects and individuals studied, the methods used and data collected. The writers also outline the main research themes and findings. They begin by examining the research conducted on structural aspects of learning (phonology, morphology and syntax), and they also consider vocabulary acquisition. A language is not, however, acquired in a vacuum, and so the article looks at interactional research, which has increased in profile recently and has an important place in FSL research, too. After discussing these interactive approaches the article goes on to examine the research on teaching. Finally, the various views about FSL teaching expressed in journals are described. This is the channel through which FSL teaching has received new stimuli, particularly in times when there was little research on FSL. The research on FSL teaching has also had a great impact on developments in the field of FSL in general.

From the overview presented it is clear that FSL research has developed significantly in just a short period of time. It is also clear that some areas have lagged behind others. Much of the FSL research carried out so far has relied more on Fennistic research traditions than current L2 acquisition theories, which may explain why there are fewer findings about the learning process than, for example, the various grammatical errors made by learners of Finnish. Furthermore, a large number of studies have focused on morphological and syntactic features of 'learner Finnish', whereas its phonological and lexical features have received less attention. The overview also demonstrates that more interactional studies, especially on classroom discourse, will be needed in the coming years.