Tekstitaidot suomalaisissa ja venäläisissä äidinkielen oppikirjoissa

Abstract

The modern world is a textual world. The way people relate to their mother tongue is undergoing a re-evaluation as a result of internationalisation and globalisation. Changes in the conceptual systems and modes of action of society are reflected in language and language use. Language is under active discussion: people are often concerned about usage, changes in language are seen as degeneration, and there is even a fear that when the norms of language begin to crumble, those of behaviour and culture will follow suit. The teaching of the mother tongue faces a challenging situation with the media shaping language use and continuously creating new meanings. What kind of resources, then, will instruction be able to give young people to cope with and survive in the world of social and cultural texts? In my article, I will look at a Finnish textbook for the teaching of Finnish and literature in the 9th grade of the comprehensive school and a Russian textbook for teaching Russian at the corresponding level. I will examine and compare the textbooks with regard to the types of text they contain and the types of tasks linked up with the texts. Studying the texts will reveal the textual world of the textbook into which the student is being socialised, and examining the tasks will bring out the type of literacy that the instruction aims at.