News

MetaLearn was represented at the 2nd International Conference on Early Language Learning and Multilingual Education in Early Childhood (ELLME'24), which took place in Granada, Spain, on September 5-6, 2024. Monika and Christine, in collaboration with Sandra, contributed with an engaging presentation titled "Promoting children’s plurilingual competence and metalinguistic awareness through translation-based tasks." Their presentation highlighted how translation-based tasks can enhance young learners’ mediation skills, linguistic and metalinguistic competence, and the use of their linguistic repertoires beyond the language of schooling. A heartfelt thank you to the organizers and participants for making ELLME'24 an inspiring and memorable conference!

In August, several members of the MetaLearn team travelled to the Metochi Study Centre for an intensive writing week, by invitation of CLIO—a network of women dedicated to the research and writing of both fiction and non-fiction. CLIO aims to address the gender imbalance in academia by providing women with uninterrupted time to think and write, offering a supportive community and structured retreats. Nestled in the serene landscapes of Lesvos, the study centre provided an ideal setting for focused work and collaboration, fruitful discussions, drafting and revising article manuscripts, as well as networking with colleagues from several other academic institutions. We would like to congratulate and thank the University of Agder for maintaining such an amazingly tranquil and contemplative workspace!

We are excited about the publication of our test development article in the journal Language Awareness this August. Authored by Kaja, Cecilie, and Christine, the article titled "Developing an MLA-test for young learners – insights from measurement theory and language testing" details the creation and validation of an innovative MLA-test for children aged 8–10, conducted between 2021 and 2023. Designed using principles from measurement theory and language testing, the MetaLearn test comprises two identical versions focusing on sounds, words, meaning, grammar, and cross-language comparison. Both versions are equally challenging and adept at distinguishing between different levels of metalinguistic awareness, which is crucial for tracking development over time. This test has since been used for research within the MetaLearn project. The article also highlights the importance of psychometric principles, facilitating result comparison, replicability, and adaptability to other contexts.

The article is published with Open Access and can be accessed here.

This year, three MA students successfully submitted MA theses at HVL which were written in relation to MetaLearn! Here are their topics:

• Norwegian Elementary Pupils’ Dominant Language Constellation
• Investigating metalinguistic awareness and metalinguistic strategies in the 8th-grade classroom using an MLA test: a mixed methods study
• An exploration of young Norwegian EFL learners’ metatalk through translation tasks

Congratulations!

In May, MetaLearn was invited to the University of the Basque Country to hold a two-day workshop for the research group Language and Speech Laboratory, directed by Professor Maria del Pilar Garcia Mayo.

The workshop focused on metalinguistic awareness in young learners, and included presentations and activities related to various parts of the MetaLearn project, such as how metalinguistic awareness can be examined through test instruments and metalinguistic talk.
We would like to extend our thanks to Pilar for the invitation, and to the research group for a lovely time together in Vitoria-Gasteiz! 

MetaLearn, in collaboration with the research group AALM, was delighted to announce a guest lecture by Dr. Dieter Thoma from the University of Mannheim, Germany. The lecture titled "The effects of integrating multiple languages on early foreign language learning in multilingual classrooms”, which was based on the longitudinal projects MEG-SkoRe I and II, addressed the question of how foreign language teaching can harness the languages students already know.

Thoma explored the benefits of plurilingual teaching, specifically regarding vocabulary and grammar acquisition, and investigated the impact of similarities between students' languages and English grammar. We would like to extend our warmest thanks to Dieter Thoma for sharing his insights with us! 

MetaLearn presented twice at the MoMM-conference on March 21-22 hosted by the University of Bergen. Monika and Christine presented joint work with Simon titled “Teacher cognitions about promoting cross-linguistic awareness.”

Additionally, Kaja presented joint work with Christine, Cecilie and Monika about how metalinguistic awareness can be tested in the presentation “Investigating the foundations of multilingualism: how to assess metalinguistic awareness.” This presentation detailed the development of the MetaLearn MLA-test, and argued for the usefulness of drawing on principles from educational measurement and language testing when researching metalinguistic awareness.
A big thank you to all participants and the conference organizers for an inspiring digital conference!

MetaLearn and the research group AALM jointly arranged a public lecture by Prof. Dr. Sible Andringa from the University of Amsterdam on the 5th of March. The lecture, titled "What learning to read means for language acquisition," explored the transformative effects of learning to read and its potential impact on language learning.

Prof. Dr. Andringa discussed how the ability to decode script and process written text influences cognitive systems and opens up new linguistic possibilities. We would like to extend our gratitude to Sible for sharing his expertise with us. 

On October the 3rd and 4th, the MetaLearn team was able to welcome the advisory board in Bergen for the very first time! How exciting to meet in person after the long digital stretch owed to Covid. During two intense days, the MetaLearn team reported on the project’s overall progress—and was happy to report having reached all milestones and deliverables. In addition, each work package gave an overview of what they had worked on so far and what is still to come. The focus of the subsequent discussions was on possible analyses and the publications to result from each work package. As a special highlight, we took our national and international guests on a city tour through Bergen on Monday, which culminated in a joint dinner on Mount Fløyen. A big thank you to all members of our advisory board for their suggestions and comments!

On September 8, Kaja took an important step in her PhD by completing her mid-way evaluation. After a short presentation by Kaja, Karen Roehr-Brackin (University of Essex) and Øystein Vangsnes (UiT & HVL) gave feedback on Kaja’s presentation, her PhD project, and her progress. A big thank you to the two discussants for their critical comments!

The MetaLearn project was represented at EuroSLA 2022 (24.-27.8.2022) by Kaja and Christine! Kaja gave a presentation on “Metalinguistic awareness and English proficiency in early instructed language learning” at the EuroSLA doctoral workshop. A big thank you to all participants for your feedback! And, of course, a special thank you to the official EuroSLA discussant, Marije Michel (University of Groningen), and the conference organizers.

Four rounds of intervention in three schools were conducted and completed in spring 2021. We recorded the pupils while they worked in groups on tasks created by the research team. We look very much forward to analyzing the recordings and sharing our findings!

In June 2022, MetaLearn held its first multiplier event for colleagues at HVL! 14 colleagues from the English section attended. One of the foci chosen for this event was the data collection instruments used and developed by the project. The other focus was the realities of doing research with and in schools, where the team reported on some of their experiences. The MetaLearn project team also gave a general overview of the project and its aims and reported on some of the preliminary results.

The MetaLearn project was represented at the MultiLit meeting in Leikanger (31.05-02.06.2022). Kaja presented the MetaLearn project to the MultiLit project group, which researches multilectal literacy in education. A big thank you to project manager Øystein A. Vangsnes for the invitation, we hope for many synergy effects!

This year, four MA students successfully submitted MA theses at HVL which were written in relation to MetaLearn! Here are their topics:

· Metalinguistic awareness in primary school: What and how?

· The relationship between Norwegian elementary school pupils’ cross-linguistic metalinguistic awareness, English competence, and multilingualism.

· Elementary school teacher cognition on metalinguistic awareness in the EFL classroom

· An exploratory study of primary school learners' metatalk in the EFL context

Congratulations!

In fall 2021, MetaLearn conducted individual and group tests with almost 180 third graders from five different schools. We used our newly developed MetaLearn test to test pupils’ metalinguistic awareness, in addition to several other standardized measures such as the BPVS. A great big thank you to all pupils and teachers in the project for making this possible!

The MetaLearn project was very happy to have Professor Debra Myhill of the University of Exeter as our guest for a workshop on 17 November.

On 16 September 2021, MetaLearn held a kick-off seminar for teachers from the five schools participating. The MetaLearn team and nine teachers met at Radisson Bryggen for a half-day seminar that ended with a joint lunch. During the seminar, the teachers and MetaLearn project team got to know each other better, and shared expectations about project participation. The teachers also got an overview of the MetaLearn project and the different elements of project participation, including the data collection, teacher interviews, classroom observations, and classroom intervention tasks. In addition, the meeting contained a session on assessment literacy where we took a critical look at how tests are developed and how their results can be interpreted.

Thank you all for coming, we look forward to working with you over the next two years!

On June 3rd, 2021, MetaLearn organised a guest lecture with Dr. Adrian Palmer (the University of Utah) in collaboration with the AALM research group. Dr. Palmer gave a talk on two approaches for assessment development and validity: the qualities of usefulness approach (Bachman & Palmer, 1996) and the Assessment Use Argument approach (Bachman & Palmer, 2010).

Thank you, Adrian, for a very interesting talk!

May 26th, 2021: Today, MetaLearn successfully finished piloting its newly developed test instrument for metalinguistic awareness. 350 pupils from seven schools in Bergen helped to make this possible. A big thank you to all pupils and their teachers!

On April 21st, 2021, MetaLearn organised a guest lecture with Professor Ulrike Jessner-Schmid (the University of Innsbruck) in collaboration with the AALM research group. Jessner-Schmid gave a talk on multilingual awareness and the Dynamic Model of Multilingualism (DMM; Herdina & Jessner, 2002). She also presented interesting results from her current research on the role of multilingual awareness in a variety of language learning scenarios ranging from kindergarten to secondary schools in Austria and Italy.

Thank you, Ulrike, for a very interesting talk!

Christine Möller-Omrani and Kaja Haugen represented MetaLearn at the Multilingualism on My Mind 2021 conference with presentations on test development and the development of metalinguistic awareness.

The MetaLearn team hosted five international experts on assessing metalinguistic awareness at the test workshop.