Reported simplification strategies of French and Spanish teachers at Finnish university language centers

Simplification strategies are a tool used by language teachers to adapt authentic materials and to facilitate comprehension of second language learners. This article presents the reported simplification practices of 21 French and Spanish teachers working in Finnish university language centers. The study adopts a mixed method approach, incorporating both quantitative and qualitative data, including a linguistic analysis of the teachers’ simplification strategies. Data collection involved asking teachers to complete six practical exercises drawn from everyday language instruction, to which they applied simplification strategies. Through the analysis of their responses, this study addresses the following research questions: What simplification strategies do teachers report using in French and Spanish courses at language centers in Finland? What types of linguistic simplification do teachers apply when adapting instructional language and materials for different teaching tasks (e.g., oral instructions, grammar explanations, reading texts)? The findings reveal that in oral communication, teachers frequently employ a range of simplification strategies—including gestures, codeswitching, and interlingual transfer—that extend beyond strictly linguistic simplification within the target language. In written practices, however, the results indicate a stronger emphasis on linguistic simplification, particularly at the lexical level where verbs and nouns are the most frequently targeted elements for modification or omission.