Polly Björk-Willén
Biographic Data
| ID | 195576 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Polly Björk-Willén |
| GIVEN NAMES | Polly |
| FAMILY NAME | Björk-Willén |
| SIGNATURE | BJÖRK-WILLÉN P |
| AFFILIATIONS | Linköping University |
| ORCID | 0009-0009-0244-1778 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 11 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 38 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 11 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2007 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
Teachers’ use of sign-supported speech in interaction with multilingual children in Swedish preschools
Many preschoolers in Sweden have other family languages than Swedish. Sign-supported speech (SSS) is often used to support children's second language development and participation in interaction. The aim of the present paper is to study how preschool teachers use SSS in interaction with multilingual children, and children's way of participation in such interaction. The study was conducted in three preschool units situated in a multilingual area. …
Children’s embodied and linguistic organization of peer inclusion and exclusion
Many years ago, Jacob Cromdal (2001) wrote an article about bilingual Swedish-English children's play and how they transformed the Swedish expression 'får jag vara med' into English 'can I be with'.To be with (i.e. to get access to other peers' play and to be a member of a peer group) is primary for most children, and its accomplishment is a joint effort.For most children, relationships with peers and belonging to peer groups (Björk-Willén, 2022)…
Children’s use of English as lingua franca in Swedish preschools
This paper highlights a current phenomenon reported from preschools placed in multilingual areas in Sweden, namely that some preschoolers with mutually different language backgrounds sometimes use English as lingua franca instead of Swedish during play. The data stems from a study of language environments in Swedish preschools situated in both monolingual and multilingual areas. The analyses reveal that many children are influenced by the English…
‘Now it was meal’
The overall aim of the present paper is to analyse and explore what frames a pretend play event as legal and recognizable to the participants, highlighting the children’s use of tense as an organizational device. The present video data are drawn from a single case study of two preschoolers’ interaction during a free play time event in a Swedish preschool. Influenced by ethnomethodological work on social actions, the analytical focus is on the par…
Learning to apologize
This article explores the apology practices that occur among young children, aged 1-4 years, and their preschool teachers in a Swedish preschool. More specifically, it aims to analyse how apology events are framed and interactively accomplished, and how children reproduce apology in peer play. Earlier studies have shown that the apology practices of adults and children have different agendas, although children’s apology practices echo those of ad…
Dilemmatic aspects of language policies in a trilingual preschool group
This article explores dilemmatic aspects of language policies in a preschool group in which three languages (Swedish, Romani and Arabic) are spoken on an everyday basis. The article highlights the interplay between policy decisions on the societal level, the teachers’ interpretations of these policies, as well as language practices on the micro level. The preschool group is seen as a complex context for negotiating language policies and expectati…
Preschoolers’ “Animation” of Computer Games
Research on preschool children's computer gaming often focuses on interview data or parental reports, leaving open the examination of children's actual game activity. This study explores how preschool children actually engage in gaming and their degrees of play immersion. Classroom observations of Swedish preschool children's gaming revealed their involvement in computer games took the forms of responding to characters through instructed actions,…
Peer group interactions in multilingual educational settings: Co-constructing social order and norms for language use
The present study explores peer group interactions in early multilingual educational settings, specifically focusing on children’s language-related episodes. Highlighting the multifaceted work of these interactional practices, it demonstrates in detail how children’s corrective actions, targeting, assessing and criticizing of the other’s language use were utilized in building the peer group identities and relations, while simultaneously indexing …
When education seeps into 'free play: How preschool children accomplish multilingual education
Routine Trouble: How Preschool Children Participate in Multilingual Instruction
This paper examines the turn-by-turn organization of social actions during educational activities at a multilingual preschool in Sweden. Specifically, it focuses on instructional exchanges within t ...
Participation in multilingual preschool play: Shadowing and crossing as interactional resources
Participation in multilingual preschool play: Shadowing and crossing as interactional resources
When education seeps into 'free play: How preschool children accomplish multilingual education
Dilemmatic aspects of language policies in a trilingual preschool group
This article explores dilemmatic aspects of language policies in a preschool group in which three languages (Swedish, Romani and Arabic) are spoken on an everyday basis. The article highlights the interplay between policy decisions on the societal level, the teachers’ interpretations of these policies, as well as language practices on the micro level. The preschool group is seen as a complex context for negotiating language policies and expectati…
Children’s use of English as lingua franca in Swedish preschools
This paper highlights a current phenomenon reported from preschools placed in multilingual areas in Sweden, namely that some preschoolers with mutually different language backgrounds sometimes use English as lingua franca instead of Swedish during play. The data stems from a study of language environments in Swedish preschools situated in both monolingual and multilingual areas. The analyses reveal that many children are influenced by the English…
Participation in multilingual preschool play: Shadowing and crossing as interactional resources
Routine Trouble: How Preschool Children Participate in Multilingual Instruction
This paper examines the turn-by-turn organization of social actions during educational activities at a multilingual preschool in Sweden. Specifically, it focuses on instructional exchanges within t ...
When education seeps into 'free play: How preschool children accomplish multilingual education
Peer group interactions in multilingual educational settings: Co-constructing social order and norms for language use
The present study explores peer group interactions in early multilingual educational settings, specifically focusing on children’s language-related episodes. Highlighting the multifaceted work of these interactional practices, it demonstrates in detail how children’s corrective actions, targeting, assessing and criticizing of the other’s language use were utilized in building the peer group identities and relations, while simultaneously indexing …
Preschoolers’ “Animation” of Computer Games
Research on preschool children's computer gaming often focuses on interview data or parental reports, leaving open the examination of children's actual game activity. This study explores how preschool children actually engage in gaming and their degrees of play immersion. Classroom observations of Swedish preschool children's gaming revealed their involvement in computer games took the forms of responding to characters through instructed actions,…
Dilemmatic aspects of language policies in a trilingual preschool group
This article explores dilemmatic aspects of language policies in a preschool group in which three languages (Swedish, Romani and Arabic) are spoken on an everyday basis. The article highlights the interplay between policy decisions on the societal level, the teachers’ interpretations of these policies, as well as language practices on the micro level. The preschool group is seen as a complex context for negotiating language policies and expectati…
Learning to apologize
This article explores the apology practices that occur among young children, aged 1-4 years, and their preschool teachers in a Swedish preschool. More specifically, it aims to analyse how apology events are framed and interactively accomplished, and how children reproduce apology in peer play. Earlier studies have shown that the apology practices of adults and children have different agendas, although children’s apology practices echo those of ad…
‘Now it was meal’
The overall aim of the present paper is to analyse and explore what frames a pretend play event as legal and recognizable to the participants, highlighting the children’s use of tense as an organizational device. The present video data are drawn from a single case study of two preschoolers’ interaction during a free play time event in a Swedish preschool. Influenced by ethnomethodological work on social actions, the analytical focus is on the par…
Children’s embodied and linguistic organization of peer inclusion and exclusion
Many years ago, Jacob Cromdal (2001) wrote an article about bilingual Swedish-English children's play and how they transformed the Swedish expression 'får jag vara med' into English 'can I be with'.To be with (i.e. to get access to other peers' play and to be a member of a peer group) is primary for most children, and its accomplishment is a joint effort.For most children, relationships with peers and belonging to peer groups (Björk-Willén, 2022)…
Children’s use of English as lingua franca in Swedish preschools
This paper highlights a current phenomenon reported from preschools placed in multilingual areas in Sweden, namely that some preschoolers with mutually different language backgrounds sometimes use English as lingua franca instead of Swedish during play. The data stems from a study of language environments in Swedish preschools situated in both monolingual and multilingual areas. The analyses reveal that many children are influenced by the English…
Teachers’ use of sign-supported speech in interaction with multilingual children in Swedish preschools
Many preschoolers in Sweden have other family languages than Swedish. Sign-supported speech (SSS) is often used to support children's second language development and participation in interaction. The aim of the present paper is to study how preschool teachers use SSS in interaction with multilingual children, and children's way of participation in such interaction. The study was conducted in three preschool units situated in a multilingual area. …
Psychology (11 works) · Language, Discourse, Communication Strategies (9 works) · Computer Science (7 works) · Linguistics (7 works) · Multilingual Education and Policy (7 works) · Sociology (6 works) · EFL/ESL Teaching and Learning (5 works) · Pedagogy (5 works) · Mathematics education (4 works) · Political science (4 works)