Browsing by Author "Strandén, Nina"

The aim of my literature review is to clarify the language learning concept and to find the theory behind some well-functioning methods. I studied language learning as a social interaction event, relying on the sociocultural approach and the concept of agency. The literature review highlighted the role of the student and the teacher as they acted as active and knowledgeable actors in communal interaction. The purpose was not to measure phenomena, but rather to try to find common ground in practice. With my research question I study what kind of views the sociocultural approach emphasizes in language teaching, what are the terms of agency for learning the language and how can agency be understood as a language learning tool? The sociocultural approach and theory have gained a strong foothold in the study of language learning. According to the situated cognition theory, learning is social, as people learn in interaction with each other. Today, the teacher's role is emphasized as a modifier of the learning environment and as an organizer of collaborative learning opportunities. Language learning is considered important at an early stage of life and I wanted to find out what kind of activities would give children the best possible start for language learning. Agency from the sociocultural point of view can promote new ways of teaching the language. Agency as a language tool introduces a new concept of teaching and learning. As a method in my study I used a systematic literature review, which requires the mutual logic of research sources. According to Kumpulainen (2008, p. 7), the most important research results can be building of common language, the coordination of theories and the concepts, and reconciliation questions based on them to solve the research problems. This was set as a target in the results section of my literature review. The challenge for the school is to build a pedagogical culture, which ensures opportunities for active participation and agency. Understanding the agency as a tool for learning a language promotes new kinds of opportunities for developing language learning methods.