Do you speak my language?

Round table discussion titled “Do you speak my language?” will be held in FERA conference on Thursday, November 21, 2019 at at 14.45-16.15 (UTC +2) in room F101 in Futura building, University of Eastern Finland, Joensuu, Finland.

The objective of educational policies and practices is to provide fair, if not equal, opportunities for all learners. However, rural and sparsely populated areas pose a unique challenge for educators to achieve these conditions. This is not only due to their location with long distances between the scattered communities, but also due to the cultural and linguistic background of these people. Providing education in remote areas possibly outside of the classroom, to a diverse group of students many of whom are indigenous or speaking minority language as their first language, requires competent and well-educated teachers, who are committed to working with the local communities. To achieve this goal, it is crucial to raise acknowledgement and recognition of indigenous and minority cultures and languages in education and increase teachers’ knowledge of inclusive pedagogies with diverse learners.

The roundtable will provide a vivid and adept discussion. The programme includes five topics, chosen by each speaker. The round table will discuss on each topic for 15 minutes, and when the time is up, they move on to the next topic. The audience has also possibilities to participate in the discussion by making comments and asking questions.

Speakers
Professor Tuija Turunen, University of Lapland, Finland (chair)
Dr., senior lecturer Mhairi Beaton, Leeds Beckett University, UK
Professor Diane Hirshberg, University of Alaska Anchorage, US
Professor Anne Burke, Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada
Ass. professor Kalpana Vijayavarathan, The University of the Faroe Islands, Faroe Islands
Dr., senior lecturer Suvi Lakkala, University of Lapland, Finland

The event is organised in collaboration by UArctic Thematic Network on Teacher Education and UNESCO/UNITWIN Network on Teacher Education.