In light of the staggering technological development we have witnessed over the last decade when it comes to connectivity and access to the internet, compounded by the new entertainment trends online, this study intends to examine students’ consumption of English in their spare time, and their view of the benefit it brings them in their language development. Through a quantitative survey the study tries to pinpoint how much English students at a secondary school in southern Sweden consider they consume in their spare time. Furthermore, to what degree do students believe their English spare time activities have helped them in school, and in their own English development. The results showed a broad consumption of English in the spare time, and a high opinion among students regarding the help their spare time English provide them in school. However, the reversed, that school helped them in the spare time, had a much lower appreciation. The study also looked at specific spare time activities, like playing games, to see if a pattern of more fruitful activities for English development could exist, which the results and previous research seem to indicate toward. Finally, a better understanding of this subject could inspire teachers views of spare time activities, and how to tie students interests and previous experiences in to the language classroom.

Earlier research has suggested that online gaming can be an effective way of acquiring English as a second or foreign language. It can both increase language proficiency (vocabulary or oral proficiency) and have a positive impact on affective filters such as motivation or willingness to communicate. The present study further investigates if habitual playing of massively multiplayer online (MMO) games results in achieving higher grades in English as a foreign language (EFL) for the Swedish upper secondary students. Possible gender differences regarding the acquisition of English and grades in the subject are also investigated to see if the female students play MMOs to the same extent as the males do and if the female students’ higher grades can be connected to gaming. 78 upper secondary school students answered a questionnaire about their English-language-related activities in their spare time and their online gaming habits in particular. The students’ most recent grades in the English subject were gathered to see if the habitual gamers achieved higher grades.   The results show that most of the males play MMOs and that most of the females do not. The males also engage more in other English-language-based activities in their spare time than the females do. Still, the informants’ English grades are similar between the genders. Females seem to learn more English in school and the males more in their spare time. However, the group of gamers playing MMOs 4-8 hours a week or more achieved higher grades than the rest of the student informants.

Extramural English (EE) engagement is common amongst young English as a foreign language (EFL) learner in Sweden. However, the ESL students engage in EE activities to varying degrees and their English proficiency could be positively affected by the amount of time spent on EE activities. The present study therefore aims to increase knowledge about grade 6 students’ EE engagement and its possible correlate with the students’ English grades in a Swedish context. Additionally, the study explores which types of EE activities: receptive, productive, and interactive, the students engage most in, and if there is some correlation between type of EE activity engaged in and English grade. This was investigated through mixed-method research, conducting both a quantitative digital questionnaire with 30 participant sixth graders and two qualitative focus group interviews with a total of five sixth graders participating. The findings show that the grade 6 students with high English grades engage most in interactive EE activities, whereas low-grade English students mostly engage in receptive EE activities. Additionally, the qualitative results indicate that grade 6 students perceive benefits of learning English through EE engagement. However, the present study cannot prove any statistically significant correlation between number of hours spent on EE activities per week and English grades. The present study suggests that EFL teachers consider and incorporate the increasing EE engagement of their students in the didactic choices made for English language teaching (ELT). To comprehensively explore the effects that young ESL learners’ EE engagement has on their English acquisition and grades, further research should focus on longitudinal studies, representing a greater variety and number of students participating.

This study explores Swedish English language teacher’s (ELT’s) attitudes towards EE, their reasons for or against its inclusion in their classrooms, and how these views affect their planning, instruction and assessment. Themes for investigation are established through thorough review of literature in the field in a Swedish context and explored through thematic analysis of interviews and a survey study. The ELTs in this study view EE as a positive contribution to students’ language development and a good source of authentic materials. Inclusion of EE is seen as a way to increase student engagement. However the causal relationship between EE and language proficiency is questioned. EE and ELTs’ attitudes towards it can be clearly seen to affect lesson planning, classroom activities and assessment. Inclusion of students’ EE is used by some ELTs as a tool to bridge differences caused by heterogenous levels of proficiency and authenticity gaps. Lastly, content and language integrated learning (CLIL) teachers viewed inclusion of EE as a critical aspect in their instruction. Municipal teachers saw inclusion of EE primarily as a method to increase student engagement.

The purpose of this research survey is to investigate how the extramural English that primary-school pupils, grades 4-6, devote their leisure time to - playing games, listening to music, surfing the web and watching TV – may affect their performance of English in school. The study also investigates research about the teachers’ role in the pupils’ development of English proficiency. The research that I review in this essay shows that extramural English has positive effects on the pupils’ learning in school. The results also show that it is important for teachers to base their teaching on the pupils’ prior knowledge of, and interest in, English. In this way, teachers can help increase the pupils’ motivation to learn more English. How teachers encourage pupils to learn is also examined, to a limited extent, in this study, particularly how they make pupils take responsibility for their own language learning.

Students spend more time using English out-of-school compared to in school. Situated in previous research on Extramural English, this study will be drawing on interviews with a specially selected sample of upper secondary school students who engage in intense and personally meaningful interactions in English-mediated communities online. This qualitative research study seeks to answer how and where these students communicate. Furthermore, the students’ experiences of use of English in school and in online communities will be explored. Results are based on a thematic content analysis. Based on the result, students experience high confidence in their L2 English proficiency in online communities. However, some of the participants experience anxiety and worries when using English in school. Teachers need to be aware of their students’ Extramural English to understand challenges related to students’ in- and out-of-school L2 English experiences.

Syftet med studien är att undersöka elevers uppfattningar om Massive Multiplayer Online-spels (MMO-spel) inverkan på engelskkunskaper. Studien, likt tidigare forskning inom om-rådet, grundar sig i ett sociokulturellt perspektiv. En kvalitativ metod i form av semistruk-turerade intervjuer har använts för att intervjua deltagare i årskurs 6. Följande frågeställ-ningar har legat som grund för studien: Hur beskriver elever sitt eget och klasskamraters spelande av MMO-spel i förhållande till engelskinlärning? Hur beskriver elever att de och andra lär sig engelska i MMO-spel? Hur ser elever på MMO-spel som ett möjligt verktyg för språkinlärning i engelskundervisning?Intervjuerna analyserades med en fenomenografiskt inspirerad modell i sju steg för att få fram ett resultat. Resultatet visar att eleverna är medvetna om MMO-spels inverkan på eng-elskkunskaper. Medvetenheten hos deltagarna berör inte enbart utvecklingen av engelsk-kunskaper utan även spelvanor och vad i spelen det är som utvecklar engelska. Resultatet visar även att eleverna påstår att det är den sociala sidan i spelen som utvecklar och inte själva spelandet. Flertalet av deltagarna är skeptiska till en potentiell användning av MMO-spel i engelskundervisningen. / The purpose of this study is to inquire into the perceptions of the influence which Massive Multiplayer Online games (MMOs) have on the English language skills of those who play them. This study, like other studies in the same field, departs from a sociocultural perspec-tive. This qualitative study employed semi-structured interviews with participants aged be-tween 12 and 13. The study asked the following questions: How do participants perceive the influence MMOs have on their own and others’ English? How do participants describe the experience of learning English through MMOs? How do participants regard the idea of using MMOs as a tool for English language teaching in a formal educational setting?The interviews were analysed with a fenomenographically inspired model to find a result. The results indicate that participants are aware of the impact MMOs have on their English language skills. This awareness encompassed not only the improvement of English lan-guage skills, but also an awareness of their gaming habits and how they also improve English language skills. Furthermore, participants perceived that it is the social aspect of MMOs which improves English skills, as opposed to the game play mechanics. The majority of the participants are, however, skeptical of the use of MMOs in formal English education.

The purpose of this study is to investigate whether listening to music as an out-of-school activity, and English songs in particular, motivated a group of Swedish upper-secondary students to learn extramural English. One aspect that comes into focus is whether the students perceived that there were particular aspects of second language acquisition (SLA) that improved as a result of listening to music. The study focuses on the correlation between the needs of the listeners and the nature of their motivation for learning. This is a qualitative study based on the analysis of semi-structured interviews. The results show that all of the students perceived listening to music as an aid in their extramural English acquisition. A majority of the students had the intrinsic motivation for learning as they exhibited curiosity, emotions and internal needs as the primary factors that empowered them to expand their extramural English. The minority of the interviewees showed signs of extrinsic motivation to learn the vocabulary of the lyrics of the songs they listened to. The learning they experienced was linked to the expectancy in improving their academic performances. They may, however, have had a combination of the extrinsic and intrinsic forms of motivation where the former had a dominant position. In both cases the respondents showed awareness of the correlation between their extramural English acquisition and listening to vocal music. It is suggested that vocabulary acquisition was the primary aspect of language learning that benefited from listening to songs, followed by listening skills. The possibility to make their own choice to listen to music is linked to deep language learning, vocabulary learning in context and mastering listening skills.

Using a corpus of school essays of Swedish students in year 9 and 12 of junior and senior high school, the present study compares the level of formality and frequency of discourse markers in the respective year groups. Based on previous literature, discourse markers found in the essays are categorized as either formal or informal. Ten randomly selected essays from each year group are analyzed. The results show that there are discrepancies between grade 9 and year 12 in both formality and frequency of discourse markers. The differences can be connected to second language acquisition and contexts in which the Swedish students acquire English. Outer input of English, made possible by new technology and globalization, has a significant impact on language acquisition, a phenomenon which is new and relatively unexplored.  The results of the current study are discussed in the light of the relevance and impacts of the frequent exposure to English through internet activities and media consumption and how it effects language learning. By focusing on discourse markers, which make up an important part of written and spoken language, I attempt to point out patterns that may be relevant and useful for English teachers. Awareness of how combined mechanisms effect and develop students´ acquisition and how to interpret differences in how students use specific grammatical elements such as discourse markers may be useful as a pedagogical analyzing tool. Not least when it comes to the assessment of essays.

The English language is becoming more common in our society. Research shows that students learn English in their spare time as well as in the classroom. The purpose of the study is to investigate teachers’ experiences of students’ previous knowledge in English, if it has changed over time in speech and vocabulary and what sources the teachers perceive that the students meet in their spare time. I considered it appropriate to use qualitative data collection in the form of semi structured interviews with experienced teachers. The result shows that the teachers in my study can see a change in previous knowledge over time and that the sources are often connected to the internet. I found that both the previous research and the results of my data in this study agree that extramural English is rewarding for students’ English knowledge. There has been a big change in an increased level of previous knowledge in English. An important conclusion is that this increase of previous knowledge contributes to greater variation of knowledge among students, which puts higher demands on teachers to individualize the teaching.