Swedish immersion in Finland and Swedish as a second-language subject in Sweden

Abstract

Based on fieldwork and interviews, we explore five teachers’ views about their teaching of Swedish as a second language in an early immersion school in Finland (Larch) and a linguistically heterogeneous primary school in Sweden (Chestnut). Drawing from ecological perspectives, we aim to contribute new knowledge on how second language teachers express their goals, teacher experiences and expertise depending on language and education policy as discursive-material reality. We discuss how societal, discursive and material differences were entangled with the teachers’ discourses, for example, the fact that Swedish immersion at Larch enjoyed a higher social status than Swedish as a second language at Chestnut. Concomitantly, the teachers adhered to pedagogical principles and the value of students’ linguistic and cultural repertoires in similar ways. We specifically discuss teacher autonomy as entwined with prevailing discursive-material realities, including distinct language education policies.