In the theoretical and epistemological frameworks of Vygotsky’s cognitive theory and French intellectuals’ written legacy (Cixous, Deleuze, Derrida, Foucault, Kristeva, and Lyotard), the research explores philosophical, psychological, and educational migrations of a second language (L2) learner among cultures and languages in her comprehension and further nativization of an L2 through her comprehension and nativization of the culture of the language. The role of Canadian culture in Canada’s second/additional language education (SLE) is the research focus. In this research, the concept of Canadian culture is interpreted narrowly as literature, music, arts, and history of its people, and broadly as creations of its people. The dissertation consists of 3 parts: Pre-Theory, Theory, and Post-Theory. The Pre-Theory part is built according to the conventional thesis design: introduction, theoretical framework, literature review, research question, methodology, credibility, and significance. Narrative inquiry (Connelly & Clandinin, 2006) as the initial methodology of the research unfolds in innovative ways as literary-philosophical essays in the Theory part, and later as a music-poetry work in the Post-Theory part. The Theory part is a conceptual philosophy-arts piece of writing that develops based on the principle “writing as a method of knowing”. The Post-Theory part is the researcher’s music-poetry work “I-Migrations: Psychedelic Story” that is a practical epitome of her research theory. Based on her own way of learning English, first, as a foreign language (FL) in Russia, and then as an L2 in Canada, the researcher theoretically substantiates her postulate of the underestimated role of Canadian culture, in terms of literature, music, arts, and history in Canada’s SLE and proposes to make Canadian culture an integral part of Canada’s SLE curricula. This research fulfils the gaps in the literature on an older L2 learner’s experience across a lifetime and the inclusion of arts and culture alongside of language learning in SLE. Keywords: second language, second language culture, writing, second language writing, second language education

I den här studien undersöks förståelse av och attityder till ordvitsar i reklamerna Lidl  ”Lidl är Lidl. Allt annat är olidligt.” och Delicato ”Tallriksmodellen”. Syftet med undersökningen är att ta reda på likheter och skillnader för L1- och L2-talare av svenska i deras attityder och förståelse av ordvitsar i en reklam. Samt vilka bakomliggande faktorer som spelar in. Metoden som användes i den här kvalitativaundersökningen tog sin form i en enkätundersökning samt en multimodal analys av två reklamer.  Studiens resultat visar att det är avgörande hur lång vistelsetid i Sverige, startålder och studietid en L2-inlärare har och hur det påverkar förståelsen av ordvitsar i reklam. En slutsats är att det visade sig vara ganska lika resultat i förståelse av och attityder till ordvitsar i reklam mellan L1- och L2-talare av svenska vilket spräckte en förutfattad mening om att ordvitsarna skulle vara mer uppskattade för L1-talarna än L2-talarna.

This phenomenographic study examines how imagining a future self as an English speaker and extramural English habits interact and affect the desire to learn English and engagement in the English classroom. The study was carried out in northern Sweden, and used a purposive sample of 23 pupils in the fifth and sixth grade of Swedish compulsory school. Mixed-methods data collection was used which included a questionnaire, an interview, and two linguistic portraits. Findings from this study indicate that in a Swedish compulsory school context young pupils are capable of imagining possible future English selves, and that these imagined future selves are dependent on the pupils’ dreams and aspirations or a view of English as a useful global language. Additionally, while these imagined future English selves are a reason for the pupils to learn English and indirectly affect their desire to learn English, they fail to explain the pupils’ engagement in English class with but a few exceptions.

Even though English is a subject where Swedish pupils do well compared to pupils in other countries, research indicates that pupils are not always motivated to learn in the English classroom. Therefore, the aim of this study is to find research relating to the use of the target language in classrooms for pupils at the upper elementary level, particularly language learners in Sweden. The focus of this thesis is to find out what benefits and challenges accompany the use of the target language during English lessons, as well as what pupils’ opinions are on the consistent use of the target language in the classroom. This literature review of five research articles shows that it is beneficial for pupils’ language development to have lessons where mainly the target language is used. It is for example beneficial for pupils’ ability to speak, their pronunciation, vocabulary and ability to use language strategies. The results show that there are challenges as well, especially for the teachers, since use of the target language presumes that the teacher has good language skills and is capable of scaffolding each pupil at their individual level and in their zone of proximal development. Furthermore, there are challenges like differences in pupils’ skill level, creating tasks that both motivate and stimulate, and creating a safe learning environment. Even though the results in this thesis are limited, it is still obvious that it is an important area, where more research is necessary in order to assist teachers in how to teach English as effectively as possible. / <p>Engelska</p>

Läroplanen i engelska beskriver hur undervisningen ska anknyta till elevnära och vardagliga situationer. Studien utgår därför ifrån de vardagliga situationer där eleverna möter engelska. Flertalet av dagens elever är bekanta med och har deltagit i online-spel, det är därför intressant att undersöka användandet av online-spels inverkan på elevernas engelska språkutveckling. Målgruppen för undersökningen är elever som studerar engelska som andraspråk. Syftet med studien är att undersöka ‘Massive Multiplayer Online’-spels påverkan på elevers språkutveckling i engelska som andraspråk och är en litteraturöversikt på forskning inom området. Materialet består av vetenskapliga artiklar samt en forskningsrapport. Kommunikationsmiljöerna i spelen ses som mer autentiska än de i klassrummet, vilket i sin tur anses leda till ökad språkinlärning och ett stort intresse för att kommunicera hos eleverna. Elever som aktivt spelar ‘Massive Multiplayer Online’-spel på fritiden visar även enligt studierna en högre kommunikativ och vokabulär förmåga inom engelska som andraspråk. Användandet av spelen lämpar sig inte för elever med begränsade engelskkunskaper och används främst av pojkar. Slutsatsen av studien är att MMO-spel i sin nuvarande form inte bör föras in i klassrummet som en allmängiltig undervisningsmetod, utan att spelen ska ses som ett komplement till engelsk språkutveckling.

Lacerta agilis is a widespread lizard which reaches the western edge of its range in Britain where it is restricted to three geographically separated areas. Recent habitat loss and fragmentation have resulted in a significant decline and it is now a UK conservation priority. Sand lizards from across the Britain were genotyped at 15 microsatellite loci and the resulting dataset used to address questions regarding the conservation genetics, phylogeography and influence of landscape on patterns of genetic diversity. Genetic diversity of Dorset populations compared favourably to European examples. However, diversity was significantly lower in Surrey and Merseyside. Significant genetic structuring occurred across small geographical distances even in relatively unfragmented landscapes. Lacerta agilis colonised Britain via a land bridge across the North Sea and reached the limits of its current distribution approximately 5,000 years BP. Subsequent climate cooling has resulted in a range contraction to areas where the habitat is suitable for the successful incubation of eggs. A resistance surface was used to investigate the effect of landscape configuration on patterns of genetic diversity at multiple scales in Dorset. At a local scale, habitat type and rivers were the best predictors of genetic diversity. At a regional scale, rivers were most important, whereas habitat type and artificial barriers were less important. Artificial barriers may be more significant than the results suggest as their true effect has not yet been realised due to a genetic time-lag. Male lizards from Merseyside exhibited significant differences in colour and pattern to the Dorset and Surrey populations. However, despite difference in colour, all populations were equally green, which is in keeping with the importance of ‘greenness' as a sexual signal. The implications of these findings for the conservation of L. agilis are discussed in the context of current challenges and predicted future global climate change.

In recent years, there has been a growing body of literature investigating metacognition in second language (L2) listening (e.g. Cross, 2010; Vandergrift & Goh, 2012; Vandergrift & Tafaghodtari, 2010). The theoretical underpinning of the majority of these studies is that metacognition and listening are individual psychological processes. This led to a limited understanding of metacognition in listening that highlights the regulation of oneself, whilst disregarding the communication partner and the wider context. The present study contributed to the existing body of literature by investigating and re-conceptualising metacognition in L2 listening. Informed by a sociocultural and dialogical perspective on discourse and thought, this thesis offered new insights that recognise L2 listeners’ metacognitive awareness and activities as reciprocal monitoring and control processes. International students for whom English was a second/foreign language participated in the study. They worked in pairs on a collaborative problem-solving task and their interactions on this task were video-recorded. Directly after the task, individual interviews with each member of the pair were conducted to gain their accounts of how they perceived the task and how they monitored and regulated the interaction. A grounded theory informed approach was used to analyse the interview data, and a conversation analysis informed approach was used to analyse the interaction data. The findings of this study have established that a wider view of metacognition in L2 listening is required. The re-conceptualisation, underpinned by existing theories and deriving from the study’s empirical data, moved beyond conventional views of metacognition, and argued that the monitoring and control processes in listening are dialogical and reciprocal. This re-conceptualisation was encapsulated in the term Metacognitive Discourse Awareness (MDA). The central tenet of the MDA framework is that metacognition in listening involves the complex regulation of the discourse, thought and social-affective dimensions. This multidimensional framing of MDA entails the listener’s awareness of his/herself as the co-regulator of the other(s) in the reciprocal relationship in which meaning is socially co-constructed and negotiated. This study thus foregrounded the situatedness of the monitoring and control processes in L2 listening and the connections within, between and across the thought, discourse and social-affective dimensions. The thesis concluded with recommendations for L2 teachers and learners to develop a broader understanding of metacognition in the listening process so that this understanding can have an impact on practices in the increasingly diverse global higher education context.

This report discusses a study undertaken to develop, pilot, and tentatively validate a self- regulated learning (SRL) inventory for L2 contexts. This inventory was specifically designed to measure learners' ability to self-regulate their learning. Although there have been a few SRL inventories developed to measure this ability, they do not conform to the six-dimensional SRL model proposed by educational psychologists and backed by extensive research. This warranted the development of a new SRL inventory. The primary focus of this study was that of taking initial steps to develop such an inventory. These steps involved writing and refining items conforming to a six-dimensional SRL model. After selecting 30 items from the initial item pool, the SRL inventory was piloted. Both qualitative and quantitative measures were then employed to provide an initial indication of the inventory's trustworthiness, reliability, and validity.

<p>This corpus-based study analyzes different types of epistemic markers used in argumentative essays by University students. More specifically it compares Swedish L2 writers and English L1 writers. The scope of the analysis covers epistemic modal verbs, lexical verbs and adverbs. A number of markers are counted to see which expressions are preferred by L1 and L2 writers respectively and if the frequency rates differ between the two groups. Further, it discusses whether the non-native writers use epistemic markers appropriate to an academic register, and an attempt is made to see whether the L1 and L2 writers show similar patterns of ‘committing’ to and ‘distancing’ themselves to their arguments. The results reveal a few notable differences between the Swedish and English writers. A tendency is seen among the L2 writers to ‘overuse’ certain expressions, particularly in the category of lexical verbs. Compared to the native writers, the L2 writers display higher frequency rates when it comes to markers that are most commonly found in spoken conversation. Further the L2 writers seem to display more ‘writer visibility’ than the L1 writers do, which could perhaps be due to differences in writing culture. The findings also suggest that Swedish L2 writers, even on a relatively advanced level, may have difficulties in mastering modal expressions in English.</p>

This paper is a partial replication study of research to investigate an aspect of English articles: the acquisition of 4 nongeneric uses of the definite article in English. Analysis of article use in these four categories (i.e. cultural, situational, structural, and textual) was investigated by Liu and Gleason (2002), and a hierarchy of difficulty and acquisition was proposed based upon the initial results. This partial replication used the same testing instrument as Liu and Gleason (2002) with additional items included to further investigate the category, cultural use of the article. The participants, 17 low-intermediate, 20 high-intermediate, and 34 advanced ESL learners completed a 100 item test with sentences containing deleted obligatory uses of the as well as distractor items. The results partially supported Liu and Gleason‟s original study, and raised many concerns with the test instrument.