English, Multilingualism, and Culture: A Study on English Teaching and Learning in Reception Classes

Abstract

This thesis sheds light on multilingualism and the English subject in reception classes. The aim of this study was to provide answers to what attitudes and classroom practices teachers and students have towards the use of multilingualism when teaching and learning English in reception classes. In addition, another aim was to investigate to what extent, and why, students’ cultural backgrounds are acknowledged when learning English in reception classes. Immigration is predicted to increase in Norway (Keilman, 2023), and the Education Act §2-1 (1998) states that all students, including newly arrived students, have the right to adapted education. Given this information and the Education Act (1998), this research is both relevant and necessary to explore. This is a qualitative study, and the research methods included observations and interviews of both a teacher and her students. The findings indicated that the teacher held and displayed positive attitudes towards multilingualism in her lessons. Her classroom practices would regularly include students’ multilingualism. The students, on the other hand, held divided attitudes: a majority seemed to be positive towards the inclusion of their languages, while others were not as positive towards this. The classroom practices did, however, indicate that the students use their other languages for support in English. Furthermore, the teacher regularly included students’ cultural backgrounds in the lessons, using it as a pedagogical tool to create an inclusive classroom. The findings were further interpreted and discussed in light of the theoretical framework and previous research. This study suggests that both referring to and including students’ multilingualism and cultural backgrounds is something teachers can regularly do, and that this in turn could create a more inclusive classroom. In addition, multilingualism can be used as a resource for students who appear hesitant and in need of additional support. Furthermore, the outcome of this study suggests that teachers can create lessons that their students appreciate by referring to their cultural backgrounds.