kuisma@u.washington.edu  Dept. of Scandinavian Studies  University of Washington  Box 353420  Seattle, WA 98195-3420

Teaching:
Karoliina Kuisma taught in the Scandinavian Summer School in 1998. Since then, she has worked in the field of second language acquisition, teaching Finnish to adult immigrants in the Helsinki-region.

Research Interests:
Karoliina Kuisma's current research asks, How do non-native speakers get by with limited linguistic resources and function in a given speech community? This question arises within the context of the Finnish labor market. The number of immigrants in Finland has quadrupled since the early 1990's. New Finns will play an increasingly important role in the labor market as the baby-boomer generation retires. Presently, however, the unemployment rate among immigrants is three times higher than that among native Finns. Assumptions about language proficiency play a salient role in new Finns' entry into the labor market. Teaching and learning of a second language is also an important means of empowerment and integration. How can we define necessary, work-related language skills from a second-language acquisition point of view?

Publications:
"Councelling immigrants in working life - good pratices." (co-authored with Korolainen, Mammon & Mikkola) in Multicultural councelling (2005). Center of International Mobilisation & University of Jyväskylä.

"Suomen kieli ja ammattiopinnot: kokemuksia käytännöistä ja uusia näkymiä." Maahanmuuttajat ammattia oppimassa (2004). Opetushallitus. -"Finnish language and vocational studies: practices and view points ." Finnish National Board of Education.

"Maahanmuuttajat ammatillisessa peruskoulutuksessa". Opetushallituksen moniste 18 (2001). - Immigrants in vocational education - Finnish National Board of Education publication series no. 18 (2001).

"Alkeisoppijoiden kommunikaatiostrategiat puheessa ja kirjoitelmissa: kielelliset ongelmatilanteet ja niistdä selviytyminen." Vuorovaikutus ja suomen kielen oppiminen. Kakkoskieli 3. - Beginner learners' communication strategies in speech and writing: overcoming problematic linguistic situations. Kakkoskieli-series.