När ämnesspråk och andra språk möts - Flerspråkiga gymnasielevers upplevelser av biologiundervisningen

Abstract

Many students in Swedish schools are multilingual, meaning they develop subject knowledge simultaneously with their second language. This creates a dual challenge that is rarely visible in assessment practices but significantly affects students' opportunities to demonstrate what they know. This study focuses on multilingual upper secondary students studying biology in Swedish, and how language, teacher support, and teaching practices affect their learning conditions. The aim of the study is to explore how multilingual upper secondary students experience the intersection of language and biology education in Swedish, and how language, teacher support, and teaching affect their opportunities to understand, express, and demonstrate biological knowledge. The study was conducted as a qualitative interview study with six multilingual students studying the Science Programme at an upper secondary school in Gothenburg. Data were collected through three semi-structured pair interviews and analysed using thematic analysis based on Braun and Clarke's (2006) framework. The results show three overarching themes. Firstly, a consistent gap exists between what students actually know and what they manage to show in Swedish. The cognitive load of thinking in one language and producing text in another reduces the mental capacity available for other things like analysis and reasoning. Secondly, the teacher's approach appears as the single most decisive factor for whether students' knowledge becomes visible. A language supportive teaching approach significantly improved students' participation and performance, while its absence had dramatic consequences. Thirdly, multilingualism functions as an underutilised resource. Students constantly use all their languages to build understanding, which is a practice known as translanguaging, but this occurs without the school's knowledge or recognition. The didactic implications of these findings are clear. Assessment practices need to be reconsidered to allow multilingual students to demonstrate their actual knowledge. Simple measures such as concept lists with translations, access to dictionaries during tests and to accept answers in other languages could significantly reduce the gap between what students know and what the system allows them to show.