Universitetet i Agder: UiA Journal System
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(Dis)Engagement and Usefulness:: Students’ Experiences of Practicing Speaking German in a Virtual 360° Environment
No full textThis study explored Swedish lower-secondary students’ (N=41) experiences of practicing German speaking skills with filmed native speakers in a low-immersive virtual 360° environment. The students practiced dialogues in everyday-life scenarios, performing authentic tasks such as ordering in a restaurant. We employed various methods to produce data on students’ self-reported experiences related to their speaking activity in order to gain a nuanced understanding of this way of practicing speaking. The data was gathered through logbooks, questionnaires, and interviews, which covered various aspects of the students’ speaking activity. The twofold analysis consists of descriptive statistics on post-trial ratings, and thematic analysis based on the qualitative data. The findings show that the students mostly rated the overall experience as fun and easy. They estimated that they had developed their German speaking skills through practicing pronunciation and dialogue and felt better prepared for speaking. We show that some students felt disengaged even when participating in immersive simulations. There were individual differences regarding sustained engagement and experienced usefulness of the system, mostly linked to technical and contextual issues, being interrupted, misunderstood, feeling uneasy, or finding the speaking activity monotonous, too easy, or too hard. The study found that students sometimes completed dialogues without understanding the meaning of the words. We thus conclude with the need for pedagogical guidance and framing to embed this type of speaking activity in classroom practice
From words to text – academic writing in EFL classrooms
No full textThis article will take its point of departure in the following questions:
- Why work with academic writing and CLIL in EFL classrooms?
- How to support the development of EFL students’ academic writing skills through a focus on a CLIL approach, subject-specific vocabulary, meaningful text production and authentic audiences?
Today’s children are both learners of language and users of language in the learning process (Scarino & Liddicoat, 2009). Theory on modern language teaching revolves around how to make academic writing authentic, meaningful, and motivating for schoolchildren to help them become competent text producers (Hyland & Tse, 2007; Gibbons, 2009; Nagy & Townsend, 2012, Thise & Vilien, 2019)
The article will be organised around a discussion of the potentials of working with CLIL (Coyle, Hood & Marsh, 2010), vocabulary development and authentic academic communication (Henriksen, 2019) where language teaching functions as a means of developing children’s academic writing skills across subject-specific content areas. The focus will be put on how to bridge the gap between vocabulary learning and text production and how to communicate effectively with peers in authentic academic contexts.
After this theoretically founded introduction to the above key issues, findings deriving from the NCFF project “Building More Vocabulary – Building More Communicative Competence” will be unfolded. Emphasis will be put on vocabulary learning in relation to the increasing requirements of a larger and more nuanced vocabulary outside everyday colloquial language in today’s societies. This to support children’s ability to become future partakers of the international dialogue about important global challenges. 
CLIL og bæredygtighed i sprogfagene: En Cyklus-Task-Chunks tilgang
No full textDenne artikel præsenterer en Cyklus-Task-Chunks tilgang til integration af interkulturel og sproglig læring i engelsk-, tysk- og franskundervisningen. Tilgangen kan betragtes som en CLIL-orienteret tilgang, da den viser, hvordan elever kan stilladseres til at kunne kommunikere, reflektere og forholde sig kritisk til kultur, samfund og verden. Den bygger på en synergi imellem Cyklusmodel for interkulturel læring (Risager & Svarstad, 2020) og en stilladsering af elevernes sproglige udvikling baseret på en task- og chunks-orienteret kommunikativ sprogundervisning. Den er udviklet i forbindelse med et større aktionsforskningsprojekt i Danmark i skoleåret 2021/2022, hvor det bærende spørgsmål var, hvordan undervisning i sprogfagene kan bidrage til undervisning i de store globale samfundsfordringer, som de fx kommer til udtryk i FN’s Verdensmål for bæredygtig udvikling. Lektorteamet udviklede seks undervisningsforløb til 8. og 9. klasse baseret på en Cyklus-Task-Chunks tilgang, som de deltagende lærere afprøvede og udviklede i en aktionslæringsspiral i form af workshops, didaktiske samtaler og fokusgruppeinterview. Elevernes stemmer blev også inddraget i form af afsluttende fokusgruppeinterviews. Projektets fund viser, at det er muligt at arbejde med komplekse emner som fx bæredygtighedsproblematikker og at kommunikere om disse problemstillinger på engelsk, tysk og fransk. I denne artikel er der fokus på fund fra engelsk- og tyskundervisningen. This article presents a Cycle-Task-Chunks approach to the integration of intercultural and language learning in English, German and French education. The approach can be considered a CLIL-oriented approach, as it shows how students can be scaffolded to be able to communicate, reflect and relate critically to culture, society, and the world. It is based on a synergy between the Cycle model for intercultural learning (Risager & Svarstad, 2020) and a scaffolding of the students' language development based on task- and chunk-oriented communicative language teaching. It has been developed in connection with a large action research project in Denmark in the 2021/2022 school year, where the main question was how teaching in language subjects can contribute to teaching the major global social demands, as expressed, for example, in the UN's Sustainable Development Goals. The lecturer team developed six teaching plans for 8th and 9th grade based on a Cyclus-Task-Chunks approach, which the participating teachers tested and developed in an action learning spiral in the form of workshops, didactic conversations and focus group interviews. The students' voices were also included in the form of final focus group interviews. The project's findings show that it is possible to work with complex topics such as sustainability issues and to communicate about these issues in English, German and French. In this article, the focus is on findings from English and German teaching. 
Recalibrating the Language Classroom for Deeper Learning: Nurturing Creative, Responsible Global Citizenship Through Pluriliteracies
No full textIn Beyond CLIL: Pluriliteracies Teaching for Deeper Learning (Coyle & Meyer, 2021), the traditional role of language teaching and learning is brought into question. We propose an alternative paradigm that places the language teacher as a disciplinary specialist who contributes significantly to the development of learners’ pluriliteracies repertoire. In this article, we suggest ways in which language teachers can reconceptualise their "subject" as one that is of central importance and value in our post-truth world. We posit that this requires not only an epistemic repositioning of the language classroom but, crucially, a profound and deliberate recalibration of the component parts of language-as-discipline. This involves connecting languages, cultures and literatures in ways that foster textual and epistemic fluency leading to deeper understanding and empathy. From this perspective, the "language-as-discipline classroom" has the potential to become an inclusive space for deeper learning whilst developing creative, responsible global citizenship. 
Cross-curricular CLIL projects in Swedish middle school
No full textIn this article, we report and discuss findings from a case-study of cross-curricular CLIL implementation involving English and home economics at a Swedish middle school. The objective was to study teaching strategies for supporting students’ integrated development of content and language knowledge in practical school subjects and to explore the role of the majority language in the CLIL classroom. The study is theoretically grounded in the perspective of languages as being socially constructed (Lantolf, 2000; Lantolf & Thorne, 2006). The focus of the analysis is the role of scaffolding (Walqui, 2006) in CLIL. Data consist of field notes and teaching materials from lesson observations as well as teachers’ plans and evaluations of the CLIL theme. Findings show that practical subjects, such as home economics, offer ample opportunities for visual scaffolding, and that the content is concrete and often close to students’ everyday life. Further, the content of the English lessons becomes highly relevant for the students as it will be used in an authentic situation, i.e. in home economics class. With careful planning, including strategies for scaffolding, and cooperation among teachers, cross-curricular CLIL themesinvolving a practical subject seem highly suitable for CLIL among young learners. 
Activités plurilingues au secondaire Ponts entre l’éducation formelle et non formelle en Grèce et en France
No full textNous présentons le fruit d’ateliers expérientiels et ludiques plurilingues menés auprès d’adolescents en Grèce et en France dans deux contextes différents : l’un formel, dans un collège grec, et l’autre en dehors de l’école, dans une association. Ces ateliers ont été menés dans les établissements des écoles privées (Grèce) dans le cadre des cours de français. Ils ont été réalisés en parallèle par l’association Croisée des langues dans le cadre d’activités périscolaires auprès d’adolescents résidant dans le 13e arrondissement de Paris. Les deux formatrices-chercheuses ont ainsi développé quatre activités plurilingues qui sont à la fois transférables en français et en grec et dans d’autres langues, tout en étant adaptables en contexte formel et non formel. Pour chacune de ces activités, une fiche synthétique utilisable par le formateur est proposée. Ainsi, les objectifs, le matériel nécessaire, la durée, les modalités pédagogiques et le déroulement de l’activité sont exposés afin que le formateur puisse découvrir et réaliser l’atelier avec les adolescents. À cela s’ajoutent des propositions d’adaptations établies suite aux expérimentations réalisées, ainsi que des photos illustrant les ateliers réalisés en Grèce et en France. Cette conception des activités avec des adolescents de différents pays a pour but d’enrichir la recherche sur la didactique du plurilinguisme et d’accompagner les adolescents dans leur construction identitaire en contexte scolaire et postscolaire
Pour une démarche qualité appliquée aux dispositifs d’inclusion des élèves allophones dans l’enseignement secondaire français
No full textEn 2012, un changement de réglementation concernant la scolarisation des élèves allophones arrivants (EAA) dans le système éducatif français oblige les acteurs des nouvelles politiques, désormais inclusives, à affronter des défis inédits, à créer un grand nombre d’outils à partir des besoins émergeant de l’expérience. En charge des EAA dans l’académie de Besançon en 2020, nous avons été amenés à proposer, afin d’appuyer les différents acteurs du système éducatif, un référentiel de démarche qualité pour dispositif d’inclusion des élèves allophones arrivants en établissement scolaire
Flersprogethedsdidaktik på tværs af uddannelsesniveauer – konceptualisering, læreplansanalyse og anbefalinger til praksisudvikling
No full textArtiklen zoomer ind på flersprogethedsdidaktik i en dansk uddannelseskontekst med afsæt i fund fra forsknings- og udviklingsprojektet Plurilingual Education – Minority and Majority Students’ Language Awareness across Educational Levels (PE-LAL), der i perioden 2020-2023 har undersøgt elevers sproglige opmærksomhed på tværs af uddannelsesniveauer i rammen af en flersprogethedsdidaktik i grundskolens sprogfag (dansk, dansk som andetsprog, engelsk, fransk, tysk) og i overgangen til Almen Sprogforståelse i gymnasiet. Artiklen præsenterer PE-LAL-projektets konceptualisering af flersprogethedsdidaktik, der er udviklet via en abduktiv tilgang. Konceptualiseringen skelner mellem tre flersprogethedsdidaktiske tilgange samt en transversal dimension, der samlet udgør et kontinuum for flersprogethedsdidaktik. Med afsæt i konceptualiseringen fremlægger artiklen efterfølgende fund fra PE-LAL-projektets læreplansstudie, der viser, at flersprogethedsdidaktik er integreret i alle grundskolens sprogfag samt i Almen Sprogforståelse men på forskellige måder og med forskellige formål, hvilket efterlader det danske sprogcurriculum med et stort flersprogethedsdidaktisk udviklingspotentiale. På baggrund heraf samt øvrige forskningsresultater fra PE-LAL-projektet giver artiklen afslutningsvis en introduktion til projektets afsluttende Anbefalinger til en styrket flersprogethedsdidaktik i grundskolens sprogfag og i Almen Sprogforståelse i gymnasiet. De i alt 18 anbefalinger retter sig mod både makroniveau (læreplaner, lærerens grund- og efteruddannelse) samt meso- og mikroniveau (skolen, læreren, undervisningsmaterialer, undervisningspraksis) og er et samlet ønskescenarie for, hvordan flersprogethedsdidaktik kan styrkes på forskellige niveauer vertikalt og horisontalt i den danske uddannelseskontekst. Hver anbefaling udgør et centralt bidrag i sig selv for en styrket flersprogethedsdidaktik.In the period 2020-2023, the research and development project Plurilingual Education – Minority and Majority Students' Language Awareness across Educational Levels (PE-LAL) investigated students' language awareness across educational levels in the context of plurilingual education in the mandatory language subjects in primary and lower secondary school (Danish, Danish as a second language, English, French, German) and in Almen Sprogforståelse in upper secondary school. Based on findings from the PE-LAL project, the article focuses on plurilingual education in a Danish educational context. First, the article presents the project's conceptualization of plurilingual education developed through an abductive approach. The conceptualization forms a continuum consisting of three pluralistic approaches and a transversal dimension. Then, based on the conceptualization, the article presents findings from the project's curriculum study showing that plurilingual education is integrated in all language subjects in primary and lower secondary school and in Almen Sprogforståelse in upper secondary school – albert in different ways and with different objectives – leaving the Danish language curriculum with great development potential for plurilingual education. Finally, by drawing on the curriculum findings and other research results from the project, the article concludes with an introduction to the project's Recommendations to strengthen plurilingual education in language subjects in primary and lower secondary school and in Almen Sprogforståelse in upper secondary school in Denmark. The 18 recommendations represent an ideal scenario for how plurilingual education can be strengthened at different levels vertically and horizontally in the Danish educational context, which is why the recommendations address both the macro level (curriculum and teacher education) as well as the meso and micro levels (school, teacher, teaching materials, teaching practice). Each single recommendation is an important contribution to strengthen plurilingual education
A Cross-Country Comparison: Plurilingual Teaching Across Educational Curricula in Finland, Germany, and Norway
No full textDue to globalization and migration, societies are increasingly more linguistically and culturally diverse. This change necessitates a growing awareness and understanding of linguistic and cultural diversity. Beyond awareness, ever-increasing multilingual and multicultural societies bear important implications for educational institutions, teacher training, and policy making. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to investigate whether plurilingual teaching is considered in the curricula and educational guidelines for primary and secondary schools across Finland, Germany, and Norway, and to find out the extent to which the approaches to plurilingual teaching diverge. A comparison of these three countries is particularly insightful, as they differ in population size, migration history, and number of heritage speakers. As part of the analysis, the following three themes relevant to plurilingual teaching were identified: cultural diversity, multilingualism as a resource, and valuing heritage languages. We provide a critical assessment of the curricula and educational guidelines in addition to suggesting avenues for future research
Teaching how to build bridges between languages
No full textThe article presents examples of activities and tasks used during classes devoted to plurilingual education at the Centre for Foreign Language Teacher Training and European Education of the University of Warsaw. In the first part of the paper, the context in which future teachers of languages are educated at the Centre is described. The description focuses on the Plurilingual and Pluricultural Education course and the Integrated Language Didactics course, which enable students to become acquainted with the pluralistic approaches to languages and cultures and to further develop their plurilingual and pluricultural competence. These courses are an integral part of the programme of study at the Centre and it is assumed that the students will use the knowledge and skills acquired while attending them in their future work at school in order to facilitate the teaching and learning of languages. The second part of the paper is devoted to activities and tasks presented during the 10th International Conference of the EDiLiC Association. They include an awakening to languages activity, conducted as part of the Plurilingual and Pluricultural Education course at the Centre, and tasks used during the Integrated Language Didactics course for pre-service teachers of English and German or English and French