Use of language in understanding subject matter

In this article a development of the research orientation called phenomenography to include analyses of the use of language in understanding subject matter is presented. The development has its background in research on student learning that was the immediate basis for what was later called phenomenography. The development presented is a continuation of the original research on students´ approaches to and understandings of subject matter. In this line of research a recent interdisciplinary phenomenographic project on university physics students’ use of language in expressing their understanding of cases of physical motion was carried out. The theoretical approach of this research is presented in contrast to some main characteristics of cognitive and socio-cultural theories often referred to in educational research but found to be limited in their description of use of language. It is suggested that to understand educational phenomena one has to consider the learner as an agent. This view also entails a different view of language and the use of language compared to dominant traditions of research and as a further development of the phenomenographic orientation. An agent perspective and an intentional expressive view of language use seem to be essential to understand students’ understanding of subject matter.