The number of immigrant students in Finland is increasing; thus, this qualitative case study investigates ways of providing targeted support measures for recently arrived Finnish language learners (RAFLLs) in Finnish lower secondary education. Focusing on linguistic responsiveness, the teaching arrangements and support measures are examined not…

Learner engagement has been the focus of a growing amount of research in recent years both in general educational psychology and the field of second language acquisition (SLA). However, while recent contributions on learner engagement in language classrooms have provided valuable insights, the field is still only at the early stages of…

A compulsory foreign language in Finland starts now in Grade 1 instead of Grade 3. The change has forced teachers to adopt new teaching methods. As young learners are not yet literate, teaching should focus on oral skills and awareness of diversity. Video data from 19 early foreign language lessons of five English, German, or French teachers in…

This study examined the role of writing task types and L2 reading proficiency on young English as a foreign language (EFL) learners' writing performances. The participants were 185 students (Grades 7 and 8) from Denmark, Finland, and the Netherlands. The students responded to a descriptive and an email writing tasks that assessed their writing…

The topic of language awareness in intercultural music education has received surprisingly little attention in discussions on meaningful and responsive musical practices, despite language being an ubiquitous issue that every music educator encounters when entering a multilingual learning environment. This study explores a language-aware…

This study examines the meanings attributed to literature in language education by Finnish General Upper Secondary teachers of English as a Foreign Language. The study employs a phenomenological research design structured around the concepts of language education, literature and values in education. The phenomenological analysis examines five…

To educate multilingual global citizens and follow the multilingual turn in language education, universities are faced with the challenge of developing their language pedagogies. This article reports on a study conducted in the context of university language studies that take a multilingual perspective to learning languages for academic and…

This paper presents a controlled pretest-training-posttest study on using a small membraphone instrument called "kazoo" for L2 pronunciation practice and reducing foreign accentedness. Learners were recorded for free speech before and after a six-week pronunciation and oral skills course including L2 prosody training with personal…

English for Specific Purposes (ESP) teachers in Higher Education struggle with introducing variation and meaning into courses, while addressing 21st century skills development for global employment markets. Digital storytelling in its many forms constitutes fertile ground for engaging students while learning the specific academic and professional…

This study investigates the work of second language teachers in two institutional settings responsible for integration training. By exploring teachers' accounts in Finland and Germany, we seek to deepen the understanding of the daily practice of second language education. Bridging conceptual and practical approaches, the aim is to contribute to…

The development of videoconferencing technology has enabled new modes of combining in-person and remote teaching. In this article, we investigate interactional practices in hybrid language classrooms that combine on-site and remote participation by way of telepresence technology. Telepresence robots are videoconferencing tools that can be remotely…

The shift to an earlier start in foreign language teaching in Finland took place nationwide in 2020. Both class teachers and subject teachers faced a new situation. They would be teaching children younger than before, or they would be teaching a completely new subject for them. This article examines teachers' conceptions of the skills and…

Purpose: Teaching in English-medium education (EME) requires mastery of content and ability to teach in a multilingual setting, but also pedagogical expertise and didactic agility. However, there is an apparent lack of proper training of EME teachers, who are typically experts of their field, but not necessarily equipped to design and implement…

Curricular reform requires Finnish schools to be language aware and promote instruction that builds on students' linguistic resources. However, knowledge about students' experiences related thereto remains scarce. To create understanding about linguistic integration in increasingly multilingual schools, this study quantitatively explores the…

Culture teaching in a foreign language (FL) classroom involves linguistic and cultural knowledge about the target culture as well as pedagogical skills of integrating these into classroom practice. In general, more attention should be paid to culture teaching methods in FL teacher education in order to move from the traditional, teacher-centred…