This essay examines how Anderson’s Speak can be used in the Swedish Upper Secondary classroom to talk about the difficult topics ‘sexism’ and ‘sexual assault’. The paper discusses several examples of where the power structures between the genders affect the main character of Speak. The novel contains a connection to Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, which is also discussed in this essay, focusing on the timelessness of the issues discussed. The conclusion is that the difficult topics in Speak are important to discuss in the classroom, because a functional way of battling sexism is through vocalizing the problem.

The essay originates from the idea that the United States has a history of racism evidenced in the displacement and discrimination of Native Americans and that the representation of Native Americans in films reflects the changing views of the indigenous population in the surrounding society. The purpose of this essay is to investigate how the Native American characters are portrayed in western films. Two films are going to be analysed; Stagecoach from 1939 and The Revenant from 2015. The theoretical framework that is used for the analysis is Postcolonialism. The findings reveals that Native American characters are portrayed more humanely in The Revenant than in Stagecoach. By applying the findings into the classroom the students can be given the opportunity to discuss human rights, equal value and solidarity between people, which can lead to reflections about the fundamental values of the curriculum.

[pt] O texto multimodal é uma realidade no mundo atual, desde a mídia de grande circulação à Internet. O uso de múltiplas modalidades em sala de aula é freqüente, através de recursos como filmes, músicas, e imagens, entre muitos outros. O objetivo deste trabalho é observar o uso de textos multimodais na sala de aula de língua inglesa, assim como na escolha do professor no uso deste ou aquele texto multimodal, de modo que possamos ter uma visão, mesmo que parcial, do papel do texto multimodal no ensino de inglês nesse ambiente, em termos de (1) a visão do professor sobre os objetos de ensino e (2) o texto multimodal em relação aos outros recursos pedagógicos. O trabalho tem duas dimensões que se complementam: a visão teórica sobre a imagem e a visão que tange a pedagogia para o ensino de língua, por uma abordagem multimodal. A perspectiva teórica multimodal do estudo se baseou na teoria da gramática do design visual proposta por Kress e van Leeuwen (1996 e 2001) e em estudos de comunicação visual (Santaella, 2004; Sturken & Cartwright, 2001). A perspectiva multimodal no ensino é pautada pelos trabalhos de Oliveira (2003), Unsworth (2001) e Royce (2002). O estudo discute: (1) o uso das imagens no material didático e a visão das professoras desse uso, e (2) a proposta de levar aprendizes e docentes a se capacitarem a ler textos multimodais, de modo a adquirir a competência comunicativa multimodal. / [en] Multimodal texts have a strong presence in contemporary society, in the mass media and on Internet, for instance. The use of multiple modalities in the language classroom is common, as can be seen in films, songs, images, and many other resources. The purpose of this study is to observe teaching practices with multimodal texts in English language classrooms in order to gain a view of the role of verbal and visual texts in this kind of setting. The focus is on (1) the perception that the teachers have of their choices about what material to use, and (2) their vision of its use multimodal text in relation to teaching resources in general. The theoretical perspective of the study is based on the theory of the grammar of visual design as modeled by Kress and van Leeuwen (1996, 2001). The pedagogical perspective of the study is guided by the work of Unsworth (2001) and Royce (2002), authors that argue for teaching based on a multimodal approach. The study discusses: (1) the use of images in pedadogical material and teacher’s visions of its use, and (2) the notion of making learners and teachers to be able to read multimodal texts, so as to gain multimodal communicative competence.

The aim of this study is to use a cognitive approach to analyse two novels that are considered to be part of the British literary canon: Jane Eyre (1847) by Charlotte Brontë and Emma (1816) by Jane Austen. The study aims to utilise close reading and thematic analysis of human emotion. The themes are as follows: the fear of losing a loved one, morals and values in relation to love and marriage, and feelings of disgust, aversion, antipathy and shame. Quotations from each novel are analysed with the theoretical framework of “theory of mind” and placed within the emotional frame of the thematic analysis. The aim of this is to provide possible scaffolding for learners of English as a foreign language, in an attempt to make canonised literature more easily accessible. Scaffolding may be needed for Swedish EFL learners to overcome the language barrier presented in literature from the 19th century. Further benefits of emotional scaffolding conform to requests of the Swedish Agency of Education and the Curriculum’s demands that education be conducted in such a way as to promote empathy, compassion and understanding for fellow humans. The analysis shows that strong emotional connection in the novels provide ample opportunity to analyse readers’ possible empathetic response, thus resulting in the opportunity for these responses to serve as scaffolding as well as an opportunity to improve empathetic ability.

This paper provides an investigation of recent empirical research from the EFL literature on the advantages and possible problems that may occur when using films in Swedish upper secondary schools to increase student interaction and oral production during English lessons. Also examined is what specific film-based teaching strategies educators can utilize to increase the level of speaking and interacting in the English classrooms for Swedish secondary-school students. The investigation shows that although a number of researchers agree on the many benefits of using films was large, some problems can also be identified. These advantages and problems are discussed in the study in light of different teaching theories, for example, Vygotsky’s zone of proximal development and the Swedish curriculum. Overall, films were found to be a valid tool to be used for teachers to increase the production of speaking and interacting in Swedish upper secondary schools.

The present study offers an initial exploration of the implications of metaphoric competence in L2 writing in the Swedish educational context. Metaphors from a cognitive perspective, are a core part of our daily lives. Moreover, they are a reflection of our thoughts and cognition, and an important part of every student learning path towards mastering a second language. The development of metaphoric competence, which includes the ability to understand and produce metaphors, can contribute substantially to second language proficiency. This paper examines the extent to which students obtaining the highest grades in the Swedish national test for grade 9 use metaphors in comparison to students who get the lowest grades and see whether there is a difference in the metaphoric comptence among students. For the study, 20 essays were analysed using the metaphor identification procedure (MIP). Finally, the paper explores the educational implications of these results in the EFL classroom.

This study examines the level of frequency of wordlists, and the selected vocabulary exercise type in two English textbooks aimed at first year (English 5) and third year (English 7) Swedish secondary school students. A quantitative analysis was conducted by inserting the wordlists into an online tool, which generated a frequency list based on lemmas in accordance with the BNC corpus. The analysis of the wordlist indicates a majority of low frequency lemmas and a minority of high frequency lemmas, which studies report that students are not familiar with. The results of the frequency analysis support findings of previously conducted studies regarding insufficient number of high frequency words in EFL textbooks. Vocabulary exercise types were also identified, counted and analysed. The analysis of the vocabulary exercise types indicates a preference for production exercises in the textbook aimed at English 5, and a preference of interpretation exercises in the English 7 textbook. The effectiveness of commonly found exercise types in the textbooks are supported by previous research.

The purpose of this essay is to juxtapose students’ perceptions of surveillance to the surveillance portrayed in George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four. By using Michel Foucault’s expansion of Jeremy Bentham’s discussion of the Panopticon, this essay shows that upper secondary school students modify their behaviour, like the characters in the novel, when they are under surveillance. Furthermore, this essay argues that even though there have been vast developments in the field of surveillance since the publication of Nineteen Eighty-Four, similar notions of concern regarding the impact of surveillance on the human psyche are still upheld by students. This essay expands upon current research which points to desensitization regarding the impact of surveillance on younger generations and a gap between current knowledge and necessary knowledge for an informed opinion. By juxtaposing students’ perceptions of surveillance and that portrayed in Nineteen Eighty-Four, this essay provides insights into why this topic could be dealt with in the EFL-classroom as a means of providing students with the opportunity to develop their knowledge on social issues and cultural features which could make them more aware of the cultural impact of constant surveillance.

Despite teachers already using Information and Communications Technology as a tool in their English teaching, the corona pandemic and the subsequent transition to online teaching presented teachers with the challenge of using ICT for all of their teaching. Teaching a language which is not the students’ mother tongue makes online teaching an even greater challenge. The purpose of this study, therefore, is to increase the knowledge surrounding the use of ICT in online English teaching in an effort to support teachers in the future. The experiences of ten English teachers were obtained through the use of semi-structured interviews. A thematic analysis revealed a mixture of positive and negative experiences from the teachers, in terms of personal feelings, the actual process of online teaching and professional competence. The need for extra support for teachers in various areas of online teaching is discussed. Further research is needed to provide more detailed information in order to learn how teachers can be better supported in their role as an online educator, or in the use of ICT in a physical classroom.

In accordance with the governing documents of the Swedish upper secondary school, critical thinking must be promoted in all subjects. A great responsibility rests on the teachers to include this in their teaching. However, there is no clear definition of what is meant by critical thinking, which previous research has shown creates problems in the promotion of it. This study investigates how teachers in the Swedish upper secondary school (1) perceive and understand the concept of critical thinking, (2) implement it in their teaching and (3) answer to challenges they encounter in promoting it. Data were collected through a questionnaire and interviews. Thereafter, the data were analysed using both quantitative and qualitative methods. The results show that teachers highly value critical thinking and see it as an essential part of participation in society. It was also found that the teachers have different ways of implementing and encouraging critical thinking in the classroom but that dialogic methods are a common denominator. Moreover, the results show that students' lack of language skills as well as teachers' uncertainty about the concept of critical thinking impact the prerequisites of the promotion of critical thinking. On this basis, it is recommended that teachers work on their own definition and concept understanding of critical thinking for challenges that arise in their own teaching. Due to the size and design of this study, more research is needed to better understand English teachers' experiences with critical thinking in Swedish upper secondary education.