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Riding on commitment and marketing: language teachers as policymakers in a Finnish school

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Abstract

Although national and EU policies and recommendations encourage varied language learning, English has ruled as the most studied foreign language, while other languages are decreasingly being studied in basic and upper secondary education in Finland. The purpose of this paper is to examine the implications of this development in practice. Interviews with Finnish foreign language and mother tongue teachers revealed issues with enrolment in language courses, resulting in decreased pay for teachers of languages other than the national languages and English. To boost enrolment or to ensure courses run, the participants reported having to make adjustments to course expectations, content, accept pay cuts, and ‘market’ languages to students, essentially creating a market in which languages are sold and consumed. In terms of policies, it is argued that ensuring successful learning outcomes in foreign languages is thus heavily dependent on the teachers’ willingness to exert their own resources, agency, and commitment to the institution and their students.

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Notes

  1. The European Commission (2011) defines multilingualism as the presence of many languages at the societal level, while plurilingualism refers to the individual level—i.e. citizens learning the mother tongue, and at least two foreign languages. Although distinct concepts, henceforth the two will be referred to as multi-/plurilingualism.

  2. The italicized portions in all excerpts were uttered in English, while the rest was spoken in Finnish.

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  1. The Pennsylvania State University, 240 Sparks Building, University Park, PA, 16802, USA

    Marika K. Criss

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Appendix: Guiding interview questions

Appendix: Guiding interview questions

  1. 1.

    How long ago did you start teaching the language(s) you currently teach?

  2. 2.

    Describe your own language learning. What were those experiences like?

  3. 3.

    What motivated you to be a teacher of this/these language(s)?

  4. 4.

    How would you describe ‘good’ proficiency in the language you teach?

  5. 5.

    What level of proficiency do you expect your students to achieve? How do you set your goals/standards?

  6. 6.

    How well do you think students know the language you teach as opposed to other languages?

  7. 7.

    Why do you think this (language you teach) is an important language to learn?

  8. 8.

    How much exposure do you think your students get to the language you teach outside of school?

  9. 9.

    How much exposure does your language get in school but outside your classroom?

  10. 10.

    Which language do you think is the most represented in your school and outside of school?

  11. 11.

    What kinds of feedback or comments have you received from your peers about the language(s) you teach, or anything related to the language(s) you teach?

  12. 12.

    How important do you think it is that the students are interested in the language they are learning?

  13. 13.

    What kind of attitudes have you observed among the students who are learning a foreign language?

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Criss, M.K. Riding on commitment and marketing: language teachers as policymakers in a Finnish school. Lang Policy 20, 237–260 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10993-020-09546-0

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