Tarja Nikula
Biographic Data
| ID | 144065 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Tarja Nikula |
| GIVEN NAMES | Tarja |
| FAMILY NAME | Nikula |
| SIGNATURE | NIKULA T |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Jyväskylä |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-2802-9839 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 17 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 49 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 17 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2006 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 4 |
Introduction to the special issue ‘Bi- and multilingual disciplinary literacies: Novel conceptualisations and empirical insights’
The Special Issue ‘Bi- and multilingual disciplinary literacies: novel conceptualisations and empirical insights’ is an outcome of research collaborations in the COST Action CA21114 CLILNetLE. In this introduction, we position the framework of bi- and multilingual disciplinary literacies (BMDLs) and introduce the contributions to the Special Issue. We argue that BMDLs extend beyond just using an additional language to enact disciplinary literacie…
A multidimensional framework of bi- and multilingual disciplinary literacies
This paper presents a conceptualisation of bi- and multilingual disciplinary literacies (BMDLs) designed as a dynamic and versatile thinking tool for researchers and practitioners in bi- and multilingual educational settings. It builds upon established theoretical foundations and the work conducted within the COST network CLILNetLE, moving beyond traditional perspectives of literacy development that are often viewed as linear or narrowly confined…
Conceptualizing bi- and multilingual disciplinary literacies in CLIL: Insights from a European research network
Educationalists across the world aim to prepare their students for the realities of post-school life, be that at university or in the workplace. Increasingly, the expectations on school leavers have diversified also with regard to their linguistic abilities and prominently include subject-specific or disciplinary literacies, which encompass both knowledge of content and ways of conveying it in subject-specific ways. The global status of English h…
CLIL students’ production of cognitive discourse functions: Comparing Finnish and Spanish contexts
This article presents findings from an empirical study in which we investigated Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) students’ linguistic resources in the L2 (English) to convey different Cognitive Discourse Functions (Dalton-Puffer 2013; 2016 Dalton-Puffer, C. 2016. “Cognitive Discourse Functions: Specifying an Integrative Interdisciplinary Construct.” In Conceptualising Integration in CLIL and Multilingual Education, edited by T. Nik…
Diversity in CLIL as experienced by Finnish CLIL teachers and students: Matters of equality and equity
This article focuses on how Finnish CLIL teachers and students orient to and experience diversity in CLIL. The data consist of teacher and student interviews that were analysed using qualitative content analysis to identify recurrent themes with regard to diversity. The findings indicate that the theme of equality in the sense of ‘the same for all’ in both teaching, assessing and homework was readily brought up by both groups, reflecting the etho…
School‐Relevant Language As a Meaning‐Making Activity – A CLIL Perspective: A Commentary on “Midadolescents’ Language Learning at School: Toward More Just and Scientifically Rigorous Practices in Rese…
Paola Uccelli's target article for Language Learning’s 75th Jubilee encompasses both an extensive research review of the role of language in education and a call for more just and rigorous practices in research and education. In this commentary, I will focus on points of convergence between the Core Analytical Language Skills framework (CALS) presented in the target article and the research perspective on content and language integrated learning …
Teacher talk reflecting pragmatic awareness: A look at EFL and content-based classroom settings
This paper approaches classroom interaction from a pragmatic perspective. More specifically, it concentrates on how pragmatic awareness is reflected in the use of modifying elements of talk by two teachers (both non-native speakers of English), and how their use of modifiers affects the ongoing interaction. The data come from two different classroom settings where English is either the object or the medium of study. The findings reveal an overall…
Exploring translanguaging in CLIL
After reviewing the concepts of Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) and Translanguaging, this article presents an exploratory study of translanguaging in CLIL contexts. Employing illustrative extracts from a collection of CLIL classroom recordings in Austria, Finland and Spain, we argue that both pedagogic and interpersonal motivations can influence language choices. We suggest that the L1 should be appreciated as a potentially valuab…
Hands-on tasks in CLIL science classrooms as sites for subject-specific language use and learning
Research Network Symposium at Aila Congress 2011: CLIL and immersion classrooms
When MT + 2 is not enough: Tensions within foreign language education in Finland
Identity construction in ELF contexts: A case study of Finnish engineering students working in Germany
This paper explores connections between identity and language use in lingua franca contexts by investigating identity construction among Finnish users of English as revealed in interviews conducted both before and after a period spent in Germany. The focus is on the users' own stories of their language use and learning, and on the discursive construction of identities. The study draws on poststructuralist theories of identity construction, combin…
CLIL and Immersion Classrooms: Applied Linguistic Perspectives’
Young People's Translocal New Media Uses: A Multiperspective Analysis Of Language Choice And Heteroglossia
The aim of this paper is to shed light on the particularities of the linguistic, social and cultural action of young Finns in translocal new media spaces, and the ways in which they themselves make sense of and account for their actions. We present findings from 4 case studies, each of which illustrates aspects of translocality in young Finns' new media uses. Theoretically and methodologically the case studies draw on sociolinguistics, discourse …
Diverse uses of English in Finnish society: Discourse-pragmatic insights into media, educational and business contexts
This article describes the role of English in Finland, where English is gaining ground in a variety of domains. While the spread of English has generated debate, little empirical evidence exists on how English is taken up and put to use by Finns, and the functions it serves in its various contexts of use. This article reports on work conducted in a project English voices in Finnish society: uses and functions of English in the media, education an…
Speaking English in Finnish content-based classrooms
CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning) is a term widely used in Europe to refer to different forms of content based education, often conducted in English. Earlier research on CLIL has tended to focus on matters of language learning or content mastery rather than on details of classroom interaction. This paper investigates how English is used in Finnish biology and physics CLIL classrooms. Classrooms are approached from a discourse-pragma…
Pragmatics of Content-based Instruction: Teacher and Student Directives in Finnish and Austrian Classrooms
Using a pragmatic framework, this paper examines how directives are performed by teachers and students in Finnish and Austrian CLIL classrooms, that is settings where a foreign language (in this case English) is used as the medium of instruction in non-language subjects such as history or chemistry. We explore how interpersonal aspects of communication get realized in the performance of directives, and the way contextual factors such as the objec…
Young People's Translocal New Media Uses: A Multiperspective Analysis Of Language Choice And Heteroglossia
The aim of this paper is to shed light on the particularities of the linguistic, social and cultural action of young Finns in translocal new media spaces, and the ways in which they themselves make sense of and account for their actions. We present findings from 4 case studies, each of which illustrates aspects of translocality in young Finns' new media uses. Theoretically and methodologically the case studies draw on sociolinguistics, discourse …
Identity construction in ELF contexts: A case study of Finnish engineering students working in Germany
This paper explores connections between identity and language use in lingua franca contexts by investigating identity construction among Finnish users of English as revealed in interviews conducted both before and after a period spent in Germany. The focus is on the users' own stories of their language use and learning, and on the discursive construction of identities. The study draws on poststructuralist theories of identity construction, combin…
Hands-on tasks in CLIL science classrooms as sites for subject-specific language use and learning
Speaking English in Finnish content-based classrooms
CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning) is a term widely used in Europe to refer to different forms of content based education, often conducted in English. Earlier research on CLIL has tended to focus on matters of language learning or content mastery rather than on details of classroom interaction. This paper investigates how English is used in Finnish biology and physics CLIL classrooms. Classrooms are approached from a discourse-pragma…
A multidimensional framework of bi- and multilingual disciplinary literacies
This paper presents a conceptualisation of bi- and multilingual disciplinary literacies (BMDLs) designed as a dynamic and versatile thinking tool for researchers and practitioners in bi- and multilingual educational settings. It builds upon established theoretical foundations and the work conducted within the COST network CLILNetLE, moving beyond traditional perspectives of literacy development that are often viewed as linear or narrowly confined…
Diverse uses of English in Finnish society: Discourse-pragmatic insights into media, educational and business contexts
This article describes the role of English in Finland, where English is gaining ground in a variety of domains. While the spread of English has generated debate, little empirical evidence exists on how English is taken up and put to use by Finns, and the functions it serves in its various contexts of use. This article reports on work conducted in a project English voices in Finnish society: uses and functions of English in the media, education an…
CLIL and Immersion Classrooms: Applied Linguistic Perspectives’
Pragmatics of Content-based Instruction: Teacher and Student Directives in Finnish and Austrian Classrooms
Using a pragmatic framework, this paper examines how directives are performed by teachers and students in Finnish and Austrian CLIL classrooms, that is settings where a foreign language (in this case English) is used as the medium of instruction in non-language subjects such as history or chemistry. We explore how interpersonal aspects of communication get realized in the performance of directives, and the way contextual factors such as the objec…
Diverse uses of English in Finnish society: Discourse-pragmatic insights into media, educational and business contexts
This article describes the role of English in Finland, where English is gaining ground in a variety of domains. While the spread of English has generated debate, little empirical evidence exists on how English is taken up and put to use by Finns, and the functions it serves in its various contexts of use. This article reports on work conducted in a project English voices in Finnish society: uses and functions of English in the media, education an…
Speaking English in Finnish content-based classrooms
CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning) is a term widely used in Europe to refer to different forms of content based education, often conducted in English. Earlier research on CLIL has tended to focus on matters of language learning or content mastery rather than on details of classroom interaction. This paper investigates how English is used in Finnish biology and physics CLIL classrooms. Classrooms are approached from a discourse-pragma…
Young People's Translocal New Media Uses: A Multiperspective Analysis Of Language Choice And Heteroglossia
The aim of this paper is to shed light on the particularities of the linguistic, social and cultural action of young Finns in translocal new media spaces, and the ways in which they themselves make sense of and account for their actions. We present findings from 4 case studies, each of which illustrates aspects of translocality in young Finns' new media uses. Theoretically and methodologically the case studies draw on sociolinguistics, discourse …
When MT + 2 is not enough: Tensions within foreign language education in Finland
Identity construction in ELF contexts: A case study of Finnish engineering students working in Germany
This paper explores connections between identity and language use in lingua franca contexts by investigating identity construction among Finnish users of English as revealed in interviews conducted both before and after a period spent in Germany. The focus is on the users' own stories of their language use and learning, and on the discursive construction of identities. The study draws on poststructuralist theories of identity construction, combin…
CLIL and Immersion Classrooms: Applied Linguistic Perspectives’
Research Network Symposium at Aila Congress 2011: CLIL and immersion classrooms
Hands-on tasks in CLIL science classrooms as sites for subject-specific language use and learning
Exploring translanguaging in CLIL
After reviewing the concepts of Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) and Translanguaging, this article presents an exploratory study of translanguaging in CLIL contexts. Employing illustrative extracts from a collection of CLIL classroom recordings in Austria, Finland and Spain, we argue that both pedagogic and interpersonal motivations can influence language choices. We suggest that the L1 should be appreciated as a potentially valuab…
Teacher talk reflecting pragmatic awareness: A look at EFL and content-based classroom settings
This paper approaches classroom interaction from a pragmatic perspective. More specifically, it concentrates on how pragmatic awareness is reflected in the use of modifying elements of talk by two teachers (both non-native speakers of English), and how their use of modifiers affects the ongoing interaction. The data come from two different classroom settings where English is either the object or the medium of study. The findings reveal an overall…
Diversity in CLIL as experienced by Finnish CLIL teachers and students: Matters of equality and equity
This article focuses on how Finnish CLIL teachers and students orient to and experience diversity in CLIL. The data consist of teacher and student interviews that were analysed using qualitative content analysis to identify recurrent themes with regard to diversity. The findings indicate that the theme of equality in the sense of ‘the same for all’ in both teaching, assessing and homework was readily brought up by both groups, reflecting the etho…
School‐Relevant Language As a Meaning‐Making Activity – A CLIL Perspective: A Commentary on “Midadolescents’ Language Learning at School: Toward More Just and Scientifically Rigorous Practices in Rese…
Paola Uccelli's target article for Language Learning’s 75th Jubilee encompasses both an extensive research review of the role of language in education and a call for more just and rigorous practices in research and education. In this commentary, I will focus on points of convergence between the Core Analytical Language Skills framework (CALS) presented in the target article and the research perspective on content and language integrated learning …
CLIL students’ production of cognitive discourse functions: Comparing Finnish and Spanish contexts
This article presents findings from an empirical study in which we investigated Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) students’ linguistic resources in the L2 (English) to convey different Cognitive Discourse Functions (Dalton-Puffer 2013; 2016 Dalton-Puffer, C. 2016. “Cognitive Discourse Functions: Specifying an Integrative Interdisciplinary Construct.” In Conceptualising Integration in CLIL and Multilingual Education, edited by T. Nik…
Conceptualizing bi- and multilingual disciplinary literacies in CLIL: Insights from a European research network
Educationalists across the world aim to prepare their students for the realities of post-school life, be that at university or in the workplace. Increasingly, the expectations on school leavers have diversified also with regard to their linguistic abilities and prominently include subject-specific or disciplinary literacies, which encompass both knowledge of content and ways of conveying it in subject-specific ways. The global status of English h…
Introduction to the special issue ‘Bi- and multilingual disciplinary literacies: Novel conceptualisations and empirical insights’
The Special Issue ‘Bi- and multilingual disciplinary literacies: novel conceptualisations and empirical insights’ is an outcome of research collaborations in the COST Action CA21114 CLILNetLE. In this introduction, we position the framework of bi- and multilingual disciplinary literacies (BMDLs) and introduce the contributions to the Special Issue. We argue that BMDLs extend beyond just using an additional language to enact disciplinary literacie…
A multidimensional framework of bi- and multilingual disciplinary literacies
This paper presents a conceptualisation of bi- and multilingual disciplinary literacies (BMDLs) designed as a dynamic and versatile thinking tool for researchers and practitioners in bi- and multilingual educational settings. It builds upon established theoretical foundations and the work conducted within the COST network CLILNetLE, moving beyond traditional perspectives of literacy development that are often viewed as linear or narrowly confined…
Second Language Learning and Teaching (15 works) · Linguistics (13 works) · Sociology (10 works) · Computer Science (9 works) · EFL/ESL Teaching and Learning (9 works) · Pedagogy (9 works) · Psychology (8 works) · Mathematics education (5 works) · Multilingual Education and Policy (5 works) · Philosophy (5 works)