The English teacher in the Sámi speaking classroom

Abstract

This master's thesis explores the multilingual teaching situation as seen in Norway’s northernmost county Finnmark, with a special focus on Sámi-speaking classrooms. The study aims to investigate how English teachers consider their bilingual Sámi-Norwegian students' backgrounds in their teaching, and what challenges they face. The study is based on qualitative interviews with four English teachers who teaches in Finnmark and have knowledge of the Sámi language and culture. Methodologically, the study is classified as a qualitative case study where each teacher's experiences and knowledge are examined in depth. The analysis of the data shows that teachers have varying degrees of positive and negative attitudes towards multilingualism, but a general attitude that this is an important topic that they wish they had more knowledge about. Nevertheless, the teachers consider their students' bilingual backgrounds in their teaching by integrating cultural topics in teaching, language, cultural celebrations, and simply by being aware of and familiarizing themselves with the students' cultural backgrounds, thereby adapting their teaching to their various needs. Regarding the challenges the teachers face, they report a lack of motivation among students, a lack of adapted resources that reflect and support multilingualism, and the complexity of teaching in a multilingual environment.