The aim of this study was to see if a deliberately creative approach in an EFL (English as a Foreign Language) class would have any impact on the students’ EFL learning in terms of more varied vocabulary use, more original written texts, more implementation of story elements (such as a story goal, obstacle, character motive) and increased motivation leading to enhanced activity and attention.      An empirical method was adopted in connection in which two Swedish upper-secondary school classes of a vocational program participated. One class was exposed to a regular teaching method (RTM) while the other class was exposed to a creative study design (CSD). During a four week period the students were assigned to write a short story and received instructions on different story elements (story goal, obstacle and character motivation). The RTM was based on how the class’s ordinary teacher would have taught. The CSD was uniquely created for this study and included several techniques and recommendations from scholars in the field of creativity.      The results showed that the students exposed to the CSD implemented the story elements to a somewhat higher degree, used a slightly more varied vocabulary, wrote more creative stories, and showed more attention and activity than the students exposed to the RTM. However, more extensive studies would be needed to confirm these results and allow generalizations about the possible benefits the CSD has as opposed to the RTM when it comes to EFL learning.

Engelska som skolämne behöver bemöta eleverna på ett motiverande sätt och ha ett innehåll som främjar elevernas språkförmågor så att de kan bli trygga språkanvändare på engelska i framtiden. Forskning anser att läsning är en grundläggande nyckel för att skaffa ny kunskap. Genom att använda bilderböcker i språkundervisning som ett undervisningsinstrument kan elevernas upplevelse och motivation främjas, vilket vidare kan påverka deras framtidaanvändande av målspråket. Syftet med denna studie är, för det första, att undersöka elevers upplevelse av att läraren använder bilderböcker i engelskundervisning och för det andra hur eleverna då upplever sin motivation till att lära sig engelska språket genom dessa. I studien utgår vi ifrån två frågeställningar: 1) Hur eleverna upplever engelskundervisningen genom att läraren använder engelska bilderböcker i den? 2) Hur eleverna upplever att deras motivation till att lära sig engelska språket påverkas genom att läraren använder engelska bilderböcker i undervisningen? Studien utgår ifrån en kvalitativ metod och en fenomenografisk teori där vi valt att samla indata genom semistrukturerade fokusgruppsintervjuer. Urvalet till studien var 7 elever som har erfarit engelskundervisning där läraren har använt engelska bilderböcker i närtid. Under studiens genomförande gick eleverna i en årskurs tre och var mellan 9 till 10 år. Analysarbetet av den insamlade data vi erhållit har utgått ifrån fenomenografiskt ramverk, vilket fokuserar på elevernas egna personliga upplevelser av fenomenet. Utifrån en fenomenografisk analysmodell i sju steg har elevernas utsagor delats in i tre övergripande beskrivningskategorier. I resultatet urskiljs tre beskrivningskategorier såsom: elevernas upplevelse, deras upplevelse av motivation och deras vision kopplat till engelskundervisning där läraren använt engelska bilderböcker. Resultatet visar att eleverna upplever klassrumsmiljön som lugnande och inspirerande när läraren använder engelska bilderböcker i engelskundervisning. De upplever att de motiveras av intresseväckande händelser i bilderboken, men också bokens rika bilder och väl avvägda text. Dessutom visar resultatet att eleverna har utvecklat en vilja och ett självförtroende att läsa en bilderbok på engelska på egen hand.

Information Technology (IT) has been integrated in many foreign-language classrooms for some decades now. However, one of the many questions related to IT at school is whether it is beneficial for students and, if yes, in what way. This study compares two different teaching approaches in the English classroom in a Swedish secondary school. A digital approach and a traditional approach were tested during some teaching sessions, where two groups of students were compared to gauge the possible influence of IT on performance. In addition, questionnaires were administered to the students in order to measure their opinion of IT use in general and whether they find it motivating in class. The results suggest that a digital approach can boost performance and create more positive attitudes among the students than the more traditional approach.

Denna kunskapsöversikt syftar till att sammanställa, analysera och presentera vad forskningen anser om att använda bilderböcker i undervisning av andraspråk i grundskolans tidigare år, alltså årskurserna 1 till 6 där eleverna är mellan 6-14 år. Med undervisning i andraspråk och andraspråksundervisning menar vi exempelvis engelskundervisning i det svenska skolsystemet som utgår ifrån svenska som modersmål och förstaspråk. Vidare är syftet att dedidaktiska för- och nackdelarna med bilderböcker kartläggs och att vi ska kunna reflektera över det sammanställda kunskapsfältet. Urvalet av artiklar samlades in genom en systematisk litteratursökning i olika databaser. Artiklarna är primärstudier med en spridning över olika delar av världen. Forskarna i våra utvalda studier använder antingen kvalitativ, kvantitativ eller blandade datainsamlingsmetoder. Den samlade forskningen som vi tagit del av visar ensamstämmighet kring den positiva effekten av att använda bilderböcker i undervisning av andra språk. De olika forskningsstudierna fokuserar på olika språkförmågor såsom ordinlärning, läsning och skrivning. Utöver dessa lyfts vikten av motivation som central del i samtliga studier. Studierna lyfter även fram behovet av ytterligare forskning inom fältet och belyser bristen på språklärarnas kompetens och lärarnas begränsade tid för att på ett strukturerat sätt använda bilderböcker i andraspråksundervisning.

Abstract Task-Based Language Teaching has long been a method for education in different subjects. This study investigates the use of Task-Based Language teaching regarding vocabulary acquisition in English upper secondary/high school students. Through the use of a database, multiple scientific studies and research papers on vocabulary acquisition through TBLT have been included. This study contains the results of the use of TBL through similar teaching methods with the focus on vocabulary development in the L2 classroom. The findings show that studies have different results regarding what tasks to include but present a similar conclusion regarding what method to use; TBLT. The results also show that regardless of what task is used, communication could be beneficial and even played a big role in multiple studies where it increased students vocabulary acquisition. The conclusion of our study suggests that TBLT is an efficient method for developing vocabulary acquisition in upper secondary and high school students. All research papers analysed concluded that TBL and TBLT can be used as means for motivating students which aided the task engagement, thus helping develop their vocabulary acquisition.

This paper explores the impact of incorporating songs in the English classroom and will focus on young student’s development of vocabulary and language acquisition. The aim is more driven towards singing, and how that can be a beneficial communicative tool for young language learners in a Swedish context. By it being from the Swedish context, the Swedish curriculum will be reviewed on how songs are incorporated for the ages seven to twelve. The result of the aim has been produced through the analysis of various collected research sources and lays on the role that singing can have in the early stage of learning EFL(English as a foreign language). When searching for the sources different collecting databases, such as “ERIC”, and specific keywords were used to find the most reliable and relevant sources. The results of the collected sources were then compared to each other. Overall, all results showed a beneficial impact when using singing as a communicative tool in students’ vocabulary development. The different sources also point out the perspectives on teachers’ and students’ attitudes towards songs and singing in the lessons. Where results showcased a positive attitude toward the use of singing songs in the EFL classroom. The essential findings of this paper show that singing can be used as a valuable communicative tool for the EFL classroom. Likewise, can it have some problematic factors. For example, if the teacher and students do not like the song or are not interested in singing in the first place. We summarize and discuss the sources in separate parts of this paper. This is so you can get a deeper understanding of the objective results that have been found

The purpose of this paper was to explore how grammar learning in the English as a second or foreign language classroom can be improved. Our aim was twofold: (1) to investigate the possible effect of implementing Mobile-Assisted Language Learning (MALL) on students’ grammar learning in the Swedish upper secondary level education, and (2) to find out what students’ attitudes are towards such an implementation and how it can impact student motivation. We analyzed and provided an overview of ten articles relating to the subject. The results showed that the use of MALL contributed to improved grammar learning when it was used as a tool to help students analyze and reflect upon specific exercises collaboratively and to help individuals do grammar exercises and tests with a formative purpose. However, the results also showed that MALL was not beneficial if only used as an educational or communicative tool. Lastly, the results showed that students overall had a positive attitude towards the use of MALL in education, despite experiencing some technical difficulties, and that the approach further motivated students’ will to learn. Based on the results, we argued that the use of MALL in the English language classroom coincided well with the guidelines of the curriculum and syllabus for English 5, and that, if used as recommended, MALL could help improve Swedish students’ English grammar learning and their motivation.

To learn a language successfully, one needs to incorporate terms which are used commonly by native speakers but cannot be found in dictionaries. Words like uh-huh, oops, ouch, and brrr, are some examples of these terms. These expressions, commonly categorized under such linguistic labels as interjections (Ameka, 1992), alternants (Poyatos, 2002), and response cries (Goffman,1981), are what Dr. Lynn Henrichsen (1993) and Rebecca Oyer (1999) termed Unorthodox Oral Expressions (UOEs). These utterances are considered unorthodox because many of them are not formal or standard English words. Because of that, “we do not consider them part of the productive system of English,” so English dictionaries and textbooks rarely include these words (Luthy, 1983, p.19). Also, they are used mostly in informal speech rather than in formal written English. Hence, non-native English learners usually don’t have the opportunity to learn these informal utterances in English classes (Chittaladakorn, 2011; Oyer, 1999).Though unorthodox, these expressions are important for English language learners (ELL) to learn so that they will be able to carry out more natural and native-like conversations and understand what these utterances mean when native speakers use them. Because UOEs are so under-taught and there are so few teaching UOEs, there is a great need for a UOE dictionary that includes not only pronunciation and meaning, but also the syntactic features and semantic and pragmatic functions of these expressions. This project includes the creation of an online UOE dictionary to fill that need in English language acquisition.

The rapid pace with which internet technology has entered our daily lives provides an opportunity for English language teachers to incorporate some such platforms in their teaching. This study investigates the attitudes of Saudi Arabian learners towards online communication in EFL. It takes place in a university preparatory program at Taibah University in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Questionnaires and interviews were used to gather data pertaining to the attitudes’ of Saudi Arabian learners to online communication in EFL. In order to achieve its aims, this study uses both quantitative and qualitative data to inform EFL practitioners of learners’ attitudes towards English, online communication in general and online communication for EFL purposes. / Educational Studies / M.A. (TESOL)

The rapid pace with which internet technology has entered our daily lives provides an opportunity for English language teachers to incorporate some such platforms in their teaching. This study investigates the attitudes of Saudi Arabian learners towards online communication in EFL. It takes place in a university preparatory program at Taibah University in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Questionnaires and interviews were used to gather data pertaining to the attitudes’ of Saudi Arabian learners to online communication in EFL. In order to achieve its aims, this study uses both quantitative and qualitative data to inform EFL practitioners of learners’ attitudes towards English, online communication in general and online communication for EFL purposes. / Educational Studies / M.A. (TESOL)