A3 Book section, Chapters in research books
Abiturienttien kokemuksia vieraan kielen opiskelun työläydestä ja sen vaikutuksesta lukion kielivalintoihin (2022)
Upper secondary school students’ views on the laboriousness of studying foreign languages and its effect on choosing optional languages

Pollari, P., Veivo, O., Toomar, J., & Mäntylä, K. (2022). Abiturienttien kokemuksia vieraan kielen opiskelun työläydestä ja sen vaikutuksesta lukion kielivalintoihin. In T. Seppälä, S. Lesonen, P. Iikkanen, & S. D'hondt (Eds.), Kieli, muutos ja yhteiskunta (pp. 217-233). Suomen soveltavan kielitieteen yhdistys AFinLA. AFinLA:n vuosikirja, 2022. https://doi.org/10.30661/afinlavk.114478

JYU authors or editors

Publication details

All authors or editors: Pollari, Pirjo; Veivo, Outi; Toomar, Jaana; Mäntylä, Katja

Parent publication: Kieli, muutos ja yhteiskunta

Parent publication editors: Seppälä, Tanja; Lesonen, Sirkku; Iikkanen, Päivi; D'hondt, Sigurd

eISBN: 978-951-9388-74-8

Journal or series: AFinLA:n vuosikirja

eISSN: 2343-2608

Publication year: 2022

Publication date: 02/12/2022

Number in series: 2022

Pages range: 217-233

Number of pages in the book: 433

Publisher: Suomen soveltavan kielitieteen yhdistys AFinLA

Place of Publication: Jyväskylä

Publication country: Finland

Publication language: Finnish

DOI: https://doi.org/10.30661/afinlavk.114478

Persistent website address: https://journal.fi/afinlavk/article/view/114478

Publication open access: Openly available

Publication channel open access: Open Access channel

Publication is parallel published (JYX): https://jyx.jyu.fi/handle/123456789/84320

Abstract

This paper discusses studying optional languages at upper secondary school in Finland, and in particular students’ views on dropping the optional language. The number of students choosing an optional language has decreased during the past decades. In earlier studies, teachers have suggested that a heavy workload might be one of the main reasons for this decrease. We interviewed nine students at upper secondary school and here we concentrate on those four who discontinued their optional language studies. The data were analysed via content analysis. The results show that the reasons behind dropping an optional language are manifold, and can be traced to individual values, but also to school structures and to how society seems to value languages. Heavy workload is also reflected in answers in different ways: the participants acknowledged that good language skills take time and effort which they were not always willing to invest in.

Keywords: general upper secondary school students; optional subjects; choice of subjects; choice of languages; foreign languages; language teaching; general upper secondary school

Contributing organizations

Ministry reporting: Yes

Preliminary JUFO rating: 1