How 15-Year-Olds Learn English
Case Studies from Finland, Greece, Israel, the Netherlands and Portugal
This report takes the reader into the lives of young people in Finland, Greece, Israel, the Netherlands and Portugal to explore the question: how do 15-year-olds learn English? Gone are the days when learners only encountered English for a couple of hours a week in a classroom. For today's teens, English is often the preferred language of communication in increasingly diverse online and offline communities. Yet relatively little is known internationally about how students learn English inside and outside school, and the resources available to help them. This report presents country findings from interviews with 15-year-olds, English-language teachers and school principals and wider background research, as well as a comparative chapter on key international insights. The report also explores how today’s digital technologies can support learners to develop foreign language proficiency. These findings support the forthcoming PISA 2025 Foreign Language Assessment through which the OECD will generate comparable data on students’ proficiency in English in different countries and on the factors related to it.
How 15-year-olds learn English in Finland
The OECD visited Finland in May 2023 to explore the question: how do 15-year-olds learn English? This chapter presents findings from this case study visit and wider research. It provides key contextual information about learning languages in Finland in formal education and beyond. It also describes the main findings from interviews and short surveys with students, English teachers and school leaders, as well as observations of English lessons. These findings include perspectives on the ways in which 15-year-olds in Finland encounter and use English outside school, insights into the perceived strengths and challenges of English language teaching and learning in schools, and examples of the ways in which digital technologies and other resources support the teaching of English in Finland.
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