2018

Scotson, Mia

This socioculturally informed study explores how highly educated Finnish language learners represent their agency in visual narratives. Learners (n=59) were asked to draw two pictures of themselves as Finnish language users and provide verbal interpretations of the drawings. The aim of using visual narratives is to reach aspects such as feelings and beliefs which might be difficult to express verbally. The data were analyzed first by using visual grammar set out by Kress and van Leeuwen (2006) and secondly by content analysis. The findings suggest that learners saw Finnish language as a tool for oral communication. However, difficulties with speaking and listening appeared to restrict learners’ agentic behaviour and manifested as a negative sense of agency. On the other hand, the findings indicate that learners had positive beliefs of their agency in the future: they saw themselves speaking fluent Finnish with other people, especially in the workplace.