‘Things should be explained so that the students understand them’ : adolescent immigrant students’ perspectives on learning the language of schooling in Finland

Abstract

This article explores the language learning experiences of four recently arrived adolescent plurilingual immigrant students who participated in additional structured linguistic support (SLS) in lower secondary education. The SLS was targeted at creating scaffolding for students who were learning both the language of schooling and the subject-specific content of Finnish basic education. This study applied an interpretative phenomenological approach. Data from interviews conducted twice during the study revealed two phenomenological themes at the core of the students’ language learning experiences in formal and informal contexts. The first theme suggests that schools constituted the most important inclusive environment for learning the language of the new home country; therefore, scaffolding for the students should be organized accordingly. The second theme revolves around the role of Finnish and other languages in plurilingual students’ linguistic repertoires. The findings of this study suggest some pedagogically relevant approaches for supporting students in learning the language of schooling, especially in lower secondary education.