Teacher perspectives on writing instruction in the Language Introduction Program in Sweden
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1558/wap.23269Keywords:
second language writing instruction, genre pedagogy, newly arrived students, language introduction program, teachers' beliefsAbstract
This study explores teacher perspectives and beliefs on writing instruction in the Swedish Language Introduction Program (LI) through interviews with six teachers in Swedish as a second language. The study was guided by the following research questions: How do the teachers construct the students discursively, including the students’ educational background and prior knowledge? How do the teachers frame writing instruction, as evident by their discourses? LI is an upper secondary school program framed for newly arrived students, 15 to 18 years old, who need to qualify for mainstream programs by attaining the goals of compulsory school year 9. The study is framed within theory on second language writing instruction and teachers’ beliefs. The teachers’ discourses of writing instruction were analyzed against theory on second language writing instruction, genre pedagogy, and practices of care, and related to the teachers’ discursive constructions of the group of students as vulnerable and heterogeneous. All teachers exploited genre pedagogy, with its emancipatory aims, to enable access to the genres of schooling. The teachers’ expressed aims were directed toward long-term goals, such as employability and democratic participation. The teachers were firmly based in both theory and experience, which the demanding context seemed to require. In spite of indisputable challenges, the teachers conveyed a sense of belief in the possibilities of teaching.
References
Achugar, M., & Carpenter, B. (2014). Tracking movement toward academic language in multilingual classrooms. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 14, 60–71. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2013.12.002
Arshavskaya, E. (2015). Creative writing assignments in a second language course: A way to engage less motivated students. Insight: A Journal of Scholarly Teaching, 10, 68–78. https://doi.org/10.46504/10201506ar
Barton, D. (2007). Literacy: An introduction to the ecology of written language. Blackwell.
Biesta, G., Priestly, M., & Robinson, S. (2015). The role of beliefs in teacher agency. Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice, 1(6), 624–640. https://doi.org/10.1080/13540602.2015.1044325
Bigelow, M., & Tarone, E. (2004). The role of literacy level in second language acquisition: Doesn’t who we study determine what we know? TESOL Quarterly, 38(4), 689–700. https://doi.org/10.2307/3588285
Bjuhr, Å. (2019). Avslut och fortsättning: en studie om övergången från introduktionsprogrammet språkintroduktion till nationellt program. [End and continuation: A study on the transfer from language introduction to mainstream programs.] (PhD thesis). Luleå University of Technology.
Bremholm, J., Kabel, K., Liberg, C., & Skar, G. (2022). A review of Scandinavian writing research between 2010 and 2020. Writing and Pedagogy, 13(1–3), 7–49. https://doi.org/10.1558/wap.21637
Cope, B., & Kalantzis, M. (2011a). How a genre approach to literacy can transform the way writing is taught. In B. Cope & M. Kalantzis (Eds.), The powers of literacy: A genre approach to teaching writing (pp. 1–21). Taylor & Francis. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203149812-9
Cope, B., & Kalantzis, M. (2011b). The power of literacy and the literacy of power. In B. Cope & M. Kalantzis (Eds.), The powers of literacy: A genre approach to teaching writing (pp. 63–89). Taylor & Francis. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203149812-12
Cummins, J. (2000). Language, power and pedagogy: Bilingual children in the crossfire. Multilingual Matters.
Darvin, R., & Norton, B. (2021). Investment and motivation in language learning: What’s the difference? Language Teaching, 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0261444821000057
Disney, D. (2014). Exploring second language creative writing: Beyond Babel. John Benjamins.
Fives, H., Barnes, N., Chiavola, C., SaizdeLaMora, K., Oliveros, E., & Mabrouk-Hattab, S. (2019). Reviews of teachers’ beliefs. Oxford Research Encyclopedias. Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190264093.013.781
Gibbons, P. (2006). Bridging discourses in the ESL classroom: Students, teachers, and researchers. Continuum.
Graneheim, U., & Lundman, B. (2004). Qualitative content analysis in nursing research: Concepts, procedures and measures to achieve trustworthiness. Nurse Education Today, 24(2), 105–112. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nedt.2003.10.001
Halliday, M. A. K. (1993). Toward a language-based theory of learning. Language and Education, 5, 93–116. https://doi.org/10.1016/0898-5898(93)90026-7
Halliday, M. A. K. (1994). An introduction to functional grammar. Hodder.
Hanauer, D. (2014). Appreciating the beauty of second language poetry writing. In D. Disney (Ed.), Exploring second language creative writing: Beyond Babel (pp. 11–22). John Benjamins. https://doi.org/10.1075/lal.19.01han
Hargreaves, A. (2001). Emotional geographies of teaching. Teachers College Record, 103(6), 1056–1080. https://doi.org/10.1111/0161-4681.00142
Hedman, C., & Magnusson, U. (2021a). Researching the complexities of the school subject Swedish as a second language: A linguistic ethnographic project in four schools. Languages, 6(4), 205, 1–16. https://doi.org/10.3390/languages6040205
Hedman, C., & Magnusson, U. (2021b). Constructing success and hope among migrant students and families: A mother tongue teacher’s didactic narratives. Language & Communication, 77, 93–105. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.langcom.2021.01.003
Hedman, C., & Magnusson, U. (2021c). Introductory classes for newcomer primary school students in Sweden: Pedagogical principles and emotional understanding. Multicultural Education Review, 13(1), 85–105. https://doi.org/10.1080/2005615X.2021.1890309
Ivani?, R. (2004). Discourses of writing and learning to write. Language and Education, 18(3), 220–245. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500780408666877
Janks, H. (2010). Literacy and power. Routledge.
Juvonen, P. (2016). Nyanländ i den svenska skolan. [Newly arrived in Swedish school.] Nordand, 11(2), 93–114.
Khote, N. (2018). Translanguaging in systemic functional linguistics: A culturally sustaining pedagogy for writing in secondary schools. In R. Harman (Ed.), Bilingual learners and social equity: Critical approaches to systemic functional linguistics (pp. 153–178). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-60953-9_8
Kurvers, J. (2015). Emerging literacy in adult second-language learners: A synthesis of research findings in the Netherlands. Writing Systems Research, 7(1), 58–78. https://doi.org/10.1080/17586801.2014.943149
Kurvers, J., van Hout, R., & Vallen, T. (2009). Print awareness of adult illiteracies: A comparison with young pre-readers and low-educated adult readers. Reading and Writing, 22(8), 863–887. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-008-9129-7
Kvale, S., & Brinkmann, S. (2014). Den kvalitativa forskningsintervjun. [The qualitative research interview.] Studentlitteratur.
Leung, C. (2019). English as an additional language: Integrating school-aged learners into mainstream curriculum. In X. Gao (Ed.), Second handbook of English language teaching (pp. 297–315). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-02899-2_17
Martin, J. R. (2009). Genre and language learning: A social semiotic perspective. Linguistics and Education, 20, 10–21. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.linged.2009.01.003
Martin, J., & Rose, D. (2012). Learning to write, reading to learn: Genre, knowledge and pedagogy in the Sydney school. Equinox.
Martin, J., & White, P. (2005). The language of evaluation: Appraisal in English. Palgrave Macmillan.
McGovern, F., & Devine, D. (2016). The care worlds of migrant children – Exploring inter-generational dynamics of love, care and solidarity across home and school. Childhood, 23(1), 37–52. https://doi.org/10.1177/0907568215579734
Montgomery, E. (2010). Trauma and resilience in young refugees: A 9-year-follow-up-study. Development and Psychopathology, 22(2), 477–489. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954579410000180
Nilsson, J., & Axelsson, M. (2013). “Welcome to Sweden…”: Newly arrived students’ experiences of pedagogical and social provision in introductory and regular classes. International Electronic Journal of Elementary Education, 6(1), 137–164.
Ortmeier-Hooper, C., Wight, S., & McCullough, C. (2016). ESL writing in schools. In R. Manchón & P. Matsuda (Eds.), Handbook of second and foreign language writing (pp. 91–112). De Gruyter Mouton. https://doi.org/10.1515/9781614511335-007
Priestley, M., Biesta, G., & Robinson, S. (2015). Teacher agency: What is it and why does it matter? In R. Kneyber & J. Evers (Eds.), Flip the system: Changing education from the bottom up (pp. 134–148). Routledge.
Roy, L., & Roxas, K. (2011). Whose deficit is this anyhow? Exploring counter-stories of Somali Bantu refugees’ experiences in “doing school”. Harvard Educational Review, 81(3), 521–541. https://doi.org/10.17763/haer.81.3.w441553876k24413
Ruiz, R. (2016). The knowledge base of bilingual education. In N. Hornberger (Ed.), Honoring Richard Ruiz and his work on language planning and bilingual education (pp. 191–202). Multilingual Matters. https://doi.org/10.21832/9781783096701-013
Schleppegrell, M. (2016). Systemic functional grammar in the K–12 classroom. In E. Hinkel (Ed.), Handbook of research in second language teaching and learning, vol. III (pp. 384–396). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315716893-28
Schleppegrell, M., & Colombi, C. (2002). Theory and practice in the development of advanced literacy. In M. Schleppegrell & C. Colombi (Eds.), Developing advanced literacy in first and second languages: Meaning with power (pp. 11–30). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781410612298-6
Schwartz-Shea, P., & Dvora, Y. (2011). Interpretative research design: Concepts and processes. Routledge.
Sellgren, M. (2011). Den dubbla uppgiften: tvåspråkiga elever i skolans mellanår arbetar med förklarande genrer i SO. [The twofolded task: bilingual middle year students working with explanatory genres in social sciences.] (PhD thesis). Stockholm University.
Shreier, M. (2012). Qualitative content analysis in practice. Sage Publications.
Skowronski, E. (2013). Skola med fördröjning. [Delayed schooling.] (PhD thesis). Lund University.
Sommer Harrits, G., & Østergaard Møller, M. (2013). Prevention at the front line. How home nurses, pedagogues, and teachers transform public worry into decisions on special efforts. Public Management Review, 16(4), 447–480. https://doi.org/10.1080/14719037.2013.841980
Spiro, J. (2014). Learner and writer voices. Learners as writers and the search for authorial voice. In D. Disney (Ed.), Exploring second language creative writing: Beyond Babel (pp. 23–40). John Benjamins. https://doi.org/10.1075/lal.19.02spi
Street, B. (1984). Literacy in theory and practice. Cambridge University Press.
Walldén, R. (2019). Genom genrens lins: Pedagogisk kommunikation i tidigare skolår. [Through the genre lenses: Pedagogic communication in early school years.] (PhD thesis). Malmö University.
Wedin, Å. (2012). Literacy in negotiating: Constructing and manifesting identities. In A. Pitkänen-Huhta & L. Holm (Eds.), Literacy practices in transition (pp. 54–74). Multilingual Matters.
Wedin, Å. (2019). Literacy and agency: The case of young adults who came to Sweden as unaccompanied asylum-seeking minors. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, 64(4), 522–534. https://doi.org/10.1080/00313831.2019.1595710
Wernesjö, U. (2014). Conditional belonging: Listening to unaccompanied young refugees’ voices. (PhD thesis). Uppsala University.
White, P. (2015). Appraisal theory. In K. Tracy, C. Ilie, & T. Sandel (Eds.), The international encyclopedia of language and social interaction (pp. 1–8). Wiley Blackwell.
Winlund, A. (2021). Writing practices of recently immigrated adolescent emergent writers: A study from a language introductory school in Sweden. Journal of Second Language Writing, 51, 100794. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jslw.2021.100794
Winzell, H. (2018). Lära för skrivundervisning. [Learning for writing instruction.] (PhD thesis). Linköping University.
Wood, D., Bruner, J. S., & Ross, G. (1976). The role of tutoring in problemsolving. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, (17), 89–100. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7610.1976.tb00381.x
Young-Scholten, M. (2015). Who are adolescents and adults who develop literacy for the first time in an L2, and why are they of research interest? Writing Systems Research, 7(1), 1–3. https://doi.org/10.1080/17586801.2015.998443
