Tekstikeskne keeleõpetus põhikoolis: Teoreetiline taust, vastutuse jagamine ja metoodika
Text Centered L1 Instruction: Theoretical Background, Responsibility, Methods

Summary/Abstract: L1 teaching in Estonia has become text-centered, which stems from functional language theory and modern understandings of literacy that see a rich textual environment as the guarantee of both linguistic literacy and literacy in general. This prompts questions of methods, teaching principles, and approaches: what is the main focus of text instruction in L1 classrooms versus other subjects? Which methods allow text work and simultaneous development of grammar ability? This meta-methodological article focuses on those two main research questions and views them within the framework of constructionist pedagogy theories. The article describes the corpus-based lexico-grammatical approach to language teaching as one potential solution. According to the conceptual framework of linguistic literacy, people acquire language from the linguistic environment surrounding them. Texts are formed within social situations and are viewed as genres which vary in contexts. Genres are taken in and produced systematically in school and therefore design linguistic literacy. The responsibility for teaching literacy lies on every school subject, and in order to guarantee the fulfilment of this goal, clear landmarks between L1 and other subjects have to be set. This has not yet been done in Estonia. An exhaustive study which identifies the texts and teaching aims regarding text work in L1 and other subjects would provide an answer to the question. Second, more effort must be made to create learner-centered classrooms beginning from the known and moving towards new knowledge; this lies at the heart of constructionist pedagogy and cognitive development. One possibility is to improve inquiry-based learning, inductive reasoning and analysis of situative genres around us. Third, Estonian L1 teaching requires more intensive corpus-based research in order to connect genres to grammatical features and more thorough methodological instructions in order to analyze texts from the perspective of linguistic features. Fourth, many researchers and theorists declare that bringing corpora into classrooms offers authentic text material, which simplifies language analysis and connects the linguistic features to genres. The corpus-based lexicogrammatical approach has been proven to be more effective than abstract grammar teaching. Linguistic corpus research emphasizes corpora as a legitimate resource of authentic language which should be used by textbook publishers and teachers to tighten the connection between the language classroom and applied linguistics. The Estonian language lacks both a pedagogical intake language corpus and a thorough lexicogrammatical corpus study of L1 teaching, which could solve this issue, offering the tools for connecting authentic texts and their linguistic features.

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