ABSTRACT
Finland has two national languages: Finnish and Swedish. The position of Swedish as a national language is explained by history, since the Swedish language and culture were deeply rooted when Finland formed the eastern part of the Swedish empire (1249-1809). Today, Finnish is registered as the mother tongue of about 92% of Finland’s inhabitants, Swedish for about 5%, and other languages for the rest. These figures indicate that changes in society over time have actually led to a minority position for the Swedish language, despite its unique position in Finland’s history and society. The diminishing presence of the Swedish language in Finnish society has, in turn, impacted on Finnishspeaking students’ motivation and opportunities to learn Swedish. One consequence of the decline in the number of mother-tongue speakers is that the proficiency of Swedish among Finnish-speaking students does not reach the level required for professional bilingualism in Finnish society. To meet these expectations, the national school system has included programmes which aim at developing bilingual competence. One of these
programmes is Swedish immersion, which is an early total immersion model for Finnishspeaking children, comprising early childhood education and care (ECEC) (day care and preschool) and basic education (grade levels 1-9).
