Att se det osynliga : Forskning om skriftbruk i vardagsliv och klassrum bland kurdiska SFI-studerande

Studying contemporary vernacular literacies can be described as aiming to catch sight of the invisible. The things people do with written texts in their everyday lives are sometimes hidden from themselves as well as from the researcher. People are not always aware of how they use written texts in their everyday lives and therefore cannot answer the reseacher's curious questions on the subject. Making observation of people's actions in their day-to-day lives is not always a realistic option. Such circumstances lend vernacular literacies aspects of invisibility. This partial invisibility is something that I need to deal with in my research on literacies in homes and classrooms among adult Kurds living in Sweden. In my article, I describe and discuss ways of visualizing vernacular literacy practices. I provide examples of things to consider when conducting interviews and classroom observations. I also argue that the concepts of context and domain are very useful tools for analyzing vernacular literacies, and especially if a clear distinction is made between the two concepts

Literacy in Everyday Life and in the Swedish for Immigrants Programme : The Literacy History and Literacy Practices of Five Kurdish L2 Learners of Swedish

This thesis explores the literacy practices in literacy history, in everyday life and in Swedish tuition for immigrants (sfi) of five Kurdish adults. The study analyses connections and dividing lines between literacy practices of the sociotextual domains of everyday life and literacy practices of the sociotextual domain of sfi. It also explores the interaction between literacy history and present literacy practices. Further, there is a focus on the connections between identification, learning and literacy practices. The methodological approach is inspired by ethnography, employing individual semi-structured interviews and classroom observation. Video documentation, audio recordings and field notes are used for documentation. Theoretically the study is influenced by the research field New Literacy Studies where literacies are conceived of assets of socially and culturally grounded practices. The interviews are analysed from two perspectives: focusing on content and on linguistic discursive practices. In the analysis of interviews and observations, a number of interacting aspects of literacy events and literacy practices are also researched, such as purpose, time, place, participants, verbal language and artefacts. A lack of connection between the participants’ notions of who they are and the identities offered to them in sfi impairs the conditions of their active participation in the literacy practices, and consequently also impairs their learning. Identities connected to literacy history are of importance in this process. To exemplify this, the professional career they had in Kurdistan is still of central importance for two of the participants of the study. This complicates their identification as sfi-students and their engaging in the literacy practices of the sfi-education. If sfi teachers know which identities from everyday life are important to their sfi students and try to find connections between the sfi teaching and these identities, the chances improve of the students accepting the identities which they are offered in the literacy events. Then it will also be more probable that the students’ participation in the literacy events in sfi will lead to deep learning. In the sfi classrooms, the participants take part in literacy events of everyday life. There are three types of overlap between the literacy practices of sfi and of everyday life. (1) Literacy events from other sociotextual domains take place in the sfi-classrooms, but without recontextualization into sfi. (2) Literacy events based in sociotextual domains of everyday life are recontextualized into sfi. (3) Literacy events belong to more than one sociotextual domain. In spite of these three types of overlap there are complications when it comes to students starting out from literacy practices of everyday life when they take part in the literacy practices of sfi. It is not possible to transmit literacy practices in their totality, from one sociotextual domain to another. The literacy practices are situated in a specific sociotextual domain and will undergo a transformation as they are based in a different sociotextual domain. On the other hand, it is possible for sfi students to make use of everyday micro practices (e.g. cooperation and non-linear reading) when they take part in the literacy practices of sfi

Tretton dagars skrivande : En undersökning av de skrivhändelser som äger rum samt de texter som produceras i ett tvåspråkigt hem

I denna etnografiskt baserade fallstudie av skriftbruk undersöks skrivhändelser som äger rum och texter som produceras i ett tvåspråkigt, svensk-kurdiskt hem. Forskningsfältet New Literacy Studies och teoribildningen kring genrer som socialt konstruerade konventioner utgör teoretiska utgångspunkter för undersökningen. Materialet består av 169 texter som bedöms höra till 34 genrer / delgenrer. Texterna har adressater inom åtta olika domäner och den största gruppen av texter är adresserade till en person inom familjen. De allra flesta texterna är skrivna på svenska. Engelska används i genrer med anknytning till studier, undervisning eller i social kommunikation med familjen. Kurdiska förekommer endast i texter adresserade till familj eller släkt och vänner. Familjemedlemmarna har endast ett fåtal syften med sina texter och genrer gemensamma. Vera som är tio år skriver variationsrikt vad gäller genre och hennes texter är ofta kopplade till lek eller avkoppling. Kamals skrivhändelser uppvisar relativt liten variation och han skriver tämligen få och korta texter. Faktorerna kön, ett icke-akademiskt yrke och det faktum att han har svenska som andraspråk kan ligga bakom detta. Annika skriver betydligt fler texter än Kamal och Vera och de flesta av dem har en koppling till hennes arbete som lärare eller till hennes universitetsstudier. Hon skriver främst texter med ett kognitivt syfte. De flesta av texterna har en kulturellt etablerad genrebenämning. Endast en genre, den s.k. toalettkommunikationen, antas vara specifik för hemdomänen

Literacy in Everyday Life and in the Swedish for Immigrants Programme : The Literacy History and Literacy Practices of Five Kurdish L2 Learners of Swedish

This thesis explores the literacy practices in literacy history, in everyday life and in Swedish tuition for immigrants (sfi) of five Kurdish adults. The study analyses connections and dividing lines between literacy practices of the sociotextual domains of everyday life and literacy practices of the sociotextual domain of sfi. It also explores the interaction between literacy history and present literacy practices. Further, there is a focus on the connections between identification, learning and literacy practices. The methodological approach is inspired by ethnography, employing individual semi-structured interviews and classroom observation. Video documentation, audio recordings and field notes are used for documentation. Theoretically the study is influenced by the research field New Literacy Studies where literacies are conceived of assets of socially and culturally grounded practices. The interviews are analysed from two perspectives: focusing on content and on linguistic discursive practices. In the analysis of interviews and observations, a number of interacting aspects of literacy events and literacy practices are also researched, such as purpose, time, place, participants, verbal language and artefacts. A lack of connection between the participants’ notions of who they are and the identities offered to them in sfi impairs the conditions of their active participation in the literacy practices, and consequently also impairs their learning. Identities connected to literacy history are of importance in this process. To exemplify this, the professional career they had in Kurdistan is still of central importance for two of the participants of the study. This complicates their identification as sfi-students and their engaging in the literacy practices of the sfi-education. If sfi teachers know which identities from everyday life are important to their sfi students and try to find connections between the sfi teaching and these identities, the chances improve of the students accepting the identities which they are offered in the literacy events. Then it will also be more probable that the students’ participation in the literacy events in sfi will lead to deep learning. In the sfi classrooms, the participants take part in literacy events of everyday life. There are three types of overlap between the literacy practices of sfi and of everyday life. (1) Literacy events from other sociotextual domains take place in the sfi-classrooms, but without recontextualization into sfi. (2) Literacy events based in sociotextual domains of everyday life are recontextualized into sfi. (3) Literacy events belong to more than one sociotextual domain. In spite of these three types of overlap there are complications when it comes to students starting out from literacy practices of everyday life when they take part in the literacy practices of sfi. It is not possible to transmit literacy practices in their totality, from one sociotextual domain to another. The literacy practices are situated in a specific sociotextual domain and will undergo a transformation as they are based in a different sociotextual domain. On the other hand, it is possible for sfi students to make use of everyday micro practices (e.g. cooperation and non-linear reading) when they take part in the literacy practices of sfi

Interaction and meaning making in basic adult education for immigrants the case of Swedish for immigrants in Sweden (SFI)

In this article, focus is on students’ oral production in two classrooms in Swedish for immigrants (SFI). The study focuses on practices with interaction patterns where students are involved in negotiation of meaning. Theoretical basis is the importance of interpersonal interaction for language development, with a focus on students’ use of varied speaker roles and speech actions. Data were obtained through observations, field notes, and audio and video recordings. The examples presented here demonstrate that students were involved in the negotiation of meaning and had space to try different speaker roles and speech actions, such as (among others) initiating, agreeing, dissenting, arguing, interrupting, and taking the floor. These examples only constituted a restricted part of class time, and most of the teaching was of a type where little oral or written interaction took place. Overall, we think that SFI education could be improved by developing teaching that stimulates and allows for negotiations of meaning and language production and also allows for use of different types of digital media, both for oral and written interaction

Språkliga resurser och digitala verktyg i grundläggande undervisning inom sfi

Här undersöks meningsförhandling genom klassrumsinteraktion kring elevers skrivna texter i några sfi-klassrum i form av talat språk, dels vad gäller talarroller och talhandlingar, dels vad gäller inlärningsstrategier. Kapitlet bygger på en kombination av teorier från tillämpad språkvetenskap med sociokulturella perspektiv på språkutveckling. I kapitlet används material från två aktionsforskningsprojekt där undervisning skapades som liknade autentisk och naturlig muntlig och/eller skriftlig kommunikation genom att eleverna kunde producera, sända och ta emot (inspelade) texter som låg nära den egna livssituationen. Undervisningen gav upphov till situationer som engagerade eleverna, utmanade dem språkligt och resulterade i längre talturer och förhandling om mening där elever och lärare utförde olika slags talhandlingar samt använde olika inlärningsstrategier. Vissa elever tog stor del av talutrymmet och vi uppfattade lärarnas styrning som relativt svag men även elever som talade mindre visade sig vara aktiva deltagare. Vidare indikerar resultaten vikten av att de inlärningsstrategier som lärare på studieväg 1 initierar inte enbart är baserade på skrift utan även på talat språk. Undervisning som ger eleverna möjlighet att använda inlärningsstrategier och som stimulerar dem till att uttrycka sådant som ligger på gränsen för vad de för närvarande klarar att säga på sitt andraspråk bidrar till språkutveckling

Multiple Approaches to Literacies in the Age of Mobility

This chapter introduces the multiple approaches to literacies in the age of mobility, constructing the points of departure for the volume. The overall objective is to offer insights into questions related to learning and the use of literacies by migrants in post-migration settlement. The focus is set on literacy practices of adolescents and adults who have migrated, temporarily or permanently. The concepts of mobility and literacies are discussed and problematised in relation to the narrative of Rizgar, an adult migrant who left Iraqi Kurdistan and settled down in Sweden. The complex instantiations of mobility and literacies are discussed. Finally, we present the chapters in the volume by highlighting common themes and affordances as well as their contribution to the overall aim of the volume

Whole class interaction in the adult L2-classroom : The case of Swedish for immigrants

 This article focuses on verbal interaction in whole class teaching in second language education for adults in Sweden. The article draws on theories treating language as multiple resources that are situated and embedded in material life, and including complex and diverse linguistic, semiotic, physical material and social resources. The material for the article was created in a project based in linguistic ethnography in the form of an action research project, including two municipal Swedish for Immigrants (SFI) schools. The interaction patterns that occurred challenged students’ language proficiency in ways that stimulated meaning negotiation through what we call extended interactions. This stresses the social aspect of interaction, which in these cases included the whole, or nearly the whole, class, students and the teacher. However, in whole class teaching, the space for each interlocutor is limited, and as our experience from other classrooms suggests that group tasks are not frequent in SFI classrooms, there seem to be reasons for the development of teaching practices that include more frequent use of interaction in small groups that offer students more space for interaction. We also see a need for developing more culture-sensitive pedagogies and making more space for the multilingual negotiation of meaning.

Language learning strategies and teaching practices in adult L2 education : The case of Swedish for Immigrants

This article highlights the use and co-construction of language learning strategies (LLS) in second language education for adults with short previous education. In a case study, we explore how LLS are used and co-constructed by one student and one teacher. The data for the article was created in an action research programme comprising two Swedish for Immigrants (SFI) schools, and the methodology used was classroom observation based in linguistic ethnography. In accordance with Griffiths (2013, p. 15) LLS are defined as “activities consciously chosen by learners for the purpose of regulating their own language learning”. For the analysis of LLS, Oxford’s (1990) taxonomy was chosen. In the chosen case the teacher and student co-constructed direct and indirect strategies. In their co-construction, they sometimes seemed to work together, both using a strategy initiated by one of them, and sometimes appeared to have opposite goals, so that the teacher-initiated strategies turned out as complicated for the student, while the student-initiated strategies were counteracted by the teacher. Some of the LLS promoted by the teacher that were difficult for the student seemed to demand literacy skills that he had not yet developed. This underlines the importance of adapting teaching to the language and literacy competences of the individual learner. It also highlights the importance of further research on LLS with this group of students in order to find strategies that work in the process of developing functional literacy skills