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As the world and society evolve into a more digitized era, school systems have to follow. Sweden the national board of education has started to include digital tools into the curriculum and to place demands on the digital competence of Swedish teachers. The consequences that follow are that teachers are expected to implement digital tools of varying kinds into their lessons, which is done with varying success. This thesis aims to examine how software tools such as Kahoot and elevspel are perceived by English teachers in Sweden as tools they can use as they teach learners in grades 4-6. More specifically, this thesis will focus on how English teachers in an EFL setting perceive that they can use these tools to facilitate vocabulary development. In this essay, we have conducted quantitative research by using a questionnaire to gather data from English teachers in Sweden. Along with this, we have also examined previous research in this field to review the scientific background and take this into consideration. The results from this questionnaire showed that English teachers in Swedenincorporate software tools in their lessons and perceive software tools as necessary. However, a majority of the participating teachers noted that more support and ideas are needed for them to incorporate these tools to a fuller extent.

The aim of this project was to analyse Swedish EFL teachers’ methods and opinions regarding teaching fluency in their classrooms. Furthermore, the project aimed at exploring the attitudes towards the importance of including fluency in their language teaching. Previous research suggests that the usage of so-called task based exercises is something that helps in promoting students’ level of fluency. The previous research further suggests that the teaching of effective vocabulary, as well as linking-words, is beneficial for the developments of individual fluency. The method used in the gathering of data was based on qualitative interviews. The interviews were conducted with six EFL teachers at Swedish upper secondary schools. The questions asked during said interviews were of a semi-structured and open-ended nature. This particular structure was chosen in order to encourage the respondents to talk freely, and to combat the sense of there being right or wrong answers to the questions posed. The theoretical framework of the study is based on Burner’s (Nino & Burner, 1978) theory on scaffolding, and Gibbons’ (2015) approach on how to apply this to the EFL classroom.  The specific genres of fluency that held the focus of this paper were speech and writing. However, as a result of the data generated by the interviews, the two genres were not, to any significant extent, discussed or handled separately throughout the project. The results of the study shows that the interviewed teachers tend to employ small-group discussions in order to promote fluency in their students. Furthermore, the results show that most teachers are inclined to teach their students different kinds of vocabulary in order to further their students’ abilities. Other findings indicate that students seem to benefit from a safe environment in their classrooms when practicing fluency, this as to not feel exposed in a negative way when they are to perform in front of their peers.

This study is investigating how English as an international language is represented in textbooks of institutionalised second language learning at upper secondary high schools in Germany and Sweden, as well as if and how these representations differ. The method to be used in this essay is a textbook analysis, in which the frequency of references to Inner, Outer and Expanding Circle countries (see Kachru’s (1992) concentric model of World Englishes) is measured. It is thus a comparative study between German and Swedish textbooks, with focus on upper secondary schools and on the representation of English as an international language. The aim of this study is to investigate whether textbooks in the EFL classroom in Swedish and German upper secondary schools present English as an international language.

Even though vocabulary skills are the essential key to achieving proficiency in a target language, there are some students who do not like reading. Thus, the purpose of this study is the potential use of digital technology for facilitating and motivating reading and vocabulary building in English. Thanks to technological innovations, children and young people are reading and writing in many ways and digital tools have become a part of everyday life for children and adults. Since 2018, the schools in Sweden have been preparing for the first digital national tests that will be taken in the year 2023. The Swedish National Agency for Education (Skolverket) has highlighted the importance of digital tools and the competence that is needed for teachers so that the students will be able to pass and succeed in their education. Digital tools in schools all around the world have become an essential tool in the classroom, especially in Sweden.    Ultimately, this critical literature review investigates whether the use of digital texts in the ESL (English as a Second Language) and EFL (English as a Foreign Language) classroom can help students improve and build their vocabulary as well as motivate children to read. It also examines the advantages, disadvantages, and effectiveness of using vocabulary learning in the classroom to motivate students to read more. The goal is to motivate students to read more so that they will be able to practice reading independently and, thus, become fluent readers. The results indicate that it is crucial that teachers improve their competence in digital technology.    Key terms: Digital, reading, books, motivation, English as a second language (ESL), English as a foreign language (EFL).

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Magister Artium - MA / Research on EFL students has received increased interest in recent years (Elachachi, 2015; Al- Zubaidi, 2012; Awad, 2012; Eldokali, 2007; Wahba, 1998). Although much research attention has focussed on the EFL classes and practices, very little research has focussed on the Arab students and the resources used for teaching them English abroad. In particular, the linguistic and cultural barriers Arab students face when seeking higher education in a foreign country, in this case South Africa, where they have minimal to no exposure to the language of instruction used by the host institution, have not received much attention. The study investigated the academic writing skills in English of Arab students and evaluated the efficacy of the EFL teaching materials used at selected English schools in Cape Town for those intending to study in South Africa. The researcher did a text-based analysis on written essays by the Arab students, using Systemic Functional Linguistic (SFL) as a theoretical and analytical framework. The study also evaluated course books used by private language schools to teach EFL students in Cape Town. The textbooks were analysed by means of Multimodal Discourse Analysis (MDA, an offshoot of SFL to explore the different modes used in the teaching material as aspects of cultural social semiotics. It was found that the selected course books used in Cape Town language schools were focusing on teaching conversational English rather than written academic English, which was critical for essay writing required at tertiary level education. The essays showed that Arab students writing lacked in English academic writing conventions, and often resorted to adopting and adapted their first language style, which often led to unsatisfactory writing. Thus, it was concluded that the schools did not adequately prepare the students to face the academic requirements at institutions of higher learning. The study recommends a number of pedagogical measures on how to improve academic writing, as well as infusing Arabic cultural modes in the teaching material to contextualise learning and aid meaning making and consumption.

This study tested differences in reading comprehension between printed text and digital platforms. Two groups of upper secondary EFL students took eight tests, aiming to test their reading comprehension. The students took four tests in which they read traditionally and four in which they read digitally. The results of those tests were then compared using the percentage of correct answers, mean scores, and a t-test. The results showed slightly, but statistically insignificant higher scores in favor of the traditional test-takers. One test showed a statistically significant difference in favor of traditional test takers. The results were later discussed through relevant previous and related research. The reason for the difference in performance is, arguably, due to test mechanics.

The present study investigates changes in subject-verb agreement (SVA) errors in young Norwegian EFL learners’ written production from 8th to 10th grade. The study aimed to see if the frequency and type of SVA errors changed as the learners became more proficient. An error analysis was conducted on texts from the TRAWL (Tracking Written Learner Language) online corpus. The analysis included 52 texts from 26 students, giving two texts from each student, one from 8th grade (Y8) and one from 10th grade (Y10). The SVA errors in the data were identified and categorized by the variables: verb type, subject type, and distance between the subject and the verb. Errors involving the verb BE were categorized as suppletive agreement errors and sorted based on the verb tense since the verb BE marks agreement with suppletive forms in both the past and the present tense. Meanwhile, errors related to other verbs, including lexical verbs and auxiliaries HAVE and DO, were categorized as affixal agreement errors. The affixal agreement errors were further divided into omission errors where the 3rd person singular -s was missing and overgeneralization errors where the -s ending was erroneously used on a verb with a plural subject. Previous corpus-based studies on SVA errors suggest that young Scandinavian EFL learners (ages 14-16) make more overgeneralization errors than omission errors. The results from this study indicate that the students make more omission errors which can be explained by language transfer in 8th grade, and more overgeneralization errors as their English production has developed in 10th grade. Moreover, the overall frequency of the SVA errors in the data increased from 8th to 10th grade.

Research shows that the inclusion of youth literature in lower secondary schools has several advantages, including improvement of language proficiency development. For this reason the Swedish lower secondary school curriculum endorses the use of literature in language classes. There is, however, a great deal of freedom with regard to how teachers may implement literature for language learning purposes. Hence, this study aims to examine how some teachers use literature in their teaching to develop student’s language development and how the teachers perceive the benefits and challenges that come from using literature. The results show that incorporating literature in the classroom is regarded as important and that teachers  can see numerous benefits for the students. The results also indicate that there are various approaches available for teachers to integrate literature into their teaching.