Immersion teachers’ perspective on grammar instruction in language immersion in Finland

• Eeva-Liisa Nyqvist ^[1] ; Anne-Maj Åberg ^[2] ; Siv Björklund ^[3]
  1. [1] University of Helsinki

     University of Helsinki

     Helsinki, Finlandia

     
  2. [2] University of Turku

     University of Turku

     Turku, Finlandia

     
  3. [3] Åbo Akademi University

     Åbo Akademi University

     Turku, Finlandia

     

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• Localización: Journal of immersion and content-based language education, ISSN 2212-8433, Vol. 13, Nº. 1, 2025, págs. 164-192
• Idioma: inglés
• Texto completo no disponible (Saber más ...)
• Resumen

  • Previous studies have shown that grammar is a central source of difficulty for immersion students and that their teachers often lack knowledge of how to integrate linguistic aims with content teaching. This descriptive, enquiry-based study reports on Finnish immersion teachers’ (n = 54) perspectives on grammar instruction in language immersion in Finland — a theme under-researched in Finland thus far. Our online questionnaire consists of 18 questions comprising three sections: the informants’ professional background, their views on the role of grammar in immersion and their views on correcting grammatical inaccuracies. We analyse our data using quantitative and statistical methods (Pearson’s χ² as a statistical test). Our findings show that most of our informants are experienced immersion teachers teaching languages to 13–15-year-old immersion students. They do not prioritise grammatical accuracy when planning their instruction, although they consider it an important aspect of second language proficiency. They also discuss grammatical accuracy to a greater extent with their students than with their colleagues and are more tolerant of inaccuracies in spoken output. Implications are discussed regarding the necessity of improving grammar instruction in immersion and immersion students’ grammatical accuracy.