Bakgrunn
2019: Professor of Linguistics at the Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences
2016-2019 : Associate Professor in Norwegian language at the Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences
2013-2016: Postdoctoral fellow at the Center of multilingualism in society across the lifespan (University of Oslo)
2009-2012: Ph.d. fellow in French linguistics (University of Oslo, Université Paris Ouest Nanterre)
Ekspertområder
Research interests
I am interested in multilingualism, i.e. how speakers with varied linguistic repertoires learn, use and experience language. My work concerns multilingualism in different contexts, such as in the Central African Republic, among Congolese migrants in Norway and in Creole-speaking areas (Réunion and Guadeloupe).
Language across time and space: Following UN-refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo to Norway
Currently, I am conducting a project entitled Language across time and space: Following UN-refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo to Norway. The aim of the project is the get insight into how refugees themselves experience the process of coming to Norway and learning Norwegian as well as to document their language development. 13 individuals participate in the project. They are all born in the Democratic Republic of Congo and were refugees in Uganda before being resettled in Norway.
The project has three main phases: i) Uganda: In July 2019, I followed the International Organization for Migration's (IOM) cultural orientation for Norwegian-bound refugees in a refugee camp in Uganda. I recruited participants and observed the cultural orientation program they attended in ordre to get an understanding of what they knew about Norway before the resettlement; ii) Introduction program: The participants have all arrived in Norway by now and have started or will soon start the Introduction program. In this phase of the project, the aim is to follow the participants as closely as possible during their participation in the program through classroom observations, interviews with different actors (municipalities, teachers, school management, etc.) and frequent conversations with the participants themselves. With their expertise in didactics and institutional interactions respectively, Marte Monsen and Veronica Pajaro participate in the collection of data during this phase of the project; iii) life after the Introduction program: The aim of the last phase of the project is to follow the participants' lives after participating in the mandatory activities for new refugees in Norway in order to get an insight into their choices and their encounter with work life and/or education.
The project has a longitudinal dimension in the sense that I am at following the participants for an unlimited time to be able to study change and continuity in their narratives and linguistic repertoires. Moreover, it has a holistic dimension as language learning is seen as embedded in social contexts and deeply related to personal experiences - a main inspiration for the project is Bonnie Norton's concept Investment.
Other activities
I am responsible for the research group Språk og samfunn (Language and society) at the Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences and a member of the Advisory Editorial Board of the Journal of French Language Studies.
Recent publications
Steien, G. B. (2019). "Je ne veux pas détruire la société norvégienne en introduisant le français". Le français mis en récit par des migrants congolais en Norvège. Langue française, 202, 107-122.
Nimbona, G. & Steien, G. B. (2019). Modes monolingues dans des écologies multilingues: les études phonologiques des français africains. Langue française, 202, 43-69.
Purkarthofer, J. & Steien, G. B. (2019). “Prétendre comme si on connaît pas une autre langue que le Swahili.” Multilingual parents in Norway on change and continuity in their family language policies. International journal of the sociology of language, 255, 109-131.
Steien, G. B. (2018). “Jeg vil helst snakke norsk på norsk”. Valg og begrensning i andrespråksfonologi. In A.K Gujord og G. T. Randen (red) Norsk som andrespråk – læringsteoretiske perspektiver. Cappelen Dam, 214-234
Golden, A. & Steien, G. B. (2018). “Snakke med ved? Snakke med maskin?” Voksne flyktningers narrativer fra norskopplæring. Acta didactica Norge, 12(3), 1-24.
Steien, G. B. & van Dommelen, W. (2018). The production of Norwegian tones by multilingual non-native speakers. International journal of bilingualism, 22(3), 316–329.
Publikasjoner og prosjekter
Tilknyttet studieprogram
- Andrespråksdidaktikk
- Årsstudium i norsk
- Lektorutdanning i språkfag
- Master i digital kommunikasjon og kultur
- Master i kultur- og språkfagenes didaktikk