| Summary: | Estonia’s population has become increasingly more diverse in recent years (Statistikaamet, n.d.-e) and years of integration policies have demanded a more radical change in language policies, like stricter language level requirement for teachers (Kultuuriministeerium, 2023a; “Eestikeelsele”, 2024). As due to these reasons there are a lot of adult Estonian as Second Language learners, studying mandatorily and voluntarily. This thesis aimed to study which discourses are conveyed to these students in the textbooks that they encounter, with the focus on national representation and societal ideologies.
For the analysis I chose three textbooks, that are used on A1- and B2- level. The choice was made based on the teachers answers to a questionnaire sent out in November 2024. I analyzed those textbooks with Critical Discourse Analysis (Fairclough, 1992a) and Multimodal Discourse Analysis (Kress & van Leeuwen, 2001). These methodologies combined gave the opportunity to get a grasp on the textual and visual aspects that are communicated in the textbooks about nationalities and societal ideologies.
The analysis showed that the content, textual aspects and images rely frequently on a stereotypical portrayal of nationalities through both personality traits and national symbols, while giving Western countries more representation. In the materials, Estonian society is constructed through narrow ideologies, like stereotypical gender roles, a traditional family model and often reinforcing the idea that other nationalities are not fully part of Estonian society.
My study shows that the discourses and ideologies communicated to the students of Estonian as Second Language exclude a lot of diversity of the society. Furthermore, the discourses often do not align with some governmental development and integration plans. This means that the students might easily feel excluded or not accepted or may develop harmful biases against various social groups. To implement a more inclusive classroom, discussion-based and critical approach could improve a lot. The thesis also suggests a few exercises and materials that would engage the students with more diverse perspectives and critical thinking.
|
|---|