Sami Language Education:
Identities of Sami Language Teachers in Various School Context
Madoka Hammine (PhD candidate)
University of Lapland, Faculty of Education
The Sámi, living in the northern parts of Scandinavia and Finland and in the Kola Penninsula, are the only indigenous people in the EU to have their own languages, culture, means of livelihood and identity. The Sámi languages are Finno-Urgric languages spoken in the Sámi region in Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia. Roughly half of the Sámi people speak one of the Sámi languages. Currently, nine different Sámi languages are spoken in Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia and all of them are endangered due to the assimilation history for centuries and the degree of legal protection varies depending on the country. Of these nine Sámi languages, three are spoken in Finland: North Sámi, Inari Sámi and Skolt Sámi, which are the main focus of this research.
In Finland, after joining the EU, the nation has ratified two important instruments of the EU: the Framework Convention for Protection of National Minorities and the European Charter of Minority Languages. Based on the previous study of these two instruments, this research focuses on schools in two villages, Inari and Utsjoki, in northern Finland. Interviews were conducted with teachers who teaches Sámi languages in various school contexts. The purpose of this research is to examine how teachers are constructing and negotiating their identities in relation to Sámi languages. Focusing on their language teaching and learning experiences, it examines their identities and how their identities are expressed through their own experiences. It also aims at improving the current teaching practices and developing the better trainings for Sámi teachers in Finland.
Keywords: Sámi languages, Language teaching, Teacher identity, Finland
Identities of Sami Language Teachers in Various School Context
Madoka Hammine (PhD candidate)
University of Lapland, Faculty of Education
The Sámi, living in the northern parts of Scandinavia and Finland and in the Kola Penninsula, are the only indigenous people in the EU to have their own languages, culture, means of livelihood and identity. The Sámi languages are Finno-Urgric languages spoken in the Sámi region in Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia. Roughly half of the Sámi people speak one of the Sámi languages. Currently, nine different Sámi languages are spoken in Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia and all of them are endangered due to the assimilation history for centuries and the degree of legal protection varies depending on the country. Of these nine Sámi languages, three are spoken in Finland: North Sámi, Inari Sámi and Skolt Sámi, which are the main focus of this research.
In Finland, after joining the EU, the nation has ratified two important instruments of the EU: the Framework Convention for Protection of National Minorities and the European Charter of Minority Languages. Based on the previous study of these two instruments, this research focuses on schools in two villages, Inari and Utsjoki, in northern Finland. Interviews were conducted with teachers who teaches Sámi languages in various school contexts. The purpose of this research is to examine how teachers are constructing and negotiating their identities in relation to Sámi languages. Focusing on their language teaching and learning experiences, it examines their identities and how their identities are expressed through their own experiences. It also aims at improving the current teaching practices and developing the better trainings for Sámi teachers in Finland.
Keywords: Sámi languages, Language teaching, Teacher identity, Finland