This study aims to explore the potential benefits and disadvantages of utilizing video game narratives in Swedish EFL teaching. The subject is approached through a qualitative literature review of previous research on the use of video games in the process of L2 acquisition. The results are then discussed from a sociocultural perspective, in relation to the frameworks introduced in the background and to the Swedish steering documents. The results indicate that video games are likely to be part of many students’ out-of-school experiences of the English language and that playing video games can be seen as an example of extramural language learning. The results also highlight how engaging in multiplayer video game narratives can aid L2 acquisition by for example increasing motivation, expanding learner vocabulary and by providing learners with strategies for discourse management such as politeness, humor and small talk. The collaborative and interactive nature of the video game narrative and of video game communities is also shown to align well with the Swedish steering documents that promote social interaction and the development of communicative competence. However, direct classroom implementation of video games is problematized by the fact that not all students have previous experience or tools for interacting with the video game format of storytelling and that gender discrepancies in video game consumption could lead to boys benefiting more than girls from language learning through video game narratives.

In recent years, Video-based Synchronous Computer Mediated Communication (VSCMC) has been applied in EFL education for young Chinese learners. VSCMC teaching, as distinctive from face-to-face teaching, brings numerous planning challenges for teachers using technology. Research has shown that teacher beliefs significantly affect lesson planning for technology integration. However, teacher beliefs towards VSCMC specifically have been insufficiently studied in the field of EFL education for young learners. The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore how teacher beliefs influence lesson planning regarding VSCMC teaching. Six participants in the Chinese context were interviewed in the study. The results indicated that teachers had transitional pedagogical beliefs, strong self-efficacy beliefs, and a complex set of value beliefs towards VSCMC teaching. Accordingly, these beliefs motivated them to teach in VSCMC settings in particular ways and influenced their lesson planning processes in terms of determining learning objectives, designing course content, and choosing teaching methods.

In many of today’s EFL classrooms, teachers struggle to get students to actively participate and interact with their teacher, peers and language. This research examines the techniques that EFL teachers use to enhance teacher-student interaction in Syrian classrooms. It also explores students’ responses to the opportunities offered by their teachers. Using an exploratory case study design, this study draws on five video recorded classroom observation sessions for two EFL teachers. Findings in this study revealed that classroom interaction substantiates the stimulus response as a predominant method to teaching in this country. They also suggested the students became more inclined to talk when they found the teacher paying attention and showing interest in the answer. The teachers are recommended to increase students’ opportunities for practicing the language forms they are learning.

This study aims to investigate the role of dystopian literature in the Swedish EFL classroom. In particular, it intends to investigate and analyze the method that Swedish EFL teachers use to employ this genre into the classroom, as well as the aim for the usage. The study is qualitative and has been carried out through the conducting of semi-structured interviews consisting of open-ended questions. The findings of the study show that there are a number of common aims and methods among the respondents.  The aim for the using of this particular genre was commonly to increase the students’ willingness to read by working with literature that would hopefully be appealing to them. Common methods for  using this genre of literature include discussions in different group-constellations, as well as employing films and shorter video clips as a complement to the standard literature used during lectures. Further findings show that teachers are inclined to adapt their teaching depending on the individual student groups. In other words, there is a tendency among the respondents to be flexible in their teaching, in order to favor students’ development in the English language.

The purpose of this degree project is to address upper secondary outdoor language education. It explores upper secondary EFL students’ attitudes and responses towards the teaching of English outdoors. The research has been based on data from qualitative research methods with an action research approach: peer observation, a reflective diary and focus group interviews. Peer observation and the reflective diary was used to recover information on four upper secondary EFL classes’ responses towards being taught outdoors. Focus group interviews were conducted on two groups of students from two of the classes on their attitudes towards being taught in outdoor English. The results from the data gathering are discussed using secondary sources which can be connected to outdoor education, and the research establishes that the students responded negatively to the instructions during the classes, many of them were active while some did not do what they were supposed to, and hardly no English was spoken. Even though mostly negative results were found the interviewees were generally positive to be taught outdoors and enjoyed it more than receiving education indoors, but some of them were aware that they did not learn much English since they hardly used it. This research provides ideas for how the lessons can be improved and acts as inspiration for future outdoor ESL classes.

The curriculum for upper secondary school clearly states that every school is obliged to ensure that teaching centres on and implements democratic values in order to prevent discrimination (Skolverket, 2013). How to do this however, is up to the local school to decide. Norm-critical pedagogy shows that in order to inculcate democratic values in education, the individual teacher must design the teaching material so that it focuses on such values (Bromseth & Darj, 2010). The purpose of this study, and the aim of this essay, is to investigate how democratic values can be implemented in classroom practice using Shakespeare’s The Tempest, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and The Taming of The Shrew. English classes in the courses English 5 and English 6 were asked to read extracts from each of the plays, and then evaluate the play of choice in terms of the socio-political reality of the late Renaissance portrayed in the extracts, through the prism of today’s democratic values. The pupils were assisted in the task by having close-reading questions to answer, and later a smaller written assessment in form of a blog-entry, in order to help develop their thinking. The results of the study show that the pupils were perfectly able to evaluate and discuss values and practices such as equality, racism or sexism based on their reading. From a normpedagogical approach to teaching, it therefore seem that Shakespeare’s The Tempest, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and The Taming of The Shrew can be utilised as teaching material in order to help foster the development of democratic values, and discussions around the same, into the classroom.

The curriculum for upper secondary school clearly states that every school is obliged to ensure that teaching centres on and implements democratic values in order to prevent discrimination (Skolverket, 2013). How to do this however, is up to the local school to decide. Norm-critical pedagogy shows that in order to inculcate democratic values in education, the individual teacher must design the teaching material so that it focuses on such values (Bromseth & Darj, 2010). The purpose of this study, and the aim of this essay, is to investigate how democratic values can be implemented in classroom practice using Shakespeare’s The Tempest, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and The Taming of The Shrew. English classes in the courses English 5 and English 6 were asked to read extracts from each of the plays, and then evaluate the play of choice in terms of the socio-political reality of the late Renaissance portrayed in the extracts, through the prism of today’s democratic values. The pupils were assisted in the task by having close-reading questions to answer, and later a smaller written assessment in form of a blog-entry, in order to help develop their thinking. The results of the study show that the pupils were perfectly able to evaluate and discuss values and practices such as equality, racism or sexism based on their reading. From a norm-pedagogical approach to teaching, it therefore seem that Shakespeare’s The Tempest, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and The Taming of The Shrew can be utilised as teaching material in order to help foster the development of democratic values, and discussions around the same, into the classroom.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T20:25:00Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 1626.pdf: 5300118 bytes, checksum: 85ee4253033f0747e3815619bae91c43 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2007-09-12 / Financiadora de Estudos e Projetos / The aim of this work is to verify the motivation of students to study English in the beginning of their first year right after primary school (5Th grade in Brazil), as well as to analyze the influence of teaching materials adopted in the students motivational disposition. We have confirmed, through our analyses, the hypothesis that students are motivated in the beginning of the foreign language teaching and learning process and, based on authors such as Augusto-Navarro (2007), Barbirato (2005), Stipek (2002), Dörnyei (2001), Peacock (1997), Pintrich e Schunk (1996), Almeida Filho (1994), Viana (1990), Krashen e Terrell (1983), and others, we discuss some characteristics, which if guaranteed in the teaching material, may help the teacher to maintain students motivation. This study may contribute for a better comprehension of the frequent demotivation process observed among English language students in Brazilian public schools. It also presents the characteristics of highly motivating, as well as demotivating, EFL teaching activities. / Este estudo objetiva verificar a motivação apresentada por alunos ingressantes na quinta série do ensino fundamental para o estudo de inglês, bem como analisar a influência exercida pelo material didático adotado na disposição motivacional dos mesmos. Confirmamos, através das análises, a hipótese de que os alunos são motivados no início do processo de ensino-aprendizagem da língua estrangeira e, com base em autores como Augusto-Navarro (2007), Barbirato (2005), Stipek (2002), Dörnyei (2001), Peacock (1997), Pintrich e Schunk (1996), Almeida Filho (1994), Viana (1990), Krashen e Terrell (1983), entre outros, discutimos algumas características que, garantidas no material didático, podem auxiliar o professor na manutenção da motivação. Este trabalho pode contribuir para a melhor compreensão do processo de desmotivação para o estudo da língua inglesa, freqüentemente observado na escola pública. Nesta dissertação apresentamos as características de atividades didáticas com alto e baixo potencial motivacional.

[pt] O presente trabalho analisa como os impactos da implementação de um modelo de cultura empresarial nos cursos de ensino de inglês incidem na (re)construção da identidade dos professores e, conseqüentemente, no seu sentimento de afiliação àquelas instituições. À luz de conceitos como identidade, contrato psicológico e comodificação e com base em entrevistas de pesquisa feitas com professoras de duas instituições, procuramos investigar como esta mudança vem afetando o sentimento de continuidade biográfica das professoras como indivíduos, profissionais e membros daquelas organizações. Os resultados sugerem que tal mudança faz emergir conflitos de representação em relação à tarefa de ensinar, ao papel do professor e à imagem da instituição, com conseqüências no sentimento de maior ou menor pertencimento à organização e no processo de construção de uma narrativa pessoal coerente. / [en] The implementation of an enterprise culture model in EFL schools has an impact on the (re)construction of teachers identities and, therefore, on their feelings of affiliation to those institutions. On the basis of such concepts as identity, psychological contract and commodification and on interviews with teachers from two different institutions, we have tried to investigate how this change has been affecting the feeling of biographical continuity of teachers as individuals, professionals and members of those organizations. The results suggest that the implementation of an enterprise culture model has aroused conflicts of representation on teaching practice, on the teacher s role and on the image of the institution, leading to changes in the degree of the teachers sense of belonging to the organization and in the process of the construction of a coherent personal narrative.

This thesis aims to explore whether some Swedish teachers and students feel that they are helped by ICT tools in their classrooms or not. It is vital for this thesis to find out whether or not teachers experience that their students are positively stimulated by the use of ICT when learning English. Ascertaining whether teachers find that ICT tools make it easier for them to teach or not is also of particular interest. Students’ answers to questions regarding the perceived benefits of technology and what they think about their teachers’ technology usage are also important. In order to accomplish this aim, four teachers were interviewed about their opinions on this matter and one English class per teacher, totaling 70 students, answered questionnaires regarding their opinions on the matter. The results reveal that teachers believe that while ICT offers some great tools to create variation in the classroom and that it might increase student motivation, opinions on whether or not technology also helps students to produce better results differ. The students’ results on the other hand clearly show that most students believe that they learn better when using computers, they would like to use computers more during class, and they prefer to write using a computer rather than pen and paper. Overall, the students have a more positive attitude to ICT tools than the teachers.