Multilingualism, Interaction and Identity Creation in the Classroom

The course is centered on the research on multilingualism in classrooms, where the particular importance of interaction for the development of language and knowledge, as well as the construction of identity, is highlighted. The opportunities and the obstacles for using many languages in the classroom are examined and discussed. The historical development of research on interaction in the field of multilingualism is studied in the course. Specific attention is given to the relation between interaction, identity and learning for pupils with Swedish as a second language. During the course, authentic interaction data from multilingual classroom settings is processed and analyzed. Also, methodological and ethical issues with regards to interaction research in general and classroom interaction specifically are highlighted. During the course, the students choose to focus on a limited area of multilingual research with a particular focus on interaction, learning and identity.