The aim of this article is to describe young children's beliefs about language and bilingualism as they are expressed in verbal utterances. The data is from Swedish-medium preschool units in three different sites in Finland. It was generated through ethnographic observations and recordings of the author's interactions with the children. The…

This study investigated whether children born in a second language (L2) environment pronounce their L2 with foreign accents and, if so, when foreign accents first emerge. This study also examined the latest age of onset (AO) of extensive L2 experience at which native L2 pronunciation is possible and explored several factors that affect the degree…

Although the significance of age in second language acquisition is one of the most hotly debated issues in the field, very few studies have directly addressed age differences in the language learning process. The present study investigated learning in a foreign-word repetition task. Young Finnish adults and 8-year-olds repeated back Korean words.…

This review covers recent applied linguistic research in Finland and Sweden during the years 2006-2011, with particular emphasis on foreign language learning and teaching. Its primary aim is to inform the international research community on the type of research that is going on in these countries. Special attention is given to topics which have…

Discusses the concept of language immersion programs in the European context, then focuses on the current trend in Finnish schools to "see what these programs are like." The article concludes with a discussion about the inevitable problems and challenges related to immersion programs. (JL)

In four experiments studying the think-aloud method, two first-year and two fifth-year students of translation were asked to produce a written translation from English into Finnish. This paper discusses the differences in how the two levels of students used various sorts of reference material. The fifth-year students proved to be very skillful and…

Case studies involving learning styles and strategies in English as a second language are examined, based on previous research in which two English pilot tests were administered to a sample of Finnish University students. Those who scored high and low on the two tests were selected for structured interviews, where attention was directed to…

Questions current practices and points to new directions in research on student beliefs about second-language acquisition. Definitions and various studies made within the current approach are reviewed, relevant developments in the social sciences are outlined, and alternatives are suggested for the present definitions and research methodologies.…

A study analyzed the relationship between foreign language learning and four variables, including: nonverbal intelligence, conceptual level, mother tongue, and mathematics. The aim of the study was to investigate whether the same mental processes are involved in poor and good language learning, regardless of the learner's mother tongue. The study…

A multiple-choice test of English vocabulary and grammar was administered to college-bound Swedish-speaking and Finnish-speaking students studying English in Finland. Erroneous responses were analyzed to determine differences in learning strategies between the two groups. Swedish speakers were found to choose incorrect alternatives based on…

Five experiments were carried out to gain insight into foreign language learning as it takes place in the classroom environment, and to create optimal learning conditions for beginning Swedish-speaking learners of English as a Foreign Language. The experiments examined receptive and productive comprehension of English vocabulary in…

A study is reported that investigated whether the foreign language learning outcomes of the poorest performers in Finnish schools could be improved by intensive remedial teaching. An experimental approach was taken with a group of 12 sixth grade students in a suburban school in Helsinki. Four were poor, four were average, and four were good…

Three measure of English language proficiency (a partial dictation [Cloze] test, a text-reading and recollection test, and a story-telling test) were administered to three groups of college-level students (Finns, Swedish-Finns, and Swedes). The results are analyzed in several articles presented here: (1) "The Comprehension of Function Words…

Preliminary results of a contrastive discourse analysis project at the University of Oulu, Finland, are reported. The research focuses on cross-cultural encounters between Finnish students of English and native speakers of English from the point of view of students' level of social competence. The students' ability to use discourse strategies is…

The linguistic purposes of this research were to focus on content, themes and topics, and to analyze the way the target language (English) was used in e-mail. Communicativeness and the roles of the communicator (writer-reader) became central, emphasizing the multidirectional character of e-mail communication. The basic tenet of communicativeness…