Gamer mom Anna-Marie on her daughters' language learning: "It’s like they always carry a piece of home with them out in the world."
The Principal sent out a postal owl with a list of questions to Norway to catch up with the mother of Anna, an 11-year-old gamer who has been part of School of Gaming for over four years. Here are the questions and the responses from Anne-Marie, Anna’s mom.
If you are interested to help your beloved gamer to hold on to her or his language skills, please consider signing up for our free Minecraft adventures on every Wednesday 6pm (Finnish time).
1. Parent's name and the gamer's name and age?
Anne-Marie Jansson (mother) and Anna Jansson (gamer), 11 years old.
2. How long have you lived outside of Finland?
I moved to Norway in November 2011, and Anna was born here in Kongsvinger in 2013.
3. What languages do you speak at home?
We speak about four languages at home. I speak Finnish with the girls, Alex (the girls’ father and my partner) speaks Swedish with them (he’s Swedish), I speak English with Alex, and the girls speak Norwegian and Finnish with each other.
4. What languages does Anna use in her daily life?
Anna uses all four languages daily. Of course, she often prefers English because it allows everyone to understand her at once.
5. Does she have other opportunities to use Finnish in everyday life?
Anna speaks Finnish outside the home occasionally with relatives on the phone and during her Minecraft lessons at School of Gaming.
6. As a parent, have you been concerned about Anna’s Finnish skills?
When Anna was in preschool, she really wanted to speak only Norwegian and English. I often had to pretend I didn’t understand her unless she spoke to me in Finnish. When she started school at age six, I noticed that while she spoke Finnish fairly well, she didn’t conjugate verbs or adjectives correctly and had a smaller Finnish vocabulary than in Norwegian. I was quite worried that her Finnish would slowly fade and that it wasn’t enough for just me and relatives to speak Finnish with her to maintain her skills.
7. Why and how did you join School of Gaming?
I happened to see an ad for SoG on Facebook and thought it would be much more likely that Anna would learn Finnish from her peers through a shared hobby than through just our daily chats.
8. How often does Anna participate in School of Gaming? Does she play with friends she met there outside of the club?
Anna started Minecraft clubs a few years ago, attending twice a week, and often played outside of club time with another girl. After a few group changes, Anna now plays once a week on Saturdays, and outside of that, she plays with her Norwegian friends.
9. Why do you think maintaining Anna’s Finnish language is important?
I think it’s very important that Anna and her little sister retain their Finnish language skills alongside the other languages, so they can stay close with our Finnish family. And because multilingualism is a huge advantage in studies and working life later on.
I also find it wonderful that the girls speak Finnish and Swedish with Tampere and Gothenburg accents. It’s like they always carry a piece of home with them out in the world.
10. What kind of development have you seen in her language skills since joining School of Gaming?
Anna’s Finnish has improved and strengthened tremendously since joining SoG. Her vocabulary has expanded, she uses more synonyms, conjugates words better, and doesn’t have to think as long about how to explain something.
11. What other benefits have you noticed in Anna’s development since joining SoG?
Since joining SoG, Anna has learned a lot about group dynamics, how to stand up for herself, how to listen to others, and understand that the world is full of people besides just herself.
12. Has Anna made new friends through School of Gaming with whom she speaks Finnish?
Anna made some new friends in her first Minecraft group. But now that she’s switched groups a couple of times and there’s been a recent reform, it’s too early to say if she’s found friends to play with outside of the club. At least she seems happy with the new group, even though her horse hobby now takes up most of her time.
13. Would you recommend School of Gaming to other Finnish expat parents, and if so, why?
Absolutely, I would recommend it to expat parents! No matter how much I try to speak and read to the girls in Finnish, it’s not always enough.
When they play, they absorb the language and its nuances almost effortlessly. The best part is that it doesn’t feel like studying to them. It feels like a fun hobby that just happens to come with the added bonus of language learning.
And on top of that, we’ve been very pleased with all the instructors, the staff, and of course, the Principal. Our experience has been smooth, quick, and friendly. Big thanks for that! Have a great autumn, all of you!
If you are interested to help your beloved gamer to hold on to her or his language skills, please consider signing up for our free Minecraft adventures on every Wednesday 6pm (Finnish time).
Or read more about our weekly Minecraft and Fortnite club schedule here.