This case study is excerpted from a larger study where we explore collaborative encounters, i.e. practices and discourses, within a blended learning project where vlogging, i.e. video blogging, is used in Finnish language learning. The data has been collected in 2017-2018 during an intermediate Finnish course at the University of Toronto. In this…

This study investigated what log files can reveal about learner behaviour of low- and non-literate adults learning to read for the first time in Finnish as a second language. The participants' reading development was supported by practising in an online training environment. Log files, automatically created user-computer interaction records, were…

Learning has been moving out of classrooms into virtual and physical spaces for over a decade now (Naismith, Lonsdale, Vavoula, & Sharples, 2004). It is becoming mobile "in space", i.e. carried across various domains (workplace, home, places of leisure), "in time", as it encompasses different moments of the day, and in…

To equitably educate linguistically and culturally diverse students, teachers must consider literacy as socially negotiated and culturally embedded (Street, 1995). The current study qualitatively examines the literacy events that take place at a Finnish heritage language school in the United States. The study uncovers the ways these literacy…

This presentation focuses on computer-assisted learning of Estonian, one of the lesser taught European languages belonging to the Finno-Ugric language family. Impulses for this paper came from Estonian courses that started in the University of Tartu in 2010, 2011 and 2012. In all the courses the students gain introductory knowledge of Estonian and…

This paper discusses learning language and communication activities that focus on students' concrete involvement in their learning process. The activities first deal with student-produced blogs and digital videos in business Spanish. They then present student-produced podcasts for Swedish business communication learners that are meant for speakers…

A serious study of discourse particles (DIPs) must be founded on the analysis of orality in its two main dimensions: oral communication in its ordinary functioning (i.e., discourse, conversation, enunciation), but also in expression ritualized by the oral tradition of cultures that do not have a writing system. The association of the two…

A delay in the acquisition of morphology by a two-year-old Estonian-speaking boy was investigated to determine the role the child's bilingualism (with English) played in the delay. In contrast to his older sister, whose exposure to English was delayed, the boy exhibited a "whole word" approach to morphology, characterized by the following: (1)…

Drawing on phonological, grammatical, and usage data collected during personal interviews and taped sessions, this paper seeks to determine whether and how persons of Finnish descent, collectively or individually by generation, constitute dialect islands within the local dialect area (Marquette, Michigan), and their effect upon one another. The…

This paper discusses some theoretical aspects of contrastive phonetics. A fundamental problem in contrasting the sound structure of two languages is the question of equivalence between the two sound systems. There are four possible criteria: (1) similar spelling; (2) similar phonetic description and transcription; (3) use of phonological criteria;…

This report discusses the progress made in the development of curriculum materials for the Uralic and Altaic languages. A main point is that the instructional objectives for these languages have changed: the need has shifted from basic courses to solid reference works, such as student manuals, reference grammars, readers, dictionaries, and…

This study was conducted at a public school with a population of over 900 students. Among the main language groups represented were Punjabi, Hindi, Tamil, Estonian, Serbian, Arabic as well as 23 other language groups. The author monitored over 75 students, in grades 1, 2 and 4. She was interested in exploring what strategies best promoted…