The aim of this degree project was to find out what students currently enrolled at upper-secondary school programs think of video games as an educational tool, and whether they believed it would be a good idea to use video games in English language classrooms. This was done by collecting data through the use of an online questionnaire, where students enrolled at an upper-secondary school in central Sweden answered questions on the subject video game habits, previous experience playing video games in class, attitudes toward video games in general and as educational tools in teaching English in particular. A secondary objective for this study was to compare what the students think of video games as an educational tool with previous research and what two active teachers have to say about the subject. To achieve this, two teacher interviews were conducted and analyzed through comparing the answers with the student questionnaire and previous research, by others, on the subject of attitudes toward video games and education. These teachers were also asked to present possible challenges for integrating video games in English class. The result was that the students had, by and large, a positive attitude towards video games being used in English class and a substantial amount of them acknowledged that they had acquired English skills through playing video games in the past. The teachers presented a number of practical challenges for using video games in class – including current curriculums, teacher readiness, technology available at school and a perceived lack of science behind video games as educational tools. Despite this, both teachers were willing to use video games in English class if they get the right incentive and tools to do so.

Hand gestures during speech lighten the speaker's cognitive load, provide lexical access, augment the precision of memory, and identify when a speaker is ready to learn a new skill (Abner, Cooperrider, Goldin-Meadow, 2015). Much of the research that has discovered these purposes of gesture have focused on gestures produced during speech in the speaker's first language. Many researchers use these findings to argue for the same cognitive benefits of gesture in the second language, though only little research of gesture and second language speech has been done. The present study sought to fill the gap between first and second language research on gesture production by investigating the differences between the gesticulation produced by bilinguals in their first and second languages as well as discover their perceptions of those gestures. Native English speakers bilingual in Spanish and native Spanish speakers bilingual in English were interviewed in both languages and their gestures were counted and compared between their first and second languages. Results showed that even though native Spanish speaker's gestured significantly more than native English speakers, all participants significantly increased their gesture production from their first to their second language. Task type also played an important part in this increase, wherein gestures increased only in descriptive and narrative tasks, but not in conversational role plays. Gestures also seemed to increase due to a heightened cognitive load within the tasks more so than due to increased anxiety levels, agreeing with previous research done in first language contexts. Participants also tended to base perceptions of gesture use on native cultural attitudes towards gesture, causing inconclusive results on speaker awareness of their co-speech gesture in either their native or second language. Some limitations suggest that this study be repeated with modifications, such as evaluating participant proficiency before interviewing and matching all participants to a specific range of time immersed in the foreign culture.

This study explores to what extent frequent language-related episodes aid language acquisition through collaborative writing tasks for L2 learners. Recent research drawingupon established theories such as Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory, including the concepts of the zone of proximal development, the more knowledgeable other, and negotiation of meaning indicates that collaborative writing is beneficial for L2 learners (Watanabe & Swain, 2007; Storch, 2011; Swain & Watanabe, 2012). According to The Swedish National Agency of Education, Skolverket (2018), the teacher is responsible for developing the students’ all- round communicative competence in English. Collaborative writing is one approach that may help the students acquire that competence. However, there is some degree of debate regarding the pairing together of interlocutors who are at varying proficiency levels. That is, some scholars argue that a more knowledgeable other may scaffold the less proficient peer, while others argue that the teacher should not pair together learners who are at different proficiency levels. Furthermore, there are a limited number of studies that focus particularly on secondary school L2 learners. As a result, we investigate what implications the results of L2 learners in control and experimental groups in higher education have for secondary school learners as well.

Studies relating to Electronic Games (EG) and the development of language acquisition for ESL learners have shown remarkable results. A Swedish study researching vocabulary proficiency reported that “frequent gamers had a higher total mean score than the moderate gamers, and in turn the moderate gamers had a higher score than the non-gamers” (Sundqvist & Sylvén, 2012, p. 313). Regarding oral proficiency, willingness to communicate and language strategies Horowitz (2019) illustrates that verbal linguistic competence increases concurrently with extended periods of exposure to EG. Games and grades in English similarly seem to have some overlap (Sundqvist & Sylvèn, 2012; Uuskoski, 2011). “Massively multiplayer online games, role-playing games, strategy games and shooter games also had noticeable statistically significant correlations with good grades” (Uuskoski, 2011, p. 43). The adage of the more you use it, the better you become seems to have further implications when the use of EG seems to not only increase the average grades, vocabulary, and oral skills in addition to possibly increasing the motivation of EFL students. However, a vital aspect that has often been overlooked in other studies is how students and users of EG perceive their own language learning and what implications this entails for learners of English. This study consists of the attitudinal values of 50 adolescent students in an International School in Stockholm towards L2 language skills and language motivation through EG. In order to measure the study a quantitative analysis was conducted based on answers from a questionnaire. The results showed that a majority of the students had positive attitudes towards the use of Electronic Games (EG) and increasing their English proficiency. It was additionally discovered that both receptive and productive skills when playing were considered useful with significant differences between girl and boy gamers. In regards to EG and student motivation to learn more in school by playing EG a majority however found EG to not give any major contributions. Furthermore, students believed they learned the most English at school although EG and other sources had some importance.

The learning difficulties prevalent among mathematics students are widely documented. This case study explores the difficulties experienced by National Certificate (Vocational) Level 2 mathematics students at a Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) College in Gauteng in the learning of functions. The primary research question was: What conceptual and procedural knowledge difficulties do NC(V) L2 students experience when learning the concept of functions in mathematics? Qualitative data was generated from the students (n=17) through lesson observations, test responses and interviews. The convenient sample of students all belonged to one L2 mathematics class. The findings revealed that the students experience conceptual knowledge difficulties in terms of defining a function, identifying functions, translating between representations of functions, and interpreting the behaviour of a function. The findings also revealed procedural knowledge difficulties prevalent among the students. The errors that students committed in this regard included factorisation errors, structural errors, misapplication and modification of the rules. In general, the findings indicated that the students in this sample lack procedural knowledge and conceptual understanding of functions. The lesson observations revealed a prevalence of several misconceptions regarding functions among the students which were seemingly not recognised nor remedied by the teacher. The teacher’s instructional practices thus appeared to be among the possible sources of the difficulties that the students experience in the learning of functions. This finding was also confirmed by the students during the interviews. Shaky foundations from previous grades were also a factor. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2020. / Science, Mathematics and Technology Education / MEd / Unrestricted

The aim for this systematic literature study is to see how much of the first language (L1) that has to be in the English language (L2) classroom. The study is based on seven articles that have been analysed in order to see arguments for or against the use of the L1 language in the L2 classroom. The articles were all based on middle school teachers' experience, thoughts and feelings about the use of L1 in the classroom. The arguments that were brought up in the articles were categorised and identified, in order to make a better choice about when to use or to exclude L1 in their teachings. The background describes how English has developed in the Swedish school system and how different methods have been used in language classrooms around the world since the 19th century. The analysis of the literature study could conclude two different categories. The argument for the use of L1 in the classroom and the argument against it. For the use of L1 in the classroom 5 different arguments were defined: the students' feeling of stress, limited time, motivation, teachers’ self-esteem and teachers’ feeling of guilt. Against the use of L1 in the classroom only two arguments could be defined: teachers translating too quickly and the need to maximise the L2 exposure to students during English lessons. The result of this study indicates that it is very hard for teachers to only speak in the target language during English lessons, but it’s important that teachers reflect over their use of the L1 language and if it's always necessary. The L1 language should be used to make sure that students feel like they can understand and not feel stressed about their learning process. Especially when teaching grammar, difficult words or advanced instructions the L1 could be a big help, but not always and not only.

For this dissertation, I had the opportunity to investigate a well-established university-based intensive English program in the northeastern United States as it transitioned from an integrated-skills to a paired-skills approach. My goal as a researcher was to investigate in what ways listening, the second language (L2) skill researchers view as the least understood and the least practiced (Field, 2019; Graham, 2017; Graham, Santos, & Francis-Brophy, 2013; Siegel, 2018; Vandergrift & Goh, 2012), was receiving attention, programmatically as well as pedagogically, in the new paired-skills approach, and how that attention manifested in the classroom. Toward this goal, through interviews with program leaders and experienced instructors, I explored what they considered as key pedagogical challenges and opportunities in L2 listening in the earlier integrated skills program and in the new paired skills program. Through classroom observation, I documented how instructors approached L2 listening pedagogy in the new paired-skills program.  Analysis of instructor interviews showed that instructors described using a wide variety of content-based approaches when teaching L2 listening in the integrated skills approach.  In the new paired-skills approach, they described encountering many challenges with L2 listening pedagogy they had yet to resolve. Analysis of classroom observations in the paired skills program revealed that instructors mostly structured lessons with before-listening activities, with a preference for activating background knowledge via vocabulary preview and discussion based on textbook themes. A synthesis of case study findings across program leaders and instructors revealed that teachers structured different kinds of listening experiences for students but did not engage in explicit instruction in L2 listening focused on specific features of bi- and multi-directional spoken language nor did they offer much during listening instruction. Overall, the findings suggest the need to develop more curricular and professional development materials to assist instructors in further developing L2 listening pedagogy, curriculum and assessment in their classroom instruction.

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.

För att kunna erbjuda en främjande läsutveckling för andraspråkselever krävs mycket arbete och en medvetenhet om alla enskilda elevers behov. Det finns många olika undervisningsmetoder i samspel med varierade tillämpningar som används i läsundervisningen, frågan är vilka som anses speciellt främjande. Genom semi-strukturerade intervjuer och undersökning av tidigare forskning som berör området har vi undersökt lärares uppfattningar om vad som främjar andraspråkselevers läsutveckling i de lägre årskurserna. Lärarnas generella uppfattningar om andraspråkselevers läsutveckling, lärarnas arbetssätt och lärarnas val av material i läsundervisningen har varit det centrala i vår studie. De teoretiska perspektiv som vi tagit ut som analysverktyg bygger på olika tankar och angreppssätt till vad som anses betydelsefullt för läsundervisningen. Utifrån resultatet av vår studie såg vi att de flesta lärarna vi intervjuade hade en samsyn om vad som ansågs främjande för andraspråkselevers läsundervisning. Användning av olika dimensioner av stöttning låg som grund för lärarnas uppfattningar, arbetssätt och val av material för att kunna erbjuda en gynnsam läsundervisning. Vår studie visade att läraren anser att läraren måste vara medveten om andraspråkselevernas behov för att kunna utforma en strukturerad undervisning och således att erbjuda anpassat material till eleverna som motsvarar deras nuvarande kunskapsnivå men samtidigt utmanar för utveckling. I intervjuerna synliggjordes det hur interaktionen mellan olika parter kan bidra till en ökad och mer djupgående förståelse för olika texter och som på så sätt bidrar till en utveckling av andraspråkselevers läsning. Ytterligare en aspekt som synliggjordes var betydelsen av modersmålet och hur det kan användas som en resurs för utveckling av andraspråket. Modersmålet fungerar, enligt respondenterna, som ett verktyg för att kunna utveckla förståelsen av olika typer av texter då man tar tillvara på samt uppmuntrar användandet av elevernas starka språk.

This study sets out to examine the teacher perspective of the use of Swedish and English during English teaching in year 4. Whether the first language, in this case Swedish, should be included is a much debated questions, and, there is no unanimous answer. On the one hand, scholars promote the sole use of the target language in the classroom and argue that such an approach would result in the students communicating more in English. On the other hand, the first language, in this context Swedish, is seen as a resource which can aid language learning. In addition, there appear to be a gap between this discussion and practice on ground. Therefore, this study aims to examine a few teachers’ beliefs and motivation for their language use. The study is conducted through lesson observations and qualitative interviews with four Swedish primary school teachers who teach English. Results show that two of the four teachers believe that the ‘English Only’ approach is most advantageous. Whereas the other two believe that the learners need translations to support their understanding. Swedish is used in every classroom to a varying degree; however, all the teachers motivate its use with the same reasoning: the students’ low proficiency in English makes it too difficult to use the target language only. Furthermore, the teachers find the need to include the first language in order to reach and support all learners. However, one can question this approach as it does not include the learners whom have other first languages than Swedish, and who are forced to learn English via Swedish. The results imply that teachers may need further education on how to work with Swedish and multilingualism in a conscious and pedagogical way.