Nyelvi képzés a finn egyetemeken a közelmúlt oktatáspolitikai változásainak tükrében I. rész

Abstract

In addition to Finnish and the co-official Swedish language, bachelor’s students in Finnish higher education are required by law to take language and communication studies. This twopart paper, published here and in the next issue, focuses on these mandatory language and communication studies at Finnish universities. The first part offers a broad overview of the most recent changes in Finnish educational policy. It outlines the most relevant legislative measures, presents the rationale behind them and looks at the initial responses from those most directly concerned. The second part, published in the next issue, approaches the topic from the perspective of pedagogical practice, and presents a concrete example of a Finnish university which has responded to the latest developments in an innovative way. Besides the prolonged economic recession, Finland is currently undergoing a gradual social transformation and is becoming increasingly multicultural and multilingual, particularly in urban areas. These trends have far-reaching consequences on language planning and education. As a response to the recent economic and social changes, the government has introduced a range of reforms, which have important repercussions also on language learning and teaching at universities. The changes in the national higher education policy have sparked mixed reactions and have led to heated public debates, while higher educational institutions – being responsible for the curriculum of their degree programmes – are trying to adapt to the changes in their own ways. The Finnish national and institutional policies and pedagogical approaches can serve as interesting and stimulating examples not only for Hungarian educational researchers and policy-makers but also for practicing language teachers in higher education.