“I’m a Thing-Finder” –Children’s Engagement in Meaningful Activities and Their Language Learning Possibilities in Out-of-Class Education

Abstract

In this paper, I will focus on some of the situations observed during a pilot project in which opportunities for language and learning occurred or could occur, and either were—or were not–used by the pupils. Based on an ecological perspective whereby language and learning are interrelated, this paper assumes that language is learned when used, and that the engagement of the learner in semiotically meaningful activities create possibilities for language use and language learning. The starting point for this paper is therefore hypothetical, in that, based on the observed examples, the paper examines the language and learning potential that the activities at the outdoor school have to offer pupils. How do you explore possibilities for language use and language learning? How do you discover correlations between possibilities for active engagement in meaningful activities and possibilities for language and learning? How can you tell if children are learning—and whether they are learning language—in the outdoor school? Many such theoretical and methodological questions appeared during the pilot project. This paper offers insight into a researcher’s reflections on the research into ‘opportunities for language use and language learning.’ What happens when a researcher is allowed to participate in outdoor-school activities on an equal footing with other participants? This paper attempts to answer these questions.

Keywords

• language learning
• ecological approach
• meaning
• activity
• affordances
• out-of-class education