Learning paths on elementary university courses in Finnish as a second language

This is an elec onic ep in o he o iginal a icle. This ep in may di e om he o iginal in pagina ion and ypog aphic de ail. Au ho (s): Ti le: Yea : Ve sion: Please ci e he o iginal e sion: All ma e ial supplied ia JYX is p o ec ed by copy igh and o he in ellec ual p ope y igh s, and duplica ion o sale o all o pa o any o he eposi o y collec ions is no pe mi ed, excep ha ma e ial may be duplica ed by you o you esea ch use o educa ional pu poses in elec onic o p in o m. You mus ob ain pe mission o any o he use. Elec onic o p in copies may no be o e ed, whe he o sale o o he wise o anyone who is no an au ho ised use . Lea ning pa hs on elemen a y uni e si y cou ses in Finnish as a second language Elo an a, Johanna; Jalkanen, Juha Elo an a, J., & Jalkanen, J. (2015). Lea ning pa hs on elemen a y uni e si y cou ses in Finnish as a second language. In J. Jalkanen, E. Jokinen, & P. Taalas (Eds.), Voices o pedagogical de elopmen : expanding, enhancing and explo ing highe educa ion language lea ning (pp. 225-240). Resea ch-publishing.ne . h ps://doi.o g/10.14705/ pne .2015.000294 2015 225 11 Lea ning pa hs on elemen a y uni e si y cou ses in Finnish as a second language Johanna Elo an a1 and Juha Jalkanen2 Abs ac Along wi h he g owing deg ee o in e na ionalisa ion, Finnish uni e si y educa ion needs o add ess issues ela ed o lea ning and eaching Finnish as a second language. F om he pe spec i e o eaching Finnish and ela ed pedagogical de elopmen , i is essen ial o ecognise when, whe e and o which pu poses lea ne s need Finnish a he a ious s ages o he language acquisi ion p ocess. This a icle ocuses on he lea ning pa hs o h ee in e na ional s uden s who s udied Finnish on a one- e m elemen a y cou se a he Uni e si y o Jy äskylä Language Cen e. The a icle is based on a socio-cul u al and ecological iew on language lea ning and eaching. The da a consis o lea ning dia y ex s w i en by he s uden s du ing he cou se. Th ough hese ex s, uni e si y s uden s’ language usage si ua ions and iews on he Finnish language and i s acquisi ion a e explo ed. The lea ne s’ na a i es con eyed hei ideas ela ed o languages and language acquisi ion, which appea ed o be cen al backg ound ac o s o di e en language usage and s udy p ac ices. The h ee lea ne pa hs ep esen ed di e en o ms and deg ees o in eg a ion. The lea ne s’ goals we e closely ela ed o he en i onmen s in which hey led hei daily li es. Keywo ds: Finnish, second language lea ning, highe educa ion, in e na ionalisa ion, uni e si y s uden s, in e ac ion. 1. Language Cen e, Uni e si y o Jy äskylä, Finland; [email p o ec ed] 2. Language Cen e, Uni e si y o Jy äskylä, Finland; [email p o ec ed] How o ci e his chap e : Elo an a, J., & Jalkanen, J. (2015). Lea ning pa hs on elemen a y uni e si y cou ses in Finnish as a second language. In J. Jalkanen, E. Jokinen, & P. Taalas (Eds), Voices o pedagogical de elopmen - Expanding, enhancing and explo ing highe educa ion language lea ning (pp. 225-240). Dublin: Resea ch-publishing.ne . doi:10.14705/ pne .2015.000294 Chap e 11 226 1. In oduc ion Inc easing in e na ionalisa ion has also challenged Finnish uni e si y educa ion o conside ques ions ela ed o lea ning and eaching Finnish as a second language (F2). As a esul o in e na ional ec ui men , uni e si ies employ a g owing numbe o eaching and esea ch s a o whom lea ning Finnish is an impo an channel o in eg a ion in o he uni e si y communi y and Finnish socie y. To some ex en , he in e na ional s uden s en olled in mas e ’s deg ee p og ammes and doc o al p og ammes sha e simila needs. Many exchange s uden s, who usually spend ei he one o wo e ms in Finland, also wan and need o lea n some Finnish. Ma ching he di e se needs and goals is one o he key challenges o eaching Finnish as a second language a uni e si y oday. F om he pe spec i e o eaching Finnish and ela ed pedagogical de elopmen , i is essen ial o ecognise when, whe e and o which pu poses lea ne s need Finnish a he a ious s ages o he language acquisi ion p ocess. E en hough he e is ela i ely abundan esea ch on he in eg a ion o immig an s in o Finnish socie y, his esea ch has p ima ily ocused on daily and wo king li e con ex s (see e.g. Pöyhönen, Rynkänen,Ta nanen & Ho man 2013; Suni 2008). The in eg a ion o in e na ional s uden s in o he academic communi y and he Finnish language communi y has no been s udied om he pe spec i e o lea ning Finnish. Resea ch in o second language (L2) pedagogy, pa icula ly a he uni e si y le el, has as ye also been sca ce in Finland (howe e , see Aal o & Taalas 2005 and Jalkanen & Vaa ala 2013). In his a icle we explo e he lea ning pa hs o h ee in e na ional s uden s who s udied Finnish on a one- e m elemen a y cou se a he Uni e si y o Jy äskylä Language Cen e. The ocus is on e en s ha a e signi ican o he lea ning p ocess and on he ole o language in hem. The ollowing esea ch ques ions will be answe ed: • How do he lea ne s desc ibe hei F2 lea ning pa hs? • How do he lea ne s’ desc ip ions po ay he Finnish language and lea ning Finnish? Johanna Elo an a and Juha Jalkanen 227 Fi s , we p esen some cu en esea ch ends in L2 lea ning, concen a ing on a pedagogical iewpoin . The ea e , we desc ibe he da a used in he a icle as well as he analysis esul s di ided in o h ee sec ions. Finally, we discuss wha he lea ne s’ desc ip ions e eal abou uni e si y s uden s’ ini ial F2 lea ning pa hs and wha guidelines he esul s o e o de eloping F2 uni e si y pedagogy. 2. Lea ning L2 in in e ac ion Recen esea ch in o second-language acquisi ion highligh s ha language is lea ned in in e ac ion, no o i (e.g. Suni 2008). This seemingly small dis inc ion is isible, in pa icula , in iewing language skills as si ua ional (Du a & A o 2012; Gee 2004; Pennycook 2010). The app oach implies ha in e ac ion is he s a ing poin o lea ning, no i s e minal poin . P ac ice is s ill needed, bu s uc u es and ocabula y a e app oached by examining he si ua ions in which hey a e ypically used. The linguis ic en i onmen is hus highly signi ican o he lea ning p ocess. Teaching should help lea ne s o analyse di e en in e ac ion si ua ions a school and in hei leisu e ime as well as he su ounding linguis ic en i onmen . Language is oday ac ually ega ded as an ac i i y in which linguis ic esou ces a e u ilised. These esou ces a y om one si ua ion and modali y o he nex . This app oach basically includes he spa ial a ia ion and empo al egene a ion o language (Du a & A o 2012). F om he language acquisi ion poin o iew, his means ha language p o iciency is no demons a ed as mas e y o g amma bu as a s a egic abili y o use di e en mul imodal meaning-making ools in a goal-o ien ed way (Canaga ajah 2008; Pennycook 2010). Wi hin L2 lea ning, g ound has been pa icula ly gained by holis ic heo ies ha aim a explaining he complex and dynamic na u e o he language acquisi ion p ocess. Complexi y heo y (La sen-F eeman & Came on 2008) and an ecological app oach ( an Lie 2004) sha e a sys emic app oach o Chap e 11 228 language acquisi ion and highligh he need o unde s and he connec ions be ween p ocesses occu ing a di e en le els. La sen-F eeman and Came on (2008) also emphasise ha i is essen ial o see language as a dynamic sys em ha is cons an ly shaped in human in e ac ion. F om a pedagogical iewpoin , he idea o dynamic language usage implies ha , o example, he discussions eco ded in lea ning ma e ials a e always in a ce ain sense ozen and s a ic. On he o he hand, eaching should also p o ide sa e possibili ies o es he applica ion o language sys ems (see also Gee 2005). E en hough eaching plays a cen al ole in L2 acquisi ion, i s p ima y pu pose is o suppo and s uc u e he lea ning p ocess a he han o de ine o con ol lea ning sequences based on assumed language di icul y le els (La sen-F eeman & Came on 2008; Suni 2008). By ollowing he lea ne s’ p og ess, pedagogical suppo can be a ge ed a di e en p ocess s ages a he igh ime. This is how he lea ne s’ o ien ee ing on hei lea ning pa hs can be guided owa d he nex con ol poin , whe eby hey can s uc u e a pa o he linguis ic sys em as a meaning ul and in elligible whole (La sen-F eeman & Came on 2008). 3. The con ex and da a S uden s who a end F2 cou ses a , o ins ance, Finnish uni e si y language cen es ha e e y di e en backg ounds and s a ing poin s. They come om di e en pa s o he wo ld, wi h di e en school and lea ning cul u es, and speak di e en languages. Fu he mo e, i is ypical o hese cou ses ha he g oups consis o exchange s uden s, in e na ional mas e ’s deg ee p og amme s uden s and pos g adua e s uden s. As a consequence o his he e ogenei y and di e ing pe sonal plans and goals, he pa icipan s’ expec a ions o hei lea ning ou comes also a y. Exchange s uden s who s ay in Finland o ou mon hs may be mo i a ed o s udy Finnish in o de o acili a e e e yday si ua ions, o some o hem a e in e es ed in knowing an exo ic language. On he o he hand, mas e ’s deg ee s uden s who in end o pu sue a ca ee and emain pe manen ly in Finland may aim a applying o a job in Finnish wi hin Johanna Elo an a and Juha Jalkanen 229 a ew yea s. Na u ally, in addi ion o hese ex eme cases, he e a e a la ge numbe o s uden s wi h no clea plans and hopes o he u u e ye . A he ini ial s age, eaching he e o e in ol es inding a balance be ween s uden s’ di e se in e es s and lea ning pa hs. The da a o his s udy we e collec ed on an ini ial F2 cou se in he au umn o 2014 ( a ge le el: CEFR A1 / basic use ). Ins ead o a p esumed hie a chical lea ning sequence, he cou se was designed based on language usage si ua ions ha a e meaning ul o he lea ne s. A common s a ing poin o ini ial eaching is he idea o a basic language p o iciency ha mus be acqui ed be o e language can be used in in e ac ion. This app oach in luences lea ning ma e ials so ha he spec um o ex s and language usage si ua ions becomes na ow and i ele an o he needs o he use . In o de o a oid his disad an age, we mapped he lea ne s’ language usage si ua ions ia an inqui y be o e designing he cou se. The si ua ions chosen o he cou se included di e en ypes o linguis ic esou ces, which he s uden s ei he analysed o lea ned o iden i y. All he si ua ions also en ailed linguis ic esou ces ha we e beyond he lea ne s’ comp ehension abili ies. The aim was o di ec hei ocus o he de elopmen o s a egic skills and disco e y o co e con en . The cou se was o ganised o he i s ime in i s new o ma while collec ing he esou ces, and he new app oach was pilo ed wi h one s uden g oup. S uden s wi h a ying coun ies o o igin, mo he ongues and s uden s a uses we e selec ed o he s udy. The aim was o cas ligh on lea ne pa hs ha had di e en indi idual s a ing poin s. Acco ding o hese c i e ia, h ee pa icipan s we e chosen: Julie, Nao o and Daniel ( he names a e pseudonyms). The esea ch da a consis o he lea ning dia ies w i en by he pa icipan s in he cou se online lea ning en i onmen . The dia y en ies we e w i en app oxima ely once a mon h. The na a i e na u e o he da a links ou s udy o a na a i e esea ch app oach, which acco ding o Webs e and Me o a (2007) is op imally sui ed o analysing he complex and nuanced expe iences ha lea ning and eaching in ol e. In na a i e esea ch, indi idual expe iences a e Chap e 11 230 eco ded h ough he cons uc ion and econs uc ion o pe sonal s o ies, which makes i possible o eco d and e ell e en s ha ha e been he mos in luen ial o pa icipan s. The e o e, he na a i e app oach allows esea che s o po ay expe iences holis ically, in all hei complexi y and ichness, ying o illus a e he empo al no ion o expe ience, which is based on he idea ha an indi idual’s unde s anding o people and e en s changes (Webs e & Me o a 2007). The objec i e o na a i e analysis is o disco e in he da a hose s o ies ha ep esen he phenomenon. Na a i e analysis yields gene alisa ions abou hinking, ac i i y, meanings and a i udes ha a e ela ed o he phenomenon. In his s udy, we ead he s uden s’ lea ning dia ies i s alone and hen compa ed ou obse a ions and in e p e a ions. E en hough he aim in in e p e ing he dia ies was o con ey each lea ne ’s pe sonal oice, he in e p e a ion in ol ed e elling he s o ies. The s uden s w o e hei dia ies in English, and hei di e se language skills may ha e a ec ed he way hey e balised hei expe iences. The aim was also o ake his in o accoun in analysing he ex s. The ollowing sec ions p esen he pa icipan s’ lea ning pa hs, i s by in oducing hei backg ounds. The lea ne s’ easons o s udying Finnish and se lea ning ou comes a e desc ibed he ea e . Then we cha ac e ise how language and i s lea ning a e mani es ed in he lea ne s’ na a i es, as well as po en ial u ning poin s ha appea as meaning ul o he lea ning p ocess. Finally, he ocus will be on he lea ne s’ e ospec i e hough s abou lea ning Finnish. The s uc u e o he desc ip ions is ch onological, ha is, hey p oceed as he cou se p og esses. 4. Th ee beginne s’ lea ning pa hs 4.1. Pa h 1: he language en husias Julie was an exchange s uden om Cen al Eu ope. He mo he ongue was F ench and he majo subjec du ing he six-mon h exchange pe iod was poli ical science. Johanna Elo an a and Juha Jalkanen 231 Acco ding o Julie, lea ning Finnish was an essen ial pa o a ela i ely long s ay in Finland. She ound ha in addi ion o he p ac ical unc ions o language, such as going o shops and alking o people, i also opens a window o he Finnish mindse and cul u e. Mo eo e , Julie men ioned ha o he lea ning languages was a hobby. Julie’s aim was ha a e li ing ou mon hs in Finland she would be able o speak Finnish, as she desc ibed i , ‘a he basic le el’. She also wan ed o know some Finnish g amma . Julie speci ied he means o achie ing he lea ning ou comes on a gene al le el by using passi e cons uc ions. She ega ded he Finnish cou se as he p ima y s ep in lea ning he language and men ioned daily li e language usage si ua ions, such as going o shops and ca es and using public anspo , in his con ex . Julie no ed ha con e sa ions wi h na i e speake s o Finnish we e a good way o lea n he language, pa icula ly ocabula y. Howe e , she suspec ed ha he language she would lea n om Finns would mainly be slang and ulga ocabula y. Because o he gene al na u e o he desc ip ion, i was di icul o conclude which o he a o emen ioned language usage si ua ions Julie in ended o u ilise in he lea ning. As he cou se p og essed, Julie equen ly e lec ed on he di e ences and simila i ies be ween Finnish and he o he languages she knew (F ench, I alian, English and Russian), ying o de ine he ela ionship o he s uc u al sys em o he language. Julie explained ha he Russian skills helped he pe cei e he s uc u es o Finnish, e en hough she gene ally ound he di e ences be ween Finnish and he Indo-Eu opean languages challenging. None heless, she ema ked ha she enjoyed lea ning a new linguis ic sys em. Julie seemed o ha e a ela i ely s uc u e-o ien ed app oach o Finnish, which was mani es ed dis inc ly as a con lic be ween he in e es s ( e bs, enses, su ixes) and he si ua ional app oach applied in he cou se ( o ming ques ions, asking o di ec ions, ag eeing on appoin men s). In addi ion o s uc u es, Julie equen ly men ioned wan ing o expand he ocabula y, ye wi hou speci ying he ype o ocabula y she needed. She also ega ded speaking and w i ing as indi idual suba eas o be de eloped sepa a ely. Chap e 11 232 Julie de ined language usage as a game o wo le els: on he i s le el, one lea ns and uses language in he closed, sa e and undis u bed cou se en i onmen , whe eas he second le el in ol es language usage in mo e challenging con ex s cha ac e ised by ime p essu es and ex e nal dis ac ions. Acco ding o Julie, p ac ising on he i s le el, ha is, in he class oom, p epa es s uden s o he second le el. The u ning poin in Julie’s language lea ning p ocess can be da ed o he inal s age o he cou se, a which he language usage en i onmen s expanded o meaning ul ex amu al si ua ions. She men ioned eading Moomin books and buying icke s on he in e ne as examples o hese si ua ions. When compa ing he achie ed lea ning ou comes o he ini ial goals, she no ed ha ing ob ained he keys o speaking and unde s anding Finnish a he basic le el. Julie ound ha he cou se had been use ul o li ing in Finland e en hough i s majo bene i o he was he oppo uni y o explo e Finnish language and cul u e, in compliance wi h he a i ude owa d languages as a hobby. 4.2. Pa h 2: he pe sis en labou e Nao o was an exchange s uden o biological and en i onmen al science, whose mo he ongue was Japanese. He li ed in Finland o app oxima ely nine mon hs du ing his s udies. Nao o old ha he chie ly a ended he Finnish cou se in o de o mas e e e yday si ua ions, which he desc ibed as ‘a quiz game’. Fo example, igu ing ou he con en o ood packages and p ices in supe ma ke s p esen ed g ea challenges o him in spi e o con ex ual clues. Fu he mo e, he ega ded s udying Finnish as an oppo uni y o lea n mo e abou Finnish cul u e. A he beginning o he cou se, Nao o’s only objec i es we e knowledge o g amma and luency o speech. He said ha he s udied Finnish in o de o be able o use i ; such simple ph ases as yksi kah i (one co ee) he men ioned ha ing al eady adop ed in his e e yday usage. The ini ial si ua ion o lea ning Finnish di e ed om wha he had expec ed: his social ne wo k included mainly o he Johanna Elo an a and Juha Jalkanen 239 Canaga ajah, A. S. 2008. Fo ewo d. In A. Clemen e & M. Higgins (eds.), Pe o ming English wi h a pos -colonial accen : e hnog aphic na a i es om Mexico. London: The Tu nell P ess, 9–13. Du a, H. & A o, M. 2012. Oppimisen k ono ooppisuus: aika, paikka ja kielenkäy äjä. In L. Me iläinen, L. Kolehmainen & T. Nieminen (eds.) AFinLA-e: so el a an kieli ie een u kimuksia 4. Jy äskylä: AFinLA, 7–21. Gee, J. P. 2004. Si ua ed language and lea ning: a c i ique o adi ional schooling. New Yo k: Rou ledge. Gee, J. P. 2005. Lea ning by design: good ideo games as lea ning machines. E-Lea ning, 2 (1), 5–16. doi:10.2304/elea.2005.2.1.5 Jalkanen, J. & Vaa ala, H. 2013. Digi al ex s o lea ning Finnish: sha ed esou ces and eme ging p ac ices. Language Lea ning & Technology, 17 (1), 107–124. La sen-F eeman, D. & Came on, L. 2008. Complex sys ems and applied linguis ics. Ox o d: Ox o d Uni e si y P ess. Pa anen, M. 2013. Kieli ulee kielen päälle: kansain älis en opiskelijoiden käsi yksiä suomen kielen oppimises a. In M. E onen & M. Rodi-Risbe g (eds.), Haas eena näkökulma, Pe spek i e som u maning, Poin o iew as challenge, Pe spek i i ä als He aus o de ung. Vaasa: VAKKI Publica ions 2, 257–268. Pennycook, A. 2010. Language as a local p ac ice. New Yo k: Rou ledge. Pöyhönen, S., Rynkänen, T., Ta nanen, M. & Ho man, D. 2013. Venäjänkilise IT-alan asian un ija yöyh eisöissä – monikielise käy än ee , iden i ee i ja osallisuuden kokemukse in eg oi umisessa. In T. Keisanen, E. Kä kkäinen, M. Rauniomaa, P. Sii onen & M. Si omaa (eds.), Osallis umisen mul imodaalise disku ssi . Mul imodal discou ses o pa icipa ion. Jy äskylä: AFinLAn uosiki ja. Suomen so el a an kieli ie een yhdis yksen julkaisuja, 77–102. Suni, M. 2008. Tois a kiel ä uo o aiku uksessa. Kielellis en esu ssien jakaminen oisen kielen omaksumisen alku aiheessa [Second language in in e ac ion: sha ing linguis ic esou ces in he ea ly s age o second language acquisi ion]. Jy äskylä: Doc o al disse a ion, Uni e si y o Jy äskylä. Re ie ed om h p://u n. i/URN:ISBN:978-951-39-3209-1 an Lie , L. 2004. The ecology and semio ics o language lea ning: a sociocul u al pe spec i e. Bos on: Kluwe Academic. doi:10.1007/1-4020-7912-5 an Lie , L. 2007. Ac ion-based eaching, au onomy and iden i y. Inno a ion in Language. Lea ning and Teaching, 1(1), 46–65. Chap e 11 240 Webs e , L. & Me o a, P. 2007. Using na a i e inqui y as a esea ch me hod: an in oduc ion o using c i ical e en na a i e analysis in esea ch on lea ning and eaching. London: Rou ledge. Published by Resea ch-publishing.ne , no - o -p o i associa ion Dublin, I eland; Voillans, F ance, [email p o ec ed] © 2015 by Resea ch-publishing.ne (collec i e wo k) Each au ho e ains hei own copy igh Voices o pedagogical de elopmen - Expanding, enhancing and explo ing highe educa ion language lea ning Edi ed by Juha Jalkanen, Elina Jokinen, & Peppi Taalas Righ s: All a icles in his collec ion a e published unde he A ibu ion-NonComme cial -NoDe i a i es 4.0 In e na ional (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) licence. Unde his licence, he con en s a e eely a ailable online (as PDF iles) o anybody o ead, download, copy, and edis ibu e p o ided ha he au ho (s), edi o ial eam, and publishe a e p ope ly ci ed. Comme cial use and de i a i e wo ks a e, howe e , no pe mi ed. Disclaime : Resea ch-publishing.ne does no ake any esponsibili y o he con en o he pages w i en by he au ho s o his book. The au ho s ha e ecognised ha he wo k desc ibed was no published be o e, o ha i is no unde conside a ion o publica ion elsewhe e. While he in o ma ion in his book a e belie ed o be ue and accu a e on he da e o i s going o p ess, nei he he edi o ial eam, no he publishe can accep any legal esponsibili y o any e o s o omissions ha may be made. The publishe makes no wa an y, exp essed o implied, wi h espec o he ma e ial con ained he ein. While Resea ch-publishing.ne is commi ed o publishing wo ks o in eg i y, he wo ds a e he au ho s’ alone. T adema k no ice: P oduc o co po a e names may be adema ks o egis e ed adema ks, and a e used only o iden i ica ion and explana ion wi hou in en o in inge. Copy igh ed ma e ial: E e y e o has been made by he edi o ial eam o ace copy igh holde s and o ob ain hei pe mission o he use o copy igh ed ma e ial in his book. In he e en o e o s o omissions, please no i y he publishe o any co ec ions ha will need o be inco po a ed in u u e edi ions o his book. Typese by Resea ch-publishing.ne Co e design by © An i Myöhänen ISBN13: 978-1-908416-25-4 (Pape back - P in on demand, black and whi e) P in on demand echnology is a high-quali y, inno a i e and ecological p in ing me hod, wi h which he book is ne e ‘ou o s ock’ o ‘ou o p in ’. ISBN13: 978-1-908416-26-1 (Ebook, PDF, colou ) ISBN13: 978-1-908416-27-8 (Ebook, EPUB, colou ) Legal deposi , I eland: The Na ional Lib a y o I eland, The Lib a y o T ini y College, The Lib a y o he Uni e si y o Lime ick, The Lib a y o Dublin Ci y Uni e si y, The Lib a y o NUI Co k, The Lib a y o NUI Maynoo h, The Lib a y o Uni e si y College Dublin, The Lib a y o NUI Galway. Legal deposi , Uni ed Kingdom: The B i ish Lib a y. B i ish Lib a y Ca aloguing-in-Publica ion Da a. A ca aloguing eco d o his book is a ailable om he B i ish Lib a y. Legal deposi , F ance: Biblio hèque Na ionale de F ance - Dépô légal: sep emb e 2015.