Multilingual pupils´ opportunities for language use in the subject of Swedish. : Observations in the classroom environment.

This study proceeds from socio-cultural theory concerning the association between language development and participation in linguistic interaction, the concept of affordance, and certain methods and concepts from the ethnography of communication. Six multilingual pupils in grade 3 have been observed during four Swedish lessons. The aim of th0e study is to investigate multilingual pupils’ opportunities for linguistic activities through participation in verbal interaction during Swedish classes. The questions asked by the study concern the extent and nature of the linguistic interaction in which the observed pupils participated. The observations have been supplemented with interviews with two of the pupils’ class teachers. The result shows that the pupils’ participation in different verbal activities varies greatly, which means that they must have different opportunities for linguistic development. The concluding discussion points out the importance of teachers’ planning so that multilingual pupils will be given an opportunity for verbal interaction with classmates and teachers