Browsing by Author "Vuori, Linnea"

This thesis studies language awareness in the teaching of geographic terminology. In Finland the number of people with foreign background is increasing, and language-aware teaching offers possibilities to better engage students who are learning the school language in the teaching. Geography is an important school subject when it comes to understanding cultural multiplicity, and it supports students in the building of their identities and in their integration to the society. Hence, it is important that the students with foreign background grasp the subjects studied in the geography class. In the thesis the following research questions are answered: 1. What kind of challenges does the teaching of geographic terminology pose from the viewpoint of language awareness? 2. What type of methods in the teaching of geographic terminology are language-aware? 3. What kind of activities support language-aware geography teaching? The thesis adds to the research about language awareness and participative research. Language awareness covers acknowledging and appreciating language and languages as well as taking advantage of them and taking them into consideration. The research material has been produced in a participative research process together with a group of eighth-graders. In participative research the researched become co-researchers and participate in the planning of the research and in the production of research material. The co-researchers talked about language awareness in small groups, and then shared their notes and ideas with the researcher. The research questions are answered together with literature and the empirical research material. Geography is heavily infused with scientific terminology, and a strongly place-based subject. Because of this, the understanding of the language used and the students’ personal experiences that can be connected to theory, are of essence in a geography class. As a visual subject that studies the entire world and different cultures, geography offers excellent opportunities for language awareness. Taking advantage of different languages and using methods that either don’t rely solely on language or focus on language specifically support language awareness. Attention should also be drawn to how the teacher uses language to provide accessible teaching to as many as possible. The research results can be used to guide teaching to become more language-aware, not only the teaching of geography but other subjects too. This way F2-students can better be taken into consideration both through the language(s) and the activities used in class. The thesis also brings forward students’ ideas about language awareness and holds their voices higher to be heard.