Teachers’ reported implementation of multilingual teaching practices in foreign language classrooms in Norway and Russia

To better understand language teaching, there is a need to carry out research on teacher cognition, that is, to find out what teachers know, believe, and think, how they access these cognitions, and how they draw on them. This study examines how the intended curriculum reform is implemented in the Spanish as a second foreign language classroom in Norwegian lower secondary schools. More specifically, the study focuses on how teacher cognition about language teaching and learning shapes the development of oral skills. Using a mixed method research approach, seven Spanish language teachers in 8th grade were initially interviewed, thereafter observed for four consecutive lessons, and finally interviewed again to gain further insight into the rationale in their teaching practices. The data analysis manifested a gap regarding the curriculum intention and the implementation observed. In the articulation of the principles of their teaching, teachers provided evidence of the ways in which their prior beliefs about language, teaching and learning from schooling, and professional teaching experiences powerfully influenced the extent to which they implemented the curriculum. This study highlights the need (1) to reconsider the design of current pre-service language teacher training programs, (2) to provide continuous teacher training and teacher development opportunities to in-service language teachers, and (3) to clarify both the intention and the operationalization of the language subject curriculum reform if it attempts to bring about change. Keywords: Teacher Cognition/Teacher Beliefs, Classroom Observation, Oral Skills, Foreign Language Teaching, Spanish Didactics, Curriculum Reform. Laererholdninger og Kunnskapsloftet (K06): Utvikling av muntlige ferdigheter i spanskundervisningen Sammendrag For a kunne forsta sprakundervisning bedre er det behov for a forske pa laererholdninger, det vil si, a finne ut hva laererne vet, tror og tenker, og hvordan de far tilgang til og benytter seg av denne kunnskapen. Denne studien undersoker hvordan den intenderte laereplanen er implementert i spanskundervisningen ved norske ungdomsskoler. Mer spesifikt tar studien sikte pa a undersoke hvordan laererholdninger til spraklaering og sprakundervisning former utviklingen av muntlige ferdigheter. Ved hjelp av en kombinasjon av kvalitative og kvantitative metoder ble sju spansklaerere pa 8. trinn intervjuet og deretter observert i lopet av en toukers periode, for de ble intervjuet pa nytt for a fa et klarere innblikk av hva som ligger til grunn for deres undervisningspraksis. Resultatene viser et gap mellom intensjonene i laereplanen og den observerte undervisningen. Laerernes egne formuleringer av prinsipper i egen undervisningspraksis, viste at deres tidligere oppfatninger om sprak, undervisning, og spraklaering, bade fra egen skolegang og som profesjonelle laerere, pavirket dem sterkt med tanke pa i hvilken grad de implementerer laereplanen. Denne studien understreker behovet (1) for a revurdere utformingen av laererutdanningsprogrammer ved universiteter og hoyskoler, (2) for a gi utviklingsmuligheter til laerere for etter- og videreutdanning og (3) for a avklare bade definisjonen og operasjonaliseringen av laereplanen dersom laereplanreformen forsoker a fa til endring. Nokkelord: laererholdninger, klasseromsobservasjon, muntlige ferdigheter, fremmedsprakundervisning, spansk fagdidaktikk, laereplanreform

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Language Teacher Cognition and Curriculum Reform in Norway: Oral Skill Development in the Spanish Classroom

With current migration trends, Norwegian classrooms have become increasingly diverse. The setting that constitutes the workplace for Norwegian teachers has changed from one of monolingual classroom...

Interculturally competent teachers in the diverse Norwegian educational setting

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Mehrsprachigkeitsdidaktik im frühen DaF-Unterricht in Dänemark und Norwegen – Lehrer- und Schülerperspektiven

This article explores the methodological approaches offered in grammar exercises in a selection of French as a foreign language textbooks produced for the Scandinavian market. It investigates the e...

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