Finnish Primary Teachers’ Perspectives on Immigrant Students’ Home Language Use as Critical Language-Aware Practice

Abstract

In the context of increasing linguistic and cultural diversity in Finnish primary schools due to globalisation, the growing recognition of language awareness urges teachers to adopt appropriate approaches in their multlingual classes. One suggested approach is Critical Language Awareness (CLA) education, which considers the home language use of immigrant students as a valuable resource (Ruiz, 1984). This study aimed to explore Finnish primary teachers' beliefs, practices and challenges regarding the use of immigrant students’ home languages within the framework of CLA practice. The research methodology involved classroom observation of seven classes and semi-structured interviews with six teachers in two Swedish-speaking schools in Finland's Ostrabothnian regions. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the collected data, and NVivo 12 software was utilised to categorise codes and generate sub and main themes. The findings revealed a contradiction between teachers’ beliefs and their actual practice in CLA. While the teachers held positive beliefs in home language use as a resource for immigrant students, they displayed monolingual attitudes regarding incorporating CLA practice in teaching and learning activities. Additionally, the challenges identified in the study stemmed from the diverse academic backgrounds of immigrant students and limitations in terms of human resources and time available for instruction and learning materials. This study provided valuable insights into the complex issues surrounding multilingual classrooms and has the potential to contribute to the improvement of support in CLA education. However, further research is necessary to explore whether and how teachers are implementing CLA by gaining a deeper understanding of their approaches, as well as the immigrant students’ experience and perspectives in Finnish basic education.