Pre-pandemic and pandemic language and literacy education of adult migrants with little or no first language schooling : What do in-service teachers in Finland think about the role of technology?

Abstract

Adult migrants with limited or interrupted educational backgrounds, also referred to as LESLLA learners (see www.leslla.org), are at the heart of the current study, examining adult late literacy education in their second language Finnish. The international LESLLA research community has contributed to a growing body of international research on literacy education and second language learning of immigrant and refugee-background adults and adolescents with little or no first language schooling. Similarly, an emerging research tradition focusing on second language literacy practices of adults and adolescents in the Nordic countries is particularly welcome news (Dewilde, 2022; Eilola & Lilja, 2021; Wedin & Norlund Shaswar, 2021) as Nordic countries have traditionally been highly literate societies but are due to humanitarian crises and displacement encountering a population of adult and adolescent learners with a diverging educational background. My current study focuses on the role of technology in adult second language and literacy training and is particularly interested in digital literacy support with serious games (Malessa, 2021). This exploratory study’s objectives include the investigation of LESLLA teachers’ views and experiences of technology-enhanced learning expressed and aims to provide an insight into LESLLA teachers’ beliefs as well as an account of the current practice, problems, and potential of technology-enhanced learning in adult basic education in Finland. This paper presents qualitative findings of a mixed data set consisting of a) teachers’ pre-pandemic written responses to an online questionnaire conducted in late 2019 and b) interviews conducted with in-service teachers in late 2020, during the first pandemic autumn. Preliminary findings indicate that existing problems were aggravated by the onset of the unprecedented health crisis that also led to a significant modification of this study’s initial research design. Further challenges and solutions regarding e.g., devices, accessibility, digital skill needs, and necessities are voiced.