This thesis aims at exploring what linguistic challenges and opportunities multilingual students experience when reading in English. This paper has a qualitative approach and consists of focus group interviews as the method for collecting data. The participants were students in compulsory school, ninth grade, studying English as a foreign language. A total of nine multilingual were divided into three groups. Firstly they received a piece of informative text to read, containing a picture and a heading, and secondly they answered and discussed questions about their use of reading strategies. The results from the present study show that they tended to use top-down strategies when reading. The picture was not regarded as important as the heading; yet it was clear that they transferred already developed strategies from other languages. Previous research has shown that a reading ability developed in a student´s first language will be transferred to other languages, through an underlying proficency. Likewise it was expected in this study that the students would use their first language in order to understand English as a foreign language, but unpredictably findings show that Swedish was the preferred language when translating. In conclusion, one can therefore argue for Swedish as the strongest academic language and therefore important in scaffolding multilingual students.

Creative writing is a well-established approach to teaching English in the L2 classroom, with the Swedish curriculum including it among its core contents section. There is however a lack of research done on the field, especially when it pertains to learner engagement. As such, this study investigates to what extent engagement in learners can be fostered and facilitated for creative writing. The method used is an analysis of the empirical studies performed on the subject to this date, with the aim of making conclusions based on their findings. Some of the conclusions made from those are that learner engagement can be fostered and facilitated in creative writing, but any exercise should take into concern the learners’ own interests and capabilities. The results also suggest including feedback and revision in every creative writing exercise to extend the time spent on any given project, leading to higher engagement levels in the given exercise. The results of the analysed studies do suggest a clear picture of the advantages of creative writing for engagement, but the lack of research on the subject, both in a Swedish and international context, coupled with creative writing’s central role in the classroom suggests more research needs to be done on the subject.

This study aims to explore the use of literature to enhance students’ reading comprehension abilities in the upper secondary EFL classroom in Sweden. The study uses a mixed method of teacher survey and teacher interviews to answer the three research questions: (1) How often do teachers use literature to enhance students’ reading comprehension abilities? (2) What kinds of literature are used when the purpose is to enhance students’ reading comprehension abilities? And (3) How do EFL teachers teach literature when the purpose is to enhance students’ reading comprehension abilities? The study finds that upper secondary school teachers in Sweden use literature in various ways to enhance students’ reading comprehension abilities. To achieve this purpose, teachers mainly use short stories, novels, poetry, young adult novels, plays, and children’s books.  The study also finds that intensive reading approaches are more commonly used than extensive reading approaches in Swedish classrooms and teachers use a wide range of reading comprehension strategies to help their students comprehend the text. Additionally, teachers’ use of reading strategies varies according to the text at hand and the purpose of reading. Furthermore, upper secondary school teachers use both explicit strategy instruction and activities that allow the students opportunities to practice reading strategies, and they also teach the students how different reading strategies are used for different purposes.

The aim of the present study is to find out what the self-perceptions of Greek non-native speaking teachers of English (non-NESTs) are regarding their effectiveness as foreign language teachers. What is more, the study aims to explore the Greek non-NESTs’ perceptions about their teaching employability opportunities, in positions for which NESTs also apply. More specifically, in the present study, 32 non-NEST Greek participants were asked to answer a questionnaire regarding their self-perceptions as non-NEST teachers, their experiences with issues of equality in teaching employment opportunities, on the basis of their non-nativeness, and their self-perceived teaching differences and/or similarities with native speaking teachers of English. The results of the study revealed that, in general, the participants are confident in teaching the language. However, they seem to be sceptical about the possibilities of a Greek non-NEST to be preferred for a private school teaching position, over a native-speaking teacher candidate. The study also showed that the Greek participants claimed grammar and syntactic knowledge, as well as the opportunity to use their and their students’ first language (L1) during lessons, to be their most significant teaching assets -with the latter possibly further contributing to the development of the target language, as long as the non-NEST knows the appropriate mechanisms to enhance L2 literacy development through the use of the L1. At the same time, the English language levels where they report needing stronger proficiency are pronunciation and vocabulary.

This study aims to explore teacher beliefs on accents in the classroom and how they affect classroom practices as well as the teachers views on the LFC approach. Furthermore, the study investigates whether there exists a possible disconnect between teachers and the Swedish National Agency for Education when it comes to deciding what approach to take when teaching English pronunciation. The study is based on semi-structured interviews with five Secondary school and Upper Secondary School English teachers in Sweden, whose work experience ranged from six months to 22 years. The study found that the teachers with more experience were more likely to prefer the inner circle English accents and use them as a benchmark for correctness. Phenomena like the native-speaker ideal, which means to idealize native speakers and view them as better speakers of English, can be linked to the teachers age and experience. Moreover, some teachers expressed feeling pressure from students to sound native-like and felt disfavored as some schools showed a preference for hiring native speakers as English teachers. Thus, a haloeffect for teachers speaking with an inner-circle English accent was identified, which affects students’ and employers’ perception of non-native EFL-teachers. The study also found that while some of the teachers were familiar with the Lingua Franca Core model, none of them had taught it. The study concludes that there is a disconnect between the teachers and Skolverket’s steering documents, as most of the teachers felt that Skolverket does not explicitly call for pronunciation teaching and were unsure of the demands. Furthermore, this calls for clearer demands from Skolverket as well as re-formation programs for experienced teacher to change their beliefs on non-native accents.

This systematic literature review investigates peer feedback in EFL education. Findings on practices, effects and teacher- and student perceptions of peer feedback are drawn together and thereby a multifaceted understanding of the phenomenon in EFL-related research is offered. The purpose of the study is to review and systematize previous research in order to enhance the understanding of peer feedback practices, effects and perceptions. Ten articles of practices, effects and perceptions were selected for this systematic literature review. The findings indicate that peer feedback is effective as it contributes to students’ written and oral L2 development. Organized feedback from teachers is more effectful as it gives learners clear instructions of what to focus on. Therefore, the teacher has an important role in peer feedback practices in order to make it as efficient as possible. Teacher- and student perceptions were both positive and negative. Teachers reported learners’ ability to identify errors in peer’s performance as a benefit. Yet, lack of knowledge, incompatibility with the educational system and learners’ low proficiency level were reported motives for not using peer feedback in their EFL classroom. Students perceived peer feedback as useful as it improved their L2 learning. Organized peer feedback was particularly highlighted. Lack of confidence due to limited proficiency level, interpersonal relationships, motivation and time were reported as difficulties in peer feedback practices. Further research in the field of the teacher role in peer feedback is requested.

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Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / This study explores English academic writing in a Libyan university. The results show a number of challenges and issues that Libyan university students experience in using English for academic writing. The study suggests intervention procedures that may correct students’ linguistic academic deficiencies. Using Gee (1999)’s D/discourse theory and Bourdieu’s theory of habitus and field, which view writing as a social practice embedded in social activities, the study takes a purely qualitative approach, presenting data descriptions by both students and lecturers. The sample size of the investigation is eight – four lecturers and four students. The data was collected mainly through classroom observation, open-ended interviews and an analysis of students’ assignment essays. The results indicate several areas of challenge for Libyan students with regard to academic writing; a lack of adequate ‘scaffolding’, a lack of ample time spent on authentic practice, and inappropriate immediate feedback. Findings also show a lack of teaching methods and strategies that correct syntactical and morphological errors, and a lack of skills – research skills. Further to this, results revealed a lack of synthesis and summary skills, referencing skills – and a lack of confidence in tackling academic writing tasks. In addition, the lack of appropriate materials to consult was a contributing factor, as was students’ social and economic status. The study calls for various interventions that may assist students to acquire academic writing skills and hence develop a sense of confidence in taking on academic tasks.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / This study explores English academic writing in a Libyan university. The results show a number of challenges and issues that Libyan university students experience in using English for academic writing. The study suggests intervention procedures that may correct students’ linguistic academic deficiencies. Using Gee (1999)’s D/discourse theory and Bourdieu’s theory of habitus and field, which view writing as a social practice embedded in social activities, the study takes a purely qualitative approach, presenting data descriptions by both students and lecturers. The sample size of the investigation is eight – four lecturers and four students. The data was collected mainly through classroom observation, open-ended interviews and an analysis of students’ assignment essays. The results indicate several areas of challenge for Libyan students with regard to academic writing; a lack of adequate ‘scaffolding’, a lack of ample time spent on authentic practice, and inappropriate immediate feedback. Findings also show a lack of teaching methods and strategies that correct syntactical and morphological errors, and a lack of skills – research skills. Further to this, results revealed a lack of synthesis and summary skills, referencing skills – and a lack of confidence in tackling academic writing tasks. In addition, the lack of appropriate materials to consult was a contributing factor, as was students’ social and economic status. The study calls for various interventions that may assist students to acquire academic writing skills and hence develop a sense of confidence in taking on academic tasks.

This study aims at exploring (1) the circumstances under which some Swedish learners of English are likely to participate in conversations in the target language, and (2) how teachers in upper secondary school might increase these students' willingness to communicate (WTC) in English during lessons. Five students retaking the mandatory first course of English in Swedish upper secondary school volunteered for the study. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews, and the transcripts were analysed using qualitative content analysis. The results of the study showed that learners perceive the learning environment to be a ma jor factor affecting their WTC. Moreover, it was concluded that being able to convey a message is important for the students, and that uncertainty about whether or not they will be able to do so strongly affects their WTC. The results also showed that their WTC is strongly connected to their listening comprehension. In light of the reported beliefs and perceptions of the learners, it is suggested that students can be trained for strategies to use when they encounter problems in vocabulary retrieval as well as listening comprehension. Repeating exercises to make the learners feel safe has also been a suggestion.