Dialogical view on learner agency of immigrant pupils: a case study of the learners of Finnish as L2

Figures & data

Table 1. Language profile of the participants (at the time of data collection).

Participants	The participant family				Teachers of preparatory class
	Janne (Main participant 1)	Katie (Main participant 2)	Eero (Father)	Angela (Mother)	Teacher 1	Teacher 2
Age, gender	10, Male	8, Female	Mid-40s, Male	Mid-40s, Female	Mid-30s, Female	Mid-50s, Female
Age on arrival in Finland	10	8	Born in Finland	Mid-40s	Born in Finland	Born in Finland
Country of birth	U.S.A.	U.S.A.	Finland	U.S.A.	Finland	Finland
Mother tongue	English / Finnish	English / Finnish	Finnish	English	Finnish	Finnish
Language(s) used at work/school	Finnish / English	Finnish / English	Finnish / English	English	Finnish / English	Finnish / English
Language(s) used at home	English / Finnish	(Mainly) English	Finnish / English	English	Finnish	Finnish

Table 2. Forms of collected data.

Research tasks	Forms of data	Whose voices?
Classroom Observation	Field notes	Author 1
Language activities during the interviews and in the preparatory language class	Language portfolio (e.g. drawings, artwork)	Janne and Katie
Interviews	Excerpts	Pupils and the adults

Table 3. Four leading themes.

	Leading themes	Recurring themes	The multiple voices
Janne’s selves	Born language learner	A brave child, the most motivated Finnish learner Receptive language proficiency A lonely child, language interference An outsider, language barrier Imagining making Finnish friends in a plane Interaction with classmates, respect for teachers	Teachers, Mother, Janne
	Future-oriented Finnish learner	A first-born child Uncertain future in the US A unique language repertoire, good resource for working life A Finnish soldier, the best story-teller in the world	Mother, Janne
Katie’s selves	Secure zone strategy user	A reserved Finnish speaker A safety zone Value of comfort and rapport	Mother, Teacher, Katie
	Active space user	Verbal inactivity Kiltit lapset (good children) Active movement to different places Drawing in empty spaces in learning materials & a personal vocabulary book An activity to find contexts and others	Teachers, Author 1, Katie

Figure 1. Katie’s drawing of herself as an English speaker.

Figure 2. Katie’s language worksheet and personal vocabulary book.

Figure 3. Janne’s dialogical self.

Figure 4. Katie’s dialogical self.