Immersion in Finland in the 1990s: A state of development and expansion

Abstract

Language policy in the Finnish school system Since Finland became independent in 1917 and an officially bilingual nation, the national school system has primarily been divided into Finnish-speaking and Swedish-speaking sections. This has ensured the educational rights of the Swedish-speaking minority, which today constitutes about 6% of the total population. The aims of educational policy and the curriculum content are similar for both the Finnish-speaking and the Swedish-speaking sections, so the only difference between the two is the language of instruction. Language teaching in both sections focuses on the monolingual pupil, who will regularly receive all instruction in his or her native language and from grade 3 (age 9) on will have a new language as a subject for 2–3 hours a week. This language (called the A-language) can be Swedish or Finnish (depending on the pupil's native language) or another language (English, German). In the school year 1991–1992, English was by far the most popular second language among Finnish pupils in grade 3 (87.4%), whereas Finnish and Swedish were chosen as L2 by 4.5% and 3.9% at grade 3 level (Helle, 1994, p. 200). While attending comprehensive school, the pupil receives instruction in at least one other foreign language (called the B-language), perhaps even two. Regardless of the number of languages, all pupils must have had some language instruction in the other official language of the nation (Finnish or Swedish) when their compulsory education is completed. In the late seventies and eighties, the unsatisfactory state of traditional language programs led to the initiation of several bilingual education projects.

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