This explorative research paper looks at the attitudes and experiences of four EFL teachers towards assessment of English as a foreign language. The study was carried out using qualitative research with semi-structured interviews. The paper discusses factors that impact attitudes towards assessment. Our findings show that assessment is affected by a variety of factors, including colleagues, the head teacher and guiding documents. Furthermore, this paper identifies the need for more teacher education regarding the process of assessment, specifically formative assessment.

In the Swedish school system, English is one of three core subjects that are mandatory to pass at the end of year 9 to be able to engage in further studies in high school. However, English is not introduced at the same time in all schools. In fact, primary schools in Sweden can choose freely (between age 6-10) when they want to start introducing English to their students. The main purpose of this paper is to disclose if starting English education at an earlier age results in higher student scores on the total score and the three different parts of the National Exam for English in year 6. The National Exam scores from 14 different schools were collected and compared. 7 schools that introduce English in year 1, and 7 schools who begin their English education in year 3. The results from the statistical tests show that there is a significant difference between the two groups at the total score, speaking, and receptive skills. The early starters performed better on all parts. However, there was no significant difference between the groups in writing.

A review of the related literature revealed that international students face specific academic challenges. The goal of this research was to investigate the effect of international student peer advising sessions on English as a Second Language (ESL) international students' perceptions of their language skills and strategies for dealing with academic tasks. The research design included a control and an experimental group with a pretest and a posttest administration of the Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL) and the Xu International Student Academic Language Needs Assessment (ISALNA-2) instruments. Qualitative data was also collected. The participants in the study were upper-intermediate level international students in an intensive English program at a large metropolitan university. Scores (n = 23) on the SILL and the ISALNA-2 were used to investigate the changing perspectives of students receiving similar information from different sources, classroom teachers and peer advisors or only classroom teachers. Peer advising sessions were provided to the experimental group of students. The focus of the sessions was advice and direction in language skills (reading, writing, listening, and speaking) for university academic tasks. A split-plot analysis of variance was employed to analyze the quantitative data obtained from pre- and posttest administrations of the instruments. Analysis of the data did not reveal a statistically significant effect of the peer advising sessions as regards the improvement of scores on the SILL and ISALNA-2. Qualitative data (n = 29) indicated that the experimental participants were positively impacted in understanding the necessary language skills necessary for academic success. Interviews with the peer advisors revealed that they had enhanced their understanding of university expectations and had developed a higher level of confidence as a result of their participation in the advising sessions. Qualitative data revealed positive attitudes by the peer advisors in giving language skills information and by the ESL international students involved in receiving that information. The study format could contribute to future studies and may have implications for the development of international peer advising for English language instruction, foreign student orientation programs, host family programs, and programs linking foreign students with American student study partners.

Recent reports have confirmed that Swedish adolescents read less every year. Because of these reports, Swedish governments have implemented regulations to provide directions and emphasize the importance of reading promotion. However, how much these regulations have affected the curriculum for upper secondary schools in general, and the English syllabus specifically, is unclear. Therefore, this study aimed firstly to analyze the responsibilities of English teachers at upper secondary school regarding reading promotion, and secondly to take a closer look at the practice of reading promotion in the English classroom. This was conducted in a combined-methods study. Firstly, a close reading and analysis of what signals governments and governmental agencies have been sending out regarding reading promotion were carried out, and of how visible these signals are in the curriculum/syllabus. Secondly, a survey was conducted asking EFL teachers in upper secondary school how they look upon their responsibilities in this regard and what they practice in class.  The results show that the curriculum of upper secondary school does not reflect the governments’ emphasis on reading promotion. Some guidelines are provided, but they are vague, and it is unclear if they are part of the English teacher’s responsibility. Despite the lack of emphasis on reading in the curriculum, the survey results show that the participating English teachers believe reading is important and work with reading promotion. However, the respondents stress that more resources for school libraries are needed to improve their work.

Manually grading essays and providing comprehensive feedback pose significant challenges for writing instructors, requiring subjective assessments of various writing elements. Automated essay scoring (AES) systems have emerged as a potential solution, offering improved grading consistency and time efficiency, along with insightful analytics. However, the use of AES in English as a Second Language (ESL) remains rare. This dissertation aims to explore the implementation of AES in ESL education to enhance teaching and learning. The dissertation presents a study involving ESL teachers who learned to use a specific AES system called LightSide, a free and open text mining tool, to enhance writing instruction. The study involved observations, interviews, and a workshop where teachers learned to build their own AES using LightSide. The study aimed to address questions related to teacher interest in using AES, challenges faced by teachers, and the influence of the workshop on teachers' perceptions of AES. By exploring the use of AES in ESL education, this research provides valuable insights to inform the integration of technology and enhance the teaching and learning of writing skills for English language learners.

Formative assessment is an educational approach that challenges the traditional summative ways of teaching. Although formative assessment has been found to stimulate learning development, it also involves difficulties for teachers to implement. Moreover, a tendency of blending summative and formative assessment has caused complications among both teachers and students. Furthermore, students require support, clear instruction, and training of self-regulation in order for formative assessment to be efficient. The present study aims to explore what research say about the challenges and needs of teachers and students concerning formative assessment as well as find connection points between the perspectives of teachers and students. The study is a research overview conducted through a thematic analysis of ten empirical studies. The data is collected by database research using specific delimitations with means to analyze studies significant to the aim and target demography of research, which is secondary education English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers and students. The findings suggest four themes: Teachers’ lack of time, support, or knowledge; Students’ need for clear instruction and thorough guidance; Difficulties in interactions and expectations; and Clashes with summative habits and a grade-oriented mindset. The discussion aligns these themes with theory on formative assessment and examines its alignment with policy documents as well as a Swedish secondary education EFL context. The present study offers an insight into problematic areas regarding challenges and needs of formative assessment.

Dyslexia is a widely known disorder that impairs the diagnosed students’ literacy in multiple ways. There is a lot of research done on how dyslexia hinders literacy skills in a person's first language; however, not as much research has been done on how the disorder affects the reading skills in English as a second language (ESL). The purpose and aim of the literature review is to examine and evaluate how dyslexia affects the reading skills and reading comprehension, and to explore what pedagogical tools that are available to better facilitate reading skills for dyslexic students in ESL. The method used for conducting this literature review was through searching peer-reviewed scientific articles in two separate databases. Furthermore, the results showed that dyslexic students’ reading skills were impaired by poor working memory and poor phonological awareness. Nevertheless, the results also indicated that there are several pedagogical tools available, such as computer-based instruction for example, in order to aid dyslexic students in developing their reading skills in ESL. Consequently, the findings of this literature review coincided with the Swedish curriculum and the Swedish syllabus for the English courses in the upper secondary school concerning using various teaching strategies and pedagogical tools in the teaching of ESL. The almost certain inevitability of teaching dyslexic students in ESL in the future profession as an ESL teacher further validates and amplifies the importance of this study.

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.

<p>Many multilingual learners who use a language other than English at home face academic challenges from English monolingualism prevalent in the U.S. school system. English as a New Language (ENL) programs teach English to these learners while playing a role in reinforcing English monolingualism. For educational inclusivity and equity for multilingual learners, it is imperative to center their holistic language repertoires in ENL classrooms; however, this can be challenging due to individual and contextual factors. Using translanguaging as a conceptual framework, this qualitative case study explores how high school multilingual learners’ languages are flexibly used in ENL classes and how the students think about such classroom translanguaging practices. I used ethnographic methods to observe ENL classroom activities and instructional practices, interview the participants, and collect photos and documents in a high school in Indiana for a semester. The participants were an English-Spanish proficient ENL teacher and four students from Puerto Rico, Mexico, Honduras, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, whose language repertoires included Spanish, Lingala, French, Arabic, and English. The findings describe the difficulties and possibilities of incorporating all students’ multilingual-multisemiotic repertoires in ENL classes. The classroom language practices primarily constituted of Spanish and drawing; some instructional activities and practices, such as the multigenre identity project and the teacher’s use of Google Translate, well integrated the students’ multilingual-multisemiotic repertoires. When the students engaged in English writing, they frequently used machine translation, such as Google Translate, through dynamic processes involving evaluation. While the students perceived such classroom translanguaging practices generally positively, they considered using machine translation as a problem, a resource, or an opportunity. With these findings, I argue that multilingual learners’ competence to use their own languages and machine translation technology freely and flexibly is a valuable resource for learning and should be encouraged and developed in ENL classrooms. To do so, ENL teachers should use instructional activities and practices considering students’ dynamic multilingualism. TESOL teacher education should develop such competence in teachers, and more multilingual resources should be provided to teachers. In the case of a multilingual classroom with singleton students, building mutual understanding, empathy, and equity-mindedness among class members should be prioritized. Finally, I recommend that the evolving multilingual technologies, such as machine translation, be actively used as teaching and learning resources for multilingual learners.</p>

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