Helene Berntsen

Associate Professor Department of Education

Email: helene.berntsen@uia.no
Phone: +47 38 14 17 84
Mobile phone: +47 98 02 03 39
Office: E2313 (Universitetsveien 25, 4630 Kristiansand, Norway)

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Areas of responsibility

I am an associate professor in special education and did my dissertation in 2024. The title of my doctorate was "Reading difficulties and bilingualism. Can decoding difficulties be identified in a second language?". My teaching is linked to special education, learning difficulties and learning opportunities.

Teaching

My work experience is related to special education from the Employment and Inclusion industry, various adult education centres, and as a special education coordinator at both primary and secondary schools.

Research

The subject I am researching is dyslexia, reading difficulties and multilingualism.

Research groups

Publications

Other

Berntsen, Helene & Handeland, Bjørn Harald (2026). Flerspråklighet er et upresist begrep - på tide at vi bytter det ut. Bedre Skole. ISSN 0802-183X. 2, p. 32–37. Full text in Research Archive Show summary
Upresise kategorier rundt språklige ferdigheter er med på å skape uklare grenser for hvilke pedagogiske tiltak som skal settes i verk. Flerspråklighet benyttes ofte kun om elever som ikke har norsk som morsmål, men i realiteten er alle norske elever flerspråklige. Vi skiller mellom elevengruppen som er flerspråklige (alle elever) og elever som er "annetspråklærende". Den siste gruppen skal tilegne seg kunnskap på et annet språk enn det språket de snakker i familien sin.
Berntsen, Helene (2026). «Hvordan kan vi avdekke dysleksi hos flerspråklige elever? - Er det i det hele tatt mulig å få til?». Full text in Research Archive
Bjorvand, Agnes-Margrethe; Wergeland, Birgitte & Berntsen, Helene (2025). Colletts kafé: Et flerspråklig samfunn, men enspråklige rettigheter? En samtale om lesevansker og flerspråklighet. Colletts kafé. Full text in Research Archive Show summary
Agnes-Margrethe Bjorvand og Birgitte Wergeland i samtale med forsker Helene Berntsen.
Berntsen, Helene (2025). Collets Kafé: Et flerspråklig samfunn, men enspråklige rettigheter? doi: https:/www.uia.no/om-uia/fakultet/humaniora-og-pedagogikk/arrangementer/colletts-kafe/et-flerspraklig-samfunn.html. Full text in Research Archive
Berntsen, Helene; Solheim, Oddny Judith & Wheeldon, Linda Ruth (2025). RAN assessed in a second language and the influence of L2 spoken proficiency. Full text in Research Archive
Berntsen, Helene (2025). Hvordan kan vi avdekke dysleksi hos flerspråklige elever? Full text in Research Archive
Berntsen, Helene (2024). Podcast: Bedre tekst for bedre læring "Dysleksi og lesevansker". [Internet]. Lovisenberg Diakonale Høyskole. Full text in Research Archive Show summary
Dysleksi er ganske vanlig, men usynlig. Så enten vi vet det eller ikke, sitter det studenter med dysleksi i de aller fleste auditorier og klasserom. Hvilke utfordringer har studenter med dysleksi når det gjelder lesing? Vi snakker med Helene Berntsen fra Universitetet i Agder. Hun skal straks disputere med en avhandling om lesevansker. Du får høre om begrepene avkoding og leseforståelse. Og så får du vite hva du bør tenke på slik at tekstene du skriver er best mulig å lese for studenter med dysleksi.
Berntsen, Helene (2024). Kan avkodingsvansker hos voksne identifiseres på et andrespråk? Full text in Research Archive
Berntsen, Helene (2024). Lesevansker og flerspråklighet – en presentasjon av resultatene fra doktoravhandlingen «Reading difficulties and bilingualism. Can decoding difficulties be identified in a second language?». Full text in Research Archive
Solheim, Oddny Judith & Berntsen, Helene (2023). Voksne har også dysleksi, men ingen steder å få vansken dokumentert. Full text in Research Archive
Kostøl, Elin Marie Frivold; Matre, Marianne Engen; Schønberg, Hilde Wallerud; Øgård, Monika; Lund, Ingrid & Haldammen, Eva Nordby [Show all 32 contributors for this article] (2023). Stopp nedbemanningen i skolen. Full text in Research Archive
Berntsen, Helene (2022). Hvorfor oppdages dysleksi så seint? [Radio]. NRK. Full text in Research Archive
Berntsen, Helene; Solheim, Oddny Judith & Wheeldon, Linda Ruth (2022). Dysleksi og flerspråklighet. Full text in Research Archive
Berntsen, Helene (2021). Dyslektikere behandles ulikt. [Radio]. NRK. Full text in Research Archive
Berntsen, Helene (2021). Diskriminering på systemnivå? Full text in Research Archive
Berntsen, Helene (2020). Dysleksi Norges Påddkast - sesong 3 - episode 1. [Internet]. www.dysleksinorge.no. Full text in Research Archive
Berntsen, Helene (2020). Dysleksi og flerspråklighet. Full text in Research Archive
Berntsen, Helene (2019). Nyhetsmorgen P2/NRK1. [TV]. NRK 1 og P2. Full text in Research Archive
Berntsen, Helene (2019). Dysleksi Norges Påddkast - Sesong 2 - episode 7: Helene Berntsen. [Internet]. www.dysleksinorge.no. Full text in Research Archive
Berntsen, Helene (2024). Reading difficulties and bilingualism: Can decoding difficulties be identified in a second language? Universitetet i Agder. ISSN 9788284272009. Full text in Research Archive Show summary
The aim of this thesis was to generate new knowledge about reading difficulties in sequential bilingual adults and to investigate whether decoding difficulties can be successfully identified in a second language (Norwegian). Reading difficulties in adult sequential bilinguals are rarely identified because we lack the knowledge and testing tools to identify this group correctly. This is because appropriate tests (and testers) are often not available in a bilingual’s L1, and that performance in L2 can be influenced by the bilingual’s spoken proficiency in that language. The research involved the collection of questionnaire data about language and reading profiles. In addition, a battery of matched L1 and L2 language tests were developed to compare a bilingual’s performance in each of their languages, and a language-neutral dynamic test of decoding called DOT. The sample tested in this study comprised adult sequential bilinguals with English, Polish or Somali as L1 and Norwegian as L2 (N=80). The study examines whether various factors (socioeconomic conditions, multilingualism, Norwegian skills etc.) influence the results of decoding when assessed in L1 and L2 respectively. In addition, it investigates whether there is a correlation between L1 and L2 testing, whether spoken language proficiency in Norwegian affects the results in L2, and critically whether spoken language proficiency in Norwegian moderates the association between L1 and L2 testing. Finally, it is investigated whether it is possible to predict the group with low decoding skills (in L1) based on L2 test performance and DOT. A Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was performed on the questionnaire data. The results showed that six components from a PCA predicted decoding in some test results in both L1 and L2. L1 word reading performance was significantly predicted by components related to socioeconomic background (p< .006) and reading difficulties (p< .001). L2 word reading performance was significantly predicted by components related to "Norwegian engagement" (p< .003), and socioeconomic background (p< .05). L1 pseudoword reading performance was predicted by the L1 proficiency component (p< .007), as well as by Multilingualism (p< .04), and Socioeconomic background (p< .02). Interestingly, performance in L2 pseudoword reading was not significantly predicted by any of the six components from the PCA. …

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Published Apr. 16, 2024 10:46 AM - Last modified Nov. 4, 2024 9:27 AM