Näkökulmia vieraskieliseen perusopetukseen : koulun kehittämishankkeesta koulun toimintakulttuuriksi

Abstract

Jyväskyläläinen Kortepohjan koulu aloitti vieraskielisen opetuksen pienimuotoisena opetuskokeiluna vuonna 1991. Vuosien saatossa hanke on laajentunut koskettamaan kaikkia koulun oppilaita. Opetuksen toteuttaminen ja opiskelu vieraalla kielellä on haasteellista, mutta myös kiinnostavaa niin opettajan kuin oppijankin näkökulmasta. Oppisisällön opiskelu ja vieraan kielen käyttäminen samanaikaisesti tuo opiskeluun kaksoishyödyn. -Siinä lyödään kaksi kärpästä yhdellä iskulla, opitaan sisältöjä ja harjoitellaan vierasta kieltä yhtä aikaa, toteaa eräs Rasisen tutkimuksen haastateltavista.Rasinen haastatteli tutkimuksessaan oppilaita, opettajia, oppilaan vanhempaa sekä opettajaksi opiskelevaa. Kokemukset vieraalla kielellä opiskelusta olivat pääosin myönteisiä. Niin äidinkielen kuin englannin kielen kiinteää kuulumista oppilaan arkeen pidettiin arvokkaana ja hyödyllisenä. Vieraskielistä opetusta ei haastateltavien mielestä tule pitää vain tietyn oppilasjoukon etuoikeutena, vaan sen tulee olla erilaisten oppijoiden ulottuvilla. Oppilaan tavalliseen kouluarkeen kuuluvien vieraan kielen harjoittamisen tilanteiden koettiin hyödyntävän niin lahjakkaita kuin heikompiakin oppilaita.

Perspectives on Content and Language Integrated Learning. The Impact of a Development Project on a School’s Activities.Content and language integrated learning (CLIL) has become an increasingly popular method in Finland. A number of studies have introduced the success of language immersion practises but the number of CLIL studies in Europe is still relatively small. According to previous research, the advantages of having a foreign language as a medium in teaching the contents of school subjects are obvious. However the teachers', pupils' and parents' - the users' - voices are barely heard in those studies. The CLIL-users' voices have been captured in the present study.This study attempts to describe one model of using the CLIL method at the primary school level. The CLIL instruction is described and evaluated by those who have experienced the approach. The analysed qualitative data in the case study offer ideas and observations regarding learning through a foreign language. The learning process, the elements of high quality teaching, the meaning of foreign language competence, the challenging way of studying and developing an individual school were the topics that constructed the horizon of meanings in the data analysis.One of the crucial educational issues in contemporary Europe has been the question of increasing the efficiency of language learning and teaching. According to the findings of this study teacher education and in- service education should offer teachers a wide range of tools for working with a foreign language so that teaching would be demonstrative and flexible. Teachers' willingness for co-operation would lead into the integration of contents and that would be an important aspect of the holistic approach to the learner. All the perspectives offered by the informants in this study give information about being open for content and language integrated learning.Studying content through a foreign language gives learners an opportunity to obtain a dual focus. Content and language integrated teaching and learning is demanding, but with unprejudiced attitudes and highly educated teaching personnel schools could respond to the demands of increasing the efficiency and plurality of language teaching targeting to the MT+2 (mother tongue + 2 languages) competence.