
Tarja Nikula-Jäntti
Biography
content and language integrated learning (CLIL), disciplinary literacies, bilingual education, classroom interaction, multilingual classroom practices, language aware education
Research interests
I'm interested in questions of language learning and use, approached from socio-functional perspectives that place emphasis on the contextual and variable nature of language. More specifically, I have explored the intertwined nature of language and content in content-based classrooms both conceptually and in classroom practices, arguing that it is fruitful to highlight the role of language in learning and knowledge building rather than language in its own right. It is important to pursue these questions by bringing into dialogue researchers and teachers as well as language and content specialists. Research in this area can provide insights for language-aware education in content-based teaching and beyond, for teachers working with linguistically heterogeneous groups and for decision-making relating to language education.