Abstract:

Digitalisation has rapidly developed into one of the main drivers of change in higher education (HE) and language learning in Finland. Consequently, there are multiple active ministry-funded national projects that have been initiated to support this development. One of them is DIGIJOUJOU, the main aim of which is develop digipedagogy and digimaterial for teaching Finnish and Swedish (both official national languages in Finland) to be utilised both at universities and universities of applied sciences. In so being, the whole higher education area (HEA) is working together over the university boundaries. There are 52 teachers participating the project from 12 different universities and universities of applied sciences.

DIGIJOUJOU divides into multiple sub-projects that focus either on flexible study modules or additional digital tools to support independent learning or studying in institutional contexts. In this oral presentation, we introduce some highlights of the DIGIJOUJOU sub-project Työelämän suomi (‘Finnish for working life’), which develops study modules for a 3 - 5 ECTS of independent studying. The beta-version of the modules are ready by the end of 2018 and will be piloted in Aalto University and elsewhere starting from the beginning of 2019. In the present talk, we will outline the work done in the sub-project as well as introduce the general characteristics for the upcoming pilot.

As the name suggests, the sub-project develops materials for Finnish learning with the focus in the Finnish communicative needs in professional contexts, i.e. job-seeking, formal and especially informal work-related discussions, self-promotion, interacting with clients and the like. The materials are developed for quite advanced learners; the starting (CEFR) level should be at least A2/B1. The end result is a structured inventory of materials that are to be selected and combined, in chunks of 1 credit, depending on the needs of the schools and students. The purpose is that all materials can be used in all of the schools in HEA by any Finnish teacher. The material is licenced with Creative Commons so it can be used and edited anywhere for not-commercial purposes.

In Aalto University, we will pilot the material in a 3 ECTS online course Finnish for professional needs. We discuss the selection of materials and pedagogical solutions for the pilot as well was consider the applicability of the pilot to different groups of students in different universities. Finally, we share some remarks on the projects as in how it has contributed to the development of teachers’ digital competence and understanding of digital literacy in language learning. Key feature here is the grasp of the needs of the target group, the positive correlate of which is more versatile and flexible learning paths for language learners.

Keywords:

Digital literacy, digitalisation, language learning, higher education.