English is an international and global language that students, regardless of mother tongue, encounter in their everyday lives. In Sweden, students are introduced to English teaching in year 1, 2 or 3, and in some cases, year 4. English teaching can sometimes be problematic when the language of instruction often consists of Swedish, which for second language students becomes a challenge to acquire new skills in a week language. The study aims to examine, with a qualitative study, how pedagogues plan and implements English teaching in first grade with students whose mother tongue are other than Swedish. Further, the aim was to examine how pedagogues say they relate to the fact that second language pupils participating in English lessons and if they think it affects their English teaching. The conclusions is that the pedagogues has probably not been problematized the phenomenon examined and say they do not adapt their teaching. In the interviews reveals information about the teaching method which, in my opinion, indicates that, unconsciously, adapting their teaching when they have second language students. Furthermore, the study points out the importance of English as language of instruction when there is a more equal situation for all students regardless of language. Second langue students do not need to go through the Swedish language to be taught in English.

abstract: This semester-long study examined the functions for which English (L1) and Spanish (L2) were used in two intact hybrid Spanish as a foreign language (FL) university classes at the 202 (fourth semester) level. Five 75-minutes classes of two instructors were observed by the researcher, video- and audio-recorded, and transcribed. A survey was also used to determine the functions for which the instructors and students believed that Spanish and English were used in the classroom, and the functions for which both believed that the two languages should be used. Talking about a test and teaching grammar were the functions for which both instructors used the most English and the most Spanish. The questionnaire results indicated that the students who heard more Spanish in the classroom would have preferred that their instructor had used less Spanish for the functions of checking how well students understand a reading in class as well as when giving instructions or explaining how to do group activities. The Minnesota Language Proficiency Assessment for listening at the Intermediate-High level was administered to the students of both instructors at the beginning and at the end of the semester. The classroom observations indicated that although both instructors used more than 50% words in English during their classes, one instructor used twice as many words in Spanish as did the other. However, the results of the study revealed no significant relationship between the amount of Spanish used by the instructors in the classroom and the students' progress on listening proficiency from the beginning to the end of the semester. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.A. Spanish 2012

In this thesis I investigate the practices and perceptions of some Newly Qualified Teachers (NQTs) of modern foreign languages (MFL) in Scotland in relation to how they use the target language (L2). I seek to answer the questions “In what different ways do student teachers of modern languages use the target language in Scottish secondary school classrooms?’, ‘What reasons do they give for how they use it?” and “In what way(s), if any, do newly qualified teachers of modern languages change teaching pedagogy in their initial stages of teaching in relation to the use of the target language and what reasons do they give for any changes they make?”. The issue arises because of the continuing gap between what initial teacher education (ITE) advocates in respect of L2 use and what qualified teachers say they do, in so far as there is evidence in this area. There is little empirical evidence relating to how and why MFL NQTs develop the practices and perceptions of qualified teachers. Data was gathered through an online questionnaire issued to all modern languages teachers in Scotland and semi-structured interviews were conducted with a small group of PGDE (Secondary) Modern Languages students at the end of their PGDE year and at the end of their first year of teaching as NQTs. Audio-recordings of the NQTs were also made during this first year of teaching. Data from the four sources were analysed using an inductive approach, remaining flexible in terms of extending, modifying and discarding categories. The findings revealed that the NQTs used considerably less target language during their NQT year and had changed their views on the target language substantially since their PGDE year. They reported that they found it difficult to use L2 for discipline, grammar teaching, explaining things and for social chat. At the same time there were huge changes in their practice and big changes in their views vis-à-vis L2 use. Significantly, the data revealed that these changes in practice and views happened very quickly, were a lot starker and occurred a lot faster than previously thought. This situation seems to have many causes – influences from experienced colleagues, survival tactics, how teachers develop their own pedagogy and identity as teachers. This thesis recommends that those involved in ITE and Career Long Professional Learning look particularly at the two areas of situated learning and teacher cognition in relation to the use of the target language. It further recommends collaborative research between teachers in schools and other agencies, such as Education Scotland and local authority quality improvement officers, together with teacher educators to develop an understanding of how to promote effective learning and teaching strategies in relation to the use of the target language in class.

The South African Language-in-Education Policy (LiEP) states that mother tongue should be the preferred medium of instruction in the Foundation Phase (grade R-3). Primary tuition is therefore currently offered in the 11 South African official languages. The challenge faced in South African schools that offer African languages in the Foundation Phase, is the fact that from grade 4 onwards, education is only available through the medium of English. This results in a vast number of learners having to make a transition in grade 4 to English as medium of instruction. In this qualitative study, I explored the experiences of teachers and learners in this transition. The context of this case study is a poverty-stricken and underdeveloped rural area. SiSwati is the language commonly spoken in this area and English is spoken, heard and read only in the classroom. Purposive sampling was done, including three grade 3 classes and their teachers, as well as the grade 4 learners and the teachers teaching siSwati, English and Mathematics. Data was collected through interviews, observations, document analysis and field notes. Conventional content analysis was conducted. Among the theoretical lenses adopted for the study was Krashen’s input-interaction-output model of second language learning. This informed the process grade 4 learners undergo in learning English as a second language and medium of instruction. The findings of this study revealed that the challenge regarding this transition is not the English language per se, but rather a deficient home language foundation and the quality of teaching offered. The learners’ age at the time of this transition also plays a significant role, as it affects their readiness to switch to another language. The implications of this study relate to the necessity of a solid mother tongue foundation and improved quality of teaching. It is suggested that the admission age in grade 1 be seven years and the actual point of transition prolonged. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2017. / Early Childhood Education / MEd / Unrestricted

Translanguaging has been breaking ground with ideas that learners’ already mastered languages and the target language should coexist to support and scaffold each other's development, instead of the historically preeminent idea that has been to separate the school language and the target language. The curriculum for Swedish schools does not give any guidelines on how to address this contradiction in research. This degree project aims to examine how English teachers in Sweden perceive the use of translanguaging in their teaching of grades 4-6 (ages 9-12). Also, how they possibly prepare for and implement this in their lessons. The study was conducted through an online questionnaire with a total of 24 participants, with quantitative and qualitative type questions. In addition to the questionnaire, qualitative email interviews were conducted with a total of three participants. The collected data show that the majority of the participating teachers have a positive view of translanguaging. Despite some teachers being against it and believing that target language should be used as much as possible, the school language was still used by all participants to scaffold the learners. Though translanguaging is a relatively new, not very well-known concept, it is being regularly used although not always consciously.Our hope is for this study to generate more research to further define the concept of translanguaging and what effect it has on learners.

In primary school, the teacher is often seen as a role model by their students. For this reason, it is crucial that teachers use a rich supply of English in the classroom. There are two focuses in this study. Firstly, the amount of English spoken in the classroom through teacher talk and secondly, teachers’ attitude towards speaking English in the classroom. To obtain information on these matters, classroom observations were performed, and a survey was administered examining teachers’ attitudes as well as their situational use of English versus first language in the classroom. Findings of this study showed a significant variation in the amount of English used by the teachers. Furthermore, while attitude towards and situational use of English also varied between the teachers, there were certain similarities as well. Findings revealed to be in line with previous research and suggestions for future research are proposed.

This study sets out to examine the teacher perspective of the use of Swedish and English during English teaching in year 4. Whether the first language, in this case Swedish, should be included is a much debated questions, and, there is no unanimous answer. On the one hand, scholars promote the sole use of the target language in the classroom and argue that such an approach would result in the students communicating more in English. On the other hand, the first language, in this context Swedish, is seen as a resource which can aid language learning. In addition, there appear to be a gap between this discussion and practice on ground. Therefore, this study aims to examine a few teachers’ beliefs and motivation for their language use. The study is conducted through lesson observations and qualitative interviews with four Swedish primary school teachers who teach English. Results show that two of the four teachers believe that the ‘English Only’ approach is most advantageous. Whereas the other two believe that the learners need translations to support their understanding. Swedish is used in every classroom to a varying degree; however, all the teachers motivate its use with the same reasoning: the students’ low proficiency in English makes it too difficult to use the target language only. Furthermore, the teachers find the need to include the first language in order to reach and support all learners. However, one can question this approach as it does not include the learners whom have other first languages than Swedish, and who are forced to learn English via Swedish. The results imply that teachers may need further education on how to work with Swedish and multilingualism in a conscious and pedagogical way.

There has long been a debate regarding how much Swedish and English can and should be used in the EFL classroom. Some favor using only English, whereas others prefer using a mixture of languages i.e. translanguaging (Garcia, 2012). This study explores the language used by EFL teachers in Sweden. Through observations, we looked into the extent and functions of English and Swedish used by four EFL teachers in Southern Sweden. By conducting interviews, we were also able to ascertain the teachers’ beliefs about teachers’ language use and what factors they perceive to have affected those beliefs. The results were compared to previous research related to the two approaches and they were also related to the steering documents for Swedish secondary schools. The results show that teachers used predominantly English in their teaching and that this usage also corresponded to their beliefs. Some discrepancies were found between their beliefs in using Swedish and their actual practice. Furthermore, the participants' beliefs were found to be mainly affected by their teacher education, research, and their personal language learning experience.

The aim of this paper is to investigate how the actual implementation of target language use might differ from the theoretical standpoint that is promoted in the curriculum in Swedish and teacher attitudes towards the suggested level of TL use. The paper will also investigate teacher motivations behind these differences. It has long been the tradition in language teaching to promote a sole use of the target language in order to expose students to as much of the language as possible. However, research shows that student’s first language (L1) is frequently used in foreign language teaching. The current study is qualitative and investigates four English teachers from three different schools in the south of Sweden, all teaching in K-3. In order to collect data, observations were conducted and a semi-structured interview with each of the participating teachers. The results present a limited use of the target language and a more extensive use of the L1 in class. The results regarding teacher attitudes and motivations towards the use of the target language emerged into three themes: Teachers’ use of the TL and L1; Facilitating young language learners; and Teacher experience and awareness. The study implicates that teacher language choices are highly affected by students understanding and teachers’ own experience with attitudes reflecting inclusion of the L1 and an enjoyable learning environment as the main target.

This dissertation explores how oral communication is perceived and used by five teachers at a secondary school in Malmö. Through qualitative interviews with the teachers, this paper aims to find a deeper understanding of their view on teaching. By looking at oral communication theories, sociocultural theories, a theory on discursive space and a recent study regarding English as a subject in Swedish secondary schools, it examines how the interviewees approach teaching. Based on the results, this paper will discuss how the teachers in this study initiate meaningful oral communication and how they view their own role as promoters of an oral communicative and inclusive learning environment.The results show that the teachers’ thoughts concerning oral communication to a large extent seem to agree with the theoretical basis presented in this study. However, the teachers claim to be restricted by external factors. The results show that the teachers in this study find working with oral communication very time consuming. According to them, their lessons are too short and the classes are too big. Therefore they find it difficult to create an ideal learning environment. The teachers try to motivate and encourage their students through creating tasks that are interesting from the students’ point of view. In order to give every student the opportunity to speak, dividing them into groups during speaking activities is preferred. Furthermore, the teachers point out that the students’ personalities also are important factors to take into account, since some students are more reserved then others. Finally, the teachers aim to be supportive during oral activities, although the lack of time seems to be a restraint. They find it hard to manage their big classes and to be supportive to the individual student at the same time.