Språkplanering vid en tvåspråkig yrkeshögskola. Exemplet fackspråkligt språkbad [Language Planning at a Bilingual Polytechnic. LSP Immersion as an Example]

This thesis explores language strategies, which is my term for language planning at school level. The purpose is threefold: to explore and analyse the language planning work at the bilingual Central Ostrobothnia Polytechnic (COP) in Jakobstad/Pietarsaari; to specify existing language planning models so that these can be used to describe the schools’ language strategies; and to develop a new type of integrated language and subject teaching which I call specialised language (LSP) immersion.

The thesis is an empirical case study conducted as action research. The material consists of participatory observations in the form of discussions and classroom observations. The participatory observations are complemented by questionnaires for the students. The material is analysed qualitatively.

My classroom observations in two Swedish immersion courses show that immersion can be adapted also to field-specific subject matter teaching at a polytechnic level. The teachers’ linguistic behaviour before the class was a strength for the teaching. The observations also demonstrate that further work is required to optimise LSP immersion so that it gives the added value to the teaching that it at best can give. One of the most important development areas is to encourage the students to engage in meaningful communication in the immersion language in situations where they are supposed to use field-specific terminology. This study shows that LSP as a language strategy is a dynamic process that requires further development at both classroom and school levels also in the future.

This study shows that the existing language planning models can be modified and used as support for developing and analysing language strategies in school. I present a specified model consisting of four different phases: language strategy choice, language strategy planning, realising the language strategy in teaching and further development of the language strategy. I identify these phases in the language strategy work at COP in the spring of 2003 and discuss them on the basis of this model. With the help of the empirical findings I modify the model further.