This thesis on the teaching of Nynorsk belongs to the field of Norwegian didactics. A monography, it examines and documents how regular use of Nynorsk in Norwegian classes can be an approach to the teaching of Nynorsk as a second language variety: What characterizes the writing strategies of a group of students who use Nynorsk as an everyday language in Norwegian classes? And in what ways do these strategies influence their work with Nynorsk?
The study is based on a formative intervention study in a VG3 class. Both the students and the teacher used Nynorsk frequently, in digital and non-digital writing, throughout their final school year. The aim of the thesis was to document students’ reflection on their formal and informal Nynorsk writing, writing strategies used to support their writing, and their assessment of own learning outcomes. The empirical data is collected through qualitative methods.
The main findings of the study are that different strategies are used in different phases of the writing process. Using Nynorsk in both formal and informal texts seem to activate a wider range of writing strategies. Admittedly, the students’ experience of these approaches varies significantly. In spite of this, there seems to be a potential in working with writing strategies adapted to different phases of the students’ Nynorsk writing.
An important contribution from this study is to explore and document active and practical training in Nynorsk as a second language variety. The findings link the teaching of Nynorsk as a second language variety to general research on writing strategies and to language immersion-methods, and throws a light on possibilities in and challenges of working with Nynorsk as an every-day-language in Norwegian classes.
The thesis is submitted to the Institute of Teacher Education and School Research at the University of Oslo, and is funded by the National Center for Nynorsk in education under the Education Directorate.