The overall aim of the thesis is to examine young people’s languaging, including literacy practices, and its relation to meaning-making and social positioning. Framed by sociocultural and dialogical perspectives, the thesis builds upon four studies that arise from (n)ethnographic fieldwork conducted in two different settings: an institutional educational setting where bilingualism and biculturalism are core values, and social media settings. In the empirical studies, micro-level interactions, practices mediated by languaging and literacies, social positionings and meso-level discourses as well as their intertwinedness have been explored and discussed. The data, analysed through adapted conversational and discourse analytical methods, include video and audio recordings, field notes, pedagogic materials, policy documents, photographs as well as (n)ethnographic data. Study I illuminates the doing of linguistic-cultural ideologies and policies in everyday pedagogical practices and focuses on situated and distributed social actions as nexuses of several practices where a number of locally and nationally relevant discourses circulate.  In Study II, the focus is on everyday communicative practices on the micro and meso levels and the interrelations of different linguistic varieties and modalities in the bilingual-bicultural educational setting. Study III highlights young people’s languaging, including literacies, in everyday learning practices that stretch across formal and informal learning spaces. Study IV examines social positioning and identity work in informal and heteroglossic literacy practices across the offline-online continuum. Consequently, the four studies map the kinds of languaging practices young people are engaged in both inside and outside of what are labelled as bilingual school settings. Furthermore, the studies highlight the kinds of social positions they perform and are oriented towards in the course of their everyday lives. Overall, the findings of the thesis highlight issues of bilingualism as pedagogy and practice, the (un)problematicity of multilingualism across space and time and multilingual-multimodal languaging as a premise for social positioning. Together, the studies and the thesis form a descriptive-analytical illustration of “multilingual” young people’s everyday lives in and out of school in late modern societies of the global North. Overall, the thesis provides insights concerning the education and lives of a large, yet sparsely documented minority group in Sweden, i.e. the Sweden Finns. / Denna avhandling fokuserar på ungdomars språkande, inklusive literacy-praktiker, och dess relation till deras meningsskapande och social positionering. Avhandlingen tar avstamp i sociokulturell och dialogisk teoribildning och bygger på fyra studier som blivit till genom (n)etnografiskt fältarbete i två olika sammanhang: inom en skola där tvåspråkighet och bikulturalitet är viktiga värderingar, och sociala medier. I de empiriska studierna undersöks hur interaktion, språkande och literacy-praktiker och sociala positioneringar görs på mikronivå. Dessa fenomen studeras vidare i anslutning till och som en del av diskurser som drivs på meso-nivå. Avhandlingens data har analyserats med tillämpade samtals- och diskursanalytiska metoder och inkluderar video- och audioinspelningar, fältanteckningar, pedagogiska material, policy-dokumentation, fotografier samt (n)etnografiskt skapad data. I Studie I undersöks hur lingvistisk-kulturella ideologier och policys görs i vardagliga pedagogiska praktiker. Den fokuserar på situerade och distribuerade sociala handlingar som praktiknexus där flera lokalt och nationellt relevanta diskurser cirkulerar. Studie II intresserar sig för vardagliga kommunikativa praktiker på mikro- och meso-nivåer samt för samspelet av språkliga varieteter och modaliteter i den tvåspråkiga-bikulturella skolan. I Studie III studeras ungdomars språkande, inklusive literacies, i vardagliga lärandepraktiker som sträcker sig över tid och rum i formella och informella lärandemiljöer. Studie IV fokuserar på social positionering och identitetsarbete i informella och heteroglossiska literacy-praktiker både offline och online. Tillsammans kartlägger de fyra studierna olika slags språkandepraktiker som ungdomarna deltar i och bidrar till både inom och utanför vad som kallas för tvåspråkiga skolsammanhang. Vidare illustrerar studierna vardagslivets görande av olika slags sociala positioneringar och identitetsperformanser. Resultaten visar på hur tvåspråkigheten i skolans värld kan ses som både pedagogik och praktik, att flerspråkigheten är (o)problematisk för ungdomarna och för skolan och att språkandets karaktär som flerspråkig och multimodal är central för social positionering. Studierna och avhandlingen bildar tillsammans en deskriptiv-analytisk illustration av ”flerspråkiga” ungdomars vardag i och utanför skolan i ett senmodernt nordiskt samhälle. Vidare bidrar avhandlingen till kunskapsbasen gällande utbildningsfrågor och vardag för en av Sveriges nationella minoriteter, sverigefinländare. / LIMCUL / DIMuL

The current thesis aims to explore issues regarding the development and support of second languages when two individuals from different linguistic backgrounds come together in romantic, intimate, and meaningful relationship. Based on a thorough conceptualisation of multilingual couplehood and its place within the interdisciplinary topic of intercultural relationships and marriage, this exploratory study seeks to highlight the issues pertaining to communication, and even more precisely, language, how this impacts individual and couple identity, and its significance in multilingual couple contexts The study and presentation of the research is built on the foundation of a relational philosophy of being and knowing, particularly in line with Gergen’s (2009) understanding of ‘being-in-relation’. Arguments are presented for a relational ontology and epistemology in hopes of identifying the merits of this perspective, and to promote what I consider a more fitting understanding of identity, relationships, and second language education. On this theoretical basis, the study adopts the qualitative methodological approach of narrative inquiry to investigate the meaning of language, relationship, and identity in the contexts of four self-identified multilingual couples currently living in the UK. Data was collected by means of three stage interviews: one with each individual of the couple and a final interview with both partners present. The audio-recorded interviews were transcribed and subjected to a two-stage narrative analysis. The findings have uncovered a wide variety of issues regarding intimate relationships and matters related to the development and support of second languages. While it is clear that each couple has differing attitudes and perceptions of multilingual couplehood, and ways of addressing them, there are some commonalities that have emerged, particularly in regards to the negotiation and sharing of languages, which has appeared to be a very complex issue in terms of the manifestation of language support and learning motivation within the couplehood. It has also been found that there are various ways in which partners develop and create their multilingual couple identities, which affects and also is affected by the linguistic and cultural identities of the individuals themselves. It is clear that second language development and support is a fundamentally relational process in the intimate context of couple relationships, as the detailed narratives of the couples and their linguistic journeys are highly revealing of what is clearly a complex, intricate, and relational ongoing process.

Denna studie syftar till att ta reda på hur de barn i förskolan som har ett annat modersmål än svenska inkluderas i barngruppen. Att inkluderas innebär för dessa barn att de tillsammans med övriga barn i barngruppen betraktas som en helhet. Detta medför att inga barn exkluderas för sina olikheter och att olikheter främjar lärandet. Jag upplever att förskollärarna har ett stort ansvar för hur barnens situation ser ut, och därför har dessa varit mitt studieobjekt. Min empiriska undersökning gjordes med tre förskollärare på tre olika förskolor. Med varje förskollärare genomfördes en direkt intervju med förutbestämda frågor, där förskolläraren också gavs utrymme att prata fritt. Övrig insamling av material för studien har skett i form av litteratursökning. Bakgrunden till studien bygger på erfarenheter av ett bristande förhållningssätt hos förskolepersonalen samt ett modersmålsstöd som innebär en exkludering för barnet. Resultatet visar att ett relativt medvetet förhållningssätt förekommer hos personalen vilket gynnar barnets inkludering. Däremot missgynnas barnet av det modersmålsstöd som finns i förskolan. / This study aims to find out how the children in preschool who have another mother tongue than Swedish are included in the group of children. Being included means that all children in the group are considered as an entirety, which means that no child should be excluded and that diversity promotes learning. I feel that preschool teachers have great responsibility for the children’s situation, that is why preeschool teachers have been focused in my study. My empirical study is done with three preschool teachers in three different preschools. An interview with predetermined questions has been made with each one. They where also allowed to talk freely around the questions. Other data collection for the study has been done by reading relevant literature. The study takes its starting point in my experiences of a lack of attitude in preschool staff, as well as a mother tongues support that results in excluding the child. The result shows that a conscious approach among the staff exists which promotes the child's inclusion. It also shows that the mother tongue support that children get does not benefit them in preschool.

The new world of academic discourse is complex and necessitates that L1 and L2 graduate students learn a multiplicity of texts, master intertextuality, and actively participate in emerging literacies or genres of their disciplines (Molle & Prior, 2008; Swales, 2004; Warren, 2013). Challenges arise about how doctoral students produce, interpret, and learn texts and genres, and how they act and react around text production in particular multicultural institutional contexts (Hyland, 2000; Prior, 2004). Little is known about how students, particularly those in higher education, establish intertextual connections among different modes of texts (e.g., written, oral, visual) for actively engaging in literacy (Belcher & Hirvela, 2008; Seloni, 2012). The purpose of this study is to examine how L1 and L2 doctoral students use intertextual practices to create meaning and develop their academic literacies during the literacy events of Global Conversations and Literacy Research (GCLR) web seminars. Drawing upon microethnographic discourse analysis, more particularly the constructs of intertextuality (Bloome, & Carter, 2013), I investigate the following questions a) How are the L1 and L2 students engaged in intertextual practices in the literacy events of GCLR web seminars? b) How does the use of intertextuality contribute to L1 and L2 students’ academic literacies? The participants are two L1 and two L2 doctoral students, who are also multilinguals, had different first languages (i.e., Korean, English, Chinese), and actively engaged in the GCLR web seminars. Data drew upon interviews, chat transcriptions, video recordings of the web seminars, and visuals. Data collection and analyses began in September 2014, and continued through November 2015. Microethnographic discourse analysis showed how participants constructed intertextual connections during the literacy events of the GCLR web seminars. The findings show how L1 and L2 doctoral students used intertextuality to socialize into academic discourse, mediate discoursal identities, and develop cultural models. The study has implications for L1 and L2 pedagogy, multilingual’s learning, and research: Future research should investigate academic literacies with intertextual connections to oral, written, and online discourses. Educators and graduate students are encouraged to exploit the full potential of intertextuality through metacognition in emerging academic literacies and mediated discoursal identities.

K.M. Tyler et al. (2008) propose a quantitative method to measure differences between school and home experiences had by students of ethnic minority status and how such differences (cultural discontinuity) may affect psychological factors related to student achievement. Although study of cultural discontinuity has been applied to understanding African American, Asian American, Latino American, and Native American student populations, little attention has been given to the ways in which cultural discontinuity may manifest in the Appalachian American population. This study conceptualizes the socio-cultural conditions that would warrant such an investigation, establishing evidence from ten interview subjects of the presence of cultural values associated with Appalachian Americans from Eastern Kentucky. The interviewee evidence provides a necessary starting point for investigating regional culture and marginalization effects that may occur based on membership within the Appalachian American community.

<p>This research shows and analyses how pupils in ninth grade in the nine-year compulsory school look at being multilingual, at the Swedish language and at Swedish as a second language. I also want to know if language and culture knowledge are taken care of in school as it says in official documents for the Swedish school and as it also is desired in an intercultural education. For my research I do eight interviews in a suburb school south of Stockholm.</p><p>My work includes a limited account for the current research about being multilingual, Swedish as a second language and about the close relationship between language and culture. The applied theory is a social constructivist theory which in short can be explained like that we construct social structures that have consequences on the individual as well as on the society.</p><p>I show in my research how the view of the world around the pupils influences their view on their languages, their school and their neighbourhood. I also draw conclusions from my interviews that language knowledge is little appreciated in school and that Swedish as a second language has a low status.</p>

The largest refugee group entering the United States in recent years is from Burma. Refugee students face a daunting set of challenges, from language and cultural differences to living in poverty, in becoming successful in their new homes. To be successful in schools and gain cultural and social capital, refugee students must learn and internalize the specific norms of their classrooms. In middle school, students are particularly reliant upon their peers for support, making peer interactions especially important. In multicultural settings, students have ample opportunities for intercultural interactions, which can help refugee students navigate their new settings and become more successful. Unfortunately, there has been little research on the experiences of Burmese refugee students in classrooms in the United States. I used a qualitative, transcendental phenomenological approach to study how three female Burmese refugee students experienced multicultural middle school classrooms in the United States, especially their intercultural interactions, through interviews, observations, and stimulated recall. The participants reported wanting to understand what they were learning, stay on task, and be kind to other students. Those traits developed from their experiences in their countries of origin and combined to create a picture of what a good student should be. In observations, students acted out their ideas of what it meant to be a good student. Their intercultural interactions in class reaffirmed their identities as good students. Implications based on the findings include setting up intentional intercultural interactions with a diverse group of students in classrooms with multicultural approaches and that researchers examine the experiences of various groups of marginalized students while accounting for the context in which they learn and acknowledging a multifaceted view of adolescent identity development.

Denna kvalitativa empiriska studie undersöker TAKK (Tecken som Alternativ och Kompletterande Kommunikation) som arbetssätt i en flerspråkig verksamhet. Forskningsfrågorna handlade om vilka erfarenheter och uppfattningar förskollärare har samt vilka möjligheter och svårigheter som framträder i användningen av TAKK. Studien använde sig av triangulering där intervjuer med förskollärare och observation i verksamheten kombinerades i datainsamlingen. Studien bygger på tre intervjuer samt observationer i verksamheten från fyra olika tillfällen. Studien utgår från ett sociokulturellt perspektiv och det empiriska materialet har hanterats utifrån ledorden; sortera, reducera och argumentera. Resultatet visar att TAKK är ett redskap för barn, pedagoger och vårdnadshavare att göra sig förstådd med. I resultatet framträder positiva förskollärare som ser TAKK som ett redskap till ett gemensamt språk och för kommunikation men som samtidigt önskar bättre förutsättningar för det arbete de vill kunna genomföra. Med medvetna pedagoger som får rätt förutsättningar med stöd och utbildningar från ledningsnivå så har TAKK stora möjligheter för barns kommunikation och språkutveckling. / This qualitative empiric study examines TAKK (Signs as an Alternative and Augmentative Communication) as a work method in a multilingual preschool. The purpose of the study is to examine what experience and perceptions preschool teachers have with TAKK and what possibilities and obstacles there might be when using TAKK. This study uses triangulation where interviews with preschool teacher has been combined with observations in the preschools. This study is based on three interviews and from preschool observations from four different occasions. The study is based on a sociocultural perspective and the empiric material handled from the watchwords; to sort, to reduce and to argue. The conclusion is that TAKK is a method to make yourself understood by children, teachers and parents. The results of this study show positive preschool teachers that sees TAKK as a method for making a mutual language and a tool for communication, but at the same time wishing for better pre-conditions for the work they want to do. With fully aware teachers that is offered the right conditions and education from the management of the preschools then TAKK has major possibilities for children’s communication- and language development.

The purpose of this thesis is to find out if Chilean pedagogues feel sufficiently prepared to work with and around bi- and multilinguistic children. The two questions that are answered in this thesis are Do the pedagogues feel like they have enough theoretical and practical knowledge about bi- and multilingualism? In that case, how and why? How do their personal experiences and feelings towards bi- and multilingualism affect their professional work? In order to answer the purpose of this thesis a qualitative study is conducted using semi-structured interviews as a method. The results show that the pedagogue have a positive look on bi-and multilingualism. Both when it comes to themselves as well as the children. This affects their work in a positive way since they feel that being bi- and/or multilingual is important. These feelings and thoughts make the pedagogues positive and motivated about working with these children. The pedagogues mention practical knowledges that they have such as singing, counting, telling stories etcetera. But when it comes to their theoretical knowledge none of the interviewed pedagogues have read about bi- or multilingualism. Therefore none of the pedagogues mention any specific theoretical ways in which they work with or around bi- and multilingualism. But what they do have thoughts about is that they feel that it is important to encourage bi- and multilingual children and their language development. And that they will find ways to work with these children even if their theoretical and sometimes practical knowledge might be lacking.

The thesis covers the subject about challenges in the multilingual classroom. How the pupils' education works in regards to the teachers’ perspective is the focus for this thesis. The purpose of the thesis is to examine how four primary school teachers view the teaching in the multilingual classroom. The thesis has a qualitative research approach where the method choice is semi-structured interviews with the primary teachers. Four interviews where conducted with primary teachers with proper and relevant education for the selected grade.   The data were analysed by a qualitative content-analysis. The different title in the background section constitutes this thesis theme. The theoretical frame of the thesis is the sociocultural perspective with focus on Vygotskijs theory about teaching. This study builds upon the perspective that teaching is an interaction between people and that the language is seen as a tool to gain knowledge.  The result of the thesis shows that the multilingual classroom increases the awareness of the primary teachers concerning clear instructions and explaining the tasks in different ways. The primary teacher treats every individual in the classroom from his or her former experience, knowledge and language. Furthermore the thesis shows the importance of a good relation with the native language teacher. A good cooperation with the native language teacher increases the language development for the multilingual pupils. For example using the same books but in different languages showed better language development. The result of the thesis also shows that a cooperation between the home and the multilingual pupils' guardians do not differ from the cooperation with other guardians, but it shows in this thesis the importance of having a regularly and mutual cooperation. / Studien behandlar ämnet det flerspråkiga klassrummet. Hur elevernas undervisning fungerar utifrån lärarens perspektiv är fokus i denna studie. Syftet med studien är att undersöka hur fyra grundlärare i förskoleklass till årskurs tre ser på lärandet i det flerspråkiga klassrummet. Studien har en kvalitativ forskningsansats där metodvalet är semistrukturerade intervjuer av grundlärare i de aktuella årskurserna. Fyra intervjuer genomfördes med grundlärare med behörighet i förskoleklassen till årskurs tre. Datamaterialet analyserades genom en kvalitativ innehållsanalys. De olika rubrikerna i bakgrunden utgör denna studies teman. Studiens teoretiska utgångspunkt är det sociokulturella perspektivet med utgångspunkt i Vygotskijs teori om lärande. Denna studie bygger på perspektivet att lärandet sker i samspel med andra samt att språket betraktas som ett redskap för att tillägna sig kunskap.  Resultatet visar att grundlärare anser att flerspråkiga elever i klassrummet ökar deras medvetenhet om att vara tydliga med instruktioner och förklaringar på olika sätt. Grundlärarna bemöter varje individ i klassrummet utifrån dess tidigare erfarenheter, kunskapsnivå och språk. Vidare framkommer i resultatet betydelsen av en god kontakt med modersmålsläraren. Ett samarbete med modersmålslärare gynnar språkutvecklingen för de flerspråkiga eleverna, där arbete med samma texter sker både hos modersmålsläraren och i klassen. Resultatet av studien visar även att samverkan mellan hem och skolan med flerspråkiga elevers vårdnadshavare inte skiljer sig från samverkan med övriga föräldrar, men det framkommer i denna studie att det är betydelsefullt att ha ett regelbundet samarbete.