This study focuses on L2 learners of English in Swedish upper secondary schools and their ability to comprehend and use connectors in a multiple-choice cloze procedure. Connectors are used in text to signal the text structure and make explicit the relation between text segments. A study by Geva (1992) suggests that with an increased proficiency, learners also improve their ability to comprehend text relations and the use of connectors. The present study applies the suggestions of Geva’s results in a Swedish context. English in Swedish upper secondary schools, is taught at three levels (designated English 5, 6, 7) with increasing difficulty and proficiency level requirements. This study tests the ability to comprehend the context and use the correct connector on pupils in the two mandatory courses (English 5 & 6). Similar to previous studies, the aim is to investigate the relationship between levels of English and the ability to use connectors. This empirical survey investigates the English 5 & 6 pupils’ success in applying the appropriate connector in relation to the level of English they are placed in, in order to analyze whether there is any perceived development, as is presupposed by the English curriculum. Furthermore, the study also aims to analyze what type of connectors the pupils excel at or struggle with and any factors that might affect pupils’ performance. The test consisted of three categories: adversative (6 questions), additive (5 questions), and causal connectors (4 questions), a total of 15 questions, with one point being awarded for each correct response. The results of the two groups were similar and a subsequent t-test revealed that there was no statistical significance between the two groups in any of the categories. This suggests that in the sample which was tested there is no proficiency increase in terms of connectors and comprehending inter-/intrasentential relationships. Furthermore, the results indicate that the pupils are more likely to correctly select the appropriate adversative and causal connectors, but struggled in selecting the additive connectors. Keywords: connectors, comprehension, intrasentential & intersentential relationships, teaching, coherence, cohesion

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It is a well-known fact that intonation proper can change the meaning of a phrase. In this paper we have examined whether syntax on a more general level is signalled or marked intonationally, or, to be more specific, whether restrictive sub-ordinate clauses are somehow marked by the F0-contour. Two groups of phrases were created, one group containing pure statement phrases, and the other containing phrases with embedded sub-ordinate clauses. The phrases of the two groups had the same metrical structure, and as far as was possible similar segmental structure. Each phrase was given four different stresses: stress on the final word, stress on the penultimate word, stress on the first word and "neutral" stress. Each phrase was also given two different initial and final words, one being an accent 1 (acute) word, the other being an accent 2 (grave) word. Each phrase (32 in all) was recorded and analysed with two subjects - one male and one female, both with Stockholm accents. F0-contours were compared to plottings of points of maxima and minima in the three words alternatively given focus, and compared to earlier models of intonation. It was found that almost no distinguishable differences were made between the statement phrases and the phrases containing embedded subordinate clauses in the experiment. The male subject exhibited a slight tendency towards continuation tone in the phrases containing subordinate clauses, but it can be questioned whether this difference is of a perceptable degree. All post-focal maxima/minina were entirely suppressed, and the post-focal F0-contour fell asymptotically relative to the base-line. In summary, nothing palpable was found indicating that syntactic structure is signalled by F0-contour, for whose realization the metrical structure apparently is the major factor.

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Society changed when it entered the 21st century when technological gadgets like the computer and tablets made our society technologically dependent. The aim of this study is to examine Swedish Secondary and Upper Secondary English teachers’ attitudes towards computer use in the English classroom. The study was carried out by using a qualitative method: semi-structured interviews. A total of 17 teachers offered their thoughts on the subject. The results show that there are both differences and similarities between the Secondary school teachers and Upper Secondary School teachers. The Upper Secondary teachers have a much more positive attitude compared to the Secondary school teachers who have a more neutral attitude. The Upper Secondary School teachers are more positive because of the 1:1 initiative while the Secondary School teachers more neutral as a result of the limited computer supply, which was problematic whenever they have classes that are larger than the amount of computers available at hand. / Samhället förändrades vid sekelskiftet när teknologiska verktyg som datorn och surfplattor gjorde samhället mer beroende av teknik. Syftet med denna studie var att ta reda på engelsklärares attityder gentemot datorbruk i det Engelska klassrummet. Studien genomfördes genom att använda en kvalitativ metod: semi-strukturerade intervjuer där totalt 17 lärare intervjuades. Resultaten visar att det finns både likheter och skillnader bland grupperna. Gymnasielärarna har en mer positiv attityd gentemot datorbruk i jämförelse med grundskolelärarna som var mer neutrala, vilket var ett resultat av att gymnasieskolan har 1:1 medan grundskolan i många fall har ett begränsat antal datorer. Detta sågs som problematiskt av grundskolelärarna då dom i många tillfällen hade klasser som var större än mängden datorer tillgängliga.

A common assumption is that language is used for conveying factual information, but linguistic forms also serve a way to communicate pragmatic features, such as speakers’ intentions and mental state. This study describes and analyses two strategies for stance-taking in GhaPE, more specific the use of discourse particles and complement-taking predicates. Such grammatical resources have been identified in the literature to play important functions in signalling how the speaker evaluates and positions him/herself and the addressee with respect to objects of discourse. The analysis and discussion of forms is informed by Du Bois’ (2007) ‘stance triangle’, which has proved to be a useful analytical device for investigating stance from a dialogical perspective. GhaPE is at times anticipated as fairly simple both by scholars and in the community where it is spoken. This thesis is thus an attempt to display aspects of the richness of the language.

The aim of this essay is to establish a connection between the dystopian literary genres and crime novels with certain stylistic characteristics by doing a comparative study using two books marketed as dystopian: Stjärnklart by Lars Wilderäng (2015) and Den nya människan by Boel Bermann (2014), and two marketed as crime novels: Till offer åt Molok by Åsa larsson (2013) and Levande och döda i Winsford by Håkan Nesser (2014). This is done by analyzing stylistic characteristics described in Stil, stilistik & stilanalys by Peter Cassirer (2003), and Stilistik by Per Lagerholm (2015), that can be found on the lexical linguistic level. The results of this investigation shows that there are certain stylistic characteristics that can be traced back to the dystopian genre through a qualitative analysis of the quantitative results gathered from the material. The authors individual writing styles has created issues reaching these conclusions, as they seem to dictate the largest differences in the use of certain stylistic strategies. Despite this there are consistent patterns in the quantitative results that facilitated the conclusions presented in this essay.

Abstract The purpose of this study is to examine the influence of didactic methods on oral production in French as a foreign language. This is done by studying how three French teachers in Sweden use different didactic methods to encourage secondary school students to speak French. COLT observations and audio recordings were made at six occasions in three classes of sixth graders and three classes of ninth graders. The results show that the main didactic methods used to encourage students to speak were to ask questions, let students read aloud from textbooks and prepared presentations, let students repeat, and engage students in educational games. Asking questions is the most frequent method but produces a varied amount of oral production. Educational games engage most students and produces the most oral production. No pronounced difference was found between the use of didactic methods in sixth grade and ninth grade. The conclusion is that the choice of didactic method has an impact on oral production. Not only the method itself, but even more so in the way it is applied and adjusted to student’s level of knowledge. This might explain why the same didactic methods are used at different educational levels.

Chinua Achebe (1930- 2013) published his first novel Things Fall Apart (TFA) in 1958. Achebe wrote TFA in response to European novels that depicted Africans as savages who needed to be enlightened by the Europeans. Achebe presents to the reader his people’s history with both strengths and imperfections by describing for example, Igbo festivals, the worship of their gods and the practices in their ritual ceremonies, their rich culture and other social practices, the colonial era that was both stopping Igbo culture and also brought in some benefits to their culture. TFA therefore directs the misleading of European novels that depict Africans as savages into a whole new light with its portrayal of Igbo society, and examines the effects of European colonialism on Igbo society from an African perspective. Hence this essay is an attempt to show an insight of pre and post colonialism on Igbo society. It is argued that the interaction between the whites and the Igbo people had both negative and positive consequences. It is evident in Achebe’s novel that the Europeans greatly influenced the lifestyle of Igbo society.