Elisa Repo

Biography

I am Elisa Repo, PhD, a linguist and educator specializing in linguistically and culturally diverse schools. I am interested in questions of educational equity, with my research focusing on language awareness, pedagogical translanguaging, and teachers' professional competence in supporting students' language learning and multilingualism. I am currently a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Jyväskylä, Finland, studying ways to promote the integration and school engagement of recently arrived students in lower secondary schools.

My doctoral dissertation on language-aware schools can be accessed via this link: https://www.utupub.fi/handle/10024/174277. The dissertation has received awards: it was honored with the Kari Sajavaara award for being a scientifically meritorious and societally significant doctoral dissertation. Additionally, it received the Migration Institute of Finland award for the best dissertation on migration and ethnic relations completed at Finnish universities during the academic years 2022/23–2023/24.

My drive to work for diversity is strengthened by international research and lecturing visits to institutions such as the University of California, Berkeley, and Indiana University, Bloomington, in the US; Beijing Foreign Studies University in China; and the University of Hamburg and the Finnish Institute in Berlin, Germany. Additionally, I have a strong background as a teacher, supported by multidisciplinary training in linguistics and educational sciences, as well as experience teaching diverse groups across various educational levels—from elementary education to university. I have worked both as a classroom teacher and a Finnish language teacher, and have taught through both remote and in-person instruction.

Feel free to reach out via email (elisa.a.repo@jyu.fi) if you are interested in collaborating!