The most important part of learning a language is being able to communicate, understanding others and making yourself understood. Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) is a perspective on language teaching where the focus is on the students and letting them communicate and interact with each other in the learning language. CLT creates safe classroom environments and great knowledge in how to use the language in everyday life. The aim with the study was to investigate English teachers’ usage of CLT and attitudes towards using CLT in the Swedish classroom during English teaching. Seven English teachers in Sweden participated in the study by answering questions in a semi-structured interview that was designed to answer the study´s research questions. The main results show that although English teachers are not familiar with the concept of CLT, they still have a positive attitude towards many tools and activities that are in keeping with it – and they also use these tools and activities. Hence, to get the most out of what CLT has to offer in the Swedish classroom, support from schools in the form of a teacher-training program would be appropriate.

En el presente estudio se investiga la importancia de la comunicación no verbal (CNV) en el aprendizaje de lenguas extranjeras. En relación con el aprendizaje y la enseñanza de verbos de rutina identificamos un posible problema que surgía durante la enseñanza de ciertos momentos gramaticales cuando estos se introducían de manera exclusivamente lingüística. El objetivo de esta tesina es por tanto analizar y describir cómo podría favorecer al aprendizaje de español como lengua extranjera (ELE) el uso de la gesticulación como estrategia didáctica no lingüística en el salón escolar sueco; ya que este tipo de comunicación no verbal es común entre los hispanoparlantes y hace parte del contexto cultural de la lengua meta. Nuestro estudio nace tras la observación realizada durante las prácticas pedagógicas que tuvieron lugar en Suecia, país en el que la CNV está presente en los planes curriculares. Con base en las observaciones de campo se hizo posible constatar que el docente ante problemáticas asociadas con la comprensión y la fluidez comunicativa, utilizaba inmediatamente el sueco cuando surgía un problema de comprensión (Skolinspektion, 2010). Este tipo de deficiencias podrían ser solventadas mediante el uso de gestos corporales ilustrativos (Cestero, 2017), como una estrategia compensatoria, esto es un conjunto de técnicas de aprendizaje que solventan un problema comunicativo (Rodríguez Ruiz y Merás García, 2005). En nuestro estudio han colaborado seis grupos de alumnos pertenecientes a cuatro escuelas suecas además de los respectivos docentes de cada grupo. También se realizaron encuestas a algunos alumnos y entrevistas a parte del equipo docente. Finalmente, los resultados obtenidos muestran como el aprendizaje de verbos reflexivos es más efectivo cuando se utiliza la CNV como estratégica didáctica en el aula de ELE mejorando también el proceso de enseñanza-aprendizaje. / This study investigates the importance of non-verbal communication (CNV) in learning foreign languages. In relation to learning and teaching routine verbs, we identified a possible problem that arose when, during the teaching of certain grammatical moments, these were introduced exclusively linguistically. The objective of this dissertation is therefore to analyze and describe how the use of gesturing as a non-linguistic teaching strategy in the Swedish school classroom could favor learning Spanish for foreigners (ELE); since this type of nonverbal communication is common among Spanish speakers and is part of the cultural context of the target language. Our study was initiated after the observation made during the pedagogical practices that took place in Sweden, a country where the CNV is present in the curricular plans. Based on the field observations, it became possible to verify that when the teacher faced problems associated with comprehension and communicative fluency, she usually turned to the mother tongue immediately when a comprehension problem arose (Skolinspektion, 2010). These types of deficiencies could be solved through the use of illustrative body gestures (Cestero, 2017), as a compensatory strategy understood as a type of learning technique that solves a communication problem (Rodríguez Ruiz and Merás García, 2005). Six groups of students belonging to four Swedish schools have collaborated in our study in addition to the respective teachers of each group. Surveys were also carried out with some students and interviews with part of the teaching team. Finally, the results obtained show how the learning of reflexive verbs is more effective when the CNV is used as a didactic strategy in the ELE classroom, also improving the teaching-learning process.

This paper focuses on peer reviewing as part of the writing process and as a pedagogical strategy that can help students develop their writing and critical thinking skills. To do so, it examines the extent to which peer reviewing can develop English as a foreign language (EFL) students’ ability to evaluate and reflect on their writing in upper secondary school. Moreover, this study investigates whether digital tools can help to facilitate the peer review process. By reviewing and synthesizing ten empirical studies from the period 2013-2020, the study found that students who engage in peer reviewing in writing develop critical thinking skills, self-regulation and evaluation. It further shows that there is a consensus between researchers regarding the usefulness of peer review in developing critical thinking skills. However, the findings indicate the importance of including guided peer review training before peer review activities. Furthermore, there is a strong indication that digital tools can help facilitate the peer review process if used appropriately. Digital tools help engage students in the peer review process since they are able to interact with each other’s texts online. Lastly, the findings of the study are in line with the Swedish national curriculum and the English syllabus for upper secondary school. Therefore, teachers in Sweden should consider the use of familiar digital tools to engage students in peer review to develop their writing and critical thinking skills.