Hannele Dufva

Languaging in Ultima Thule: Multilingualism in the Life of a Sami Boy.

Abstract In this paper we investigate multilingualism as a phenomenon which pervades different social and cultural levels but is manifested in the everyday life of multilingual individuals. As an illustration, we examine multilingualism from the perspective of a young Sami boy, Ante, and explore how different languages function as a complex – but at times problematic – set of resources for him. To capture the complexity and fluidity in the relationships between various languages in his life, we base our theorising on such concepts as ‘linguistic resources’, ‘heteroglossia’ and ‘languaging’. With the help of multimodal data we examine how the linguistic resources present in Antes daily life may provide affordances and set constraints for him. In addition, we study how Ante himself, as a multilingual child, takes issue with the languages in his life. We argue that the multilingualism present in Antes environment embodies many opportunities and resources, but is also a source of ambiguity. The ways in which Ante moves between languages, makes choices between them and positions himself in relation to them seem to suggest that while languages do position Ante in various ways, he can also choose which language to use and when as part of his active languaging work.

From Milk Cartons to English Roommates: Context and Agency in L2 Learning Beyond the Classroom

In recent years there has been an increasing interest in examining L2 learning outside the classroom in terms of learners’ emerging identity, autonomy and agency (Benson 2011; Norton and Toohey 2001). Agency has been adopted relatively recently by L2 scholars as a key notion through which to capture critical social and cognitive aspects of L2 learning (Darhower 2004; Hunter and Cooke 2007; Gao 2010). Agency can be defined as ‘the socioculturally mediated capacity to act’ (Ahearn 2001: 112). In many ways, agency goes to the very heart of the main problem facing researchers into L2 learning: what is the relationship between the individual language learner — his or her cognitive, affective and social self — and the context?

Heteroglossia in Action: Sámi Children, Textbooks and Rap

This chapter examines heteroglossia in the complex, continuously evolving multilingual context of Samiland, the historically and culturally central area for indigenous Sami culture and languages. The analytical discussion is of a rap about textbooks, created and performed by a group of Sami children with the help of their teachers and parents that they presented as their petition for more Sami language teaching materials. The rap is viewed as an example of heteroglossic practices, a strategic mobilization, mixture and recycling of multiple meaning making resources that result in a polyphonic performance.