G4 Doctoral dissertation (monograph)
Insinöörin työtehtävissä tarvittava suomen kielen taito ja sen oppiminen ammattikorkeakoulujen S2-opiskelijoiden sekä suomenopettajien käsitysten mukaan (2023)
Finnish language skills needed in the engineering profession and the means to learn these skills according to the beliefs of F2 students and teachers of Finnish at universities of applied sciences

Korkeamäki, A. (2023). Insinöörin työtehtävissä tarvittava suomen kielen taito ja sen oppiminen ammattikorkeakoulujen S2-opiskelijoiden sekä suomenopettajien käsitysten mukaan [Doctoral dissertation]. Jyväskylän yliopisto. JYU dissertations, 685. http://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-951-39-9711-3

JYU authors or editors

Publication details

All authors or editors: Korkeamäki, Aira

eISBN: 978-951-39-9711-3

Journal or series: JYU dissertations

eISSN: 2489-9003

Publication year: 2023

Number in series: 685

Number of pages in the book: 1 verkkoaineisto (324 sivua)

Publisher: Jyväskylän yliopisto

Publication country: Finland

Publication language: Finnish Sign Language

Persistent website address: http://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-951-39-9711-3

Publication open access: Openly available

Publication channel open access: Open Access channel

Abstract

The need for workforce with an engineering education will grow significantly in the coming years. The first language of an increasing number of applicants is something else than Finnish, and weaknesses in Finnish language skills have been identified as a barrier to employment and career progression. The aim of this study is to investigate in the context of UAS the beliefs of students of Finnish as a second language (F2) as well as the beliefs of their teachers of Finnish about professional language learning, and the need for the Finnish language in engineering. These beliefs are reflected in studying and teaching, and thus in the kind of skills future engineers will acquire for working life. The research belongs to the field of applied linguistics, second language research, and the topic is approached from the perspective of contextual research on beliefs. The research strategy is qualitative. The data consist of a pilot survey of F2 teachers (n=5), essays of F2 students (n=24) and interviews with teachers of Finnish language and communication (n=8). The research method is qualitative content analysis and the reasoning is abductive. A sociocognitive and ecological approach has been used in the analysis of the data. The results of the study showed that the students felt that their language skills developed best informally, for example, through interaction with Finnish-speaking colleagues. The students considered Finnish language skills to be necessary for engineers both for employment corresponding to their education and for success in the workplace, although the characteristics of the language skills required vary according to the situation, task and workplace. Teachers favoured learner-centred teaching methods and stressed the importance of motivation. F2 learners were not considered to stand out from other students, due to the large size of the teaching groups and the desire to avoid othering. Teachers expressed a wish for more F2 teaching. They also considered Finnish important in engineering work, but felt that their opportunities to teach professional language were very limited. Both students and teachers perceived learning as social and collaborative, while the concept of language was often seen as cognitive and individual. The results suggest that there is a need for closer cooperation between teachers of different subjects, as well as between educational institutions and the working life, in order to increase language awareness for all concerned. Among other things, the benefits of students’ multilingualism in both education and working life should be emphasized. The linguistic needs of F2 learners must be given greater attention in all studies, and sufficient separate F2 teaching must also be provided.

Keywords: immigrants; engineers; tertiary education; universities of applied sciences; language teaching; Finnish as a second language; language skills; professional language; Finnish language; language teachers; students; conceptions; doctoral dissertations

Free keywords: engineering education; university of applied sciences; Finnish as a second language; beliefs; professional language; specialised language

Contributing organizations

Ministry reporting: Yes

Reporting Year: 2023