Dyslexia is one of the more common disabilities in Sweden; between 5-10 per cent of thepopulation can be considered having dyslexia. The difficulties they face in their educationstems from a disability to decode written language. English poses a problem, as the buildingblocks in terms of orthography and phonology are seldom compatible. This paper have, usingqualitative interviews with four (4) special education teachers, identified ways in which theseinformants support learners with dyslexia in English. The findings indicate that the advice andmethods the informants use are not specific to the subject of English. Instead the informantsadvocate organizational measures such as close cooperation with colleagues and alsocompensatory learning aids (such as audio versions of books, movies and pictures). Thefindings have been analysed viewed through the theoretical perspectives: SocioculturalPerspective, Systems Theory and Orthographical Depth. As most of the advice given by theinformants where of a general nature – the findings might indicate that there is a gapsomewhere in the education of teachers in Sweden regarding how to specifically supportlearners with dyslexia in the English subject.

The topic of this essay is about teachers, who teaches in the subject Swedish, opinions in a literary canon. This study will present how they argue about a formally decided literary canon and how the teachers argue in using canon in their education. I have used an argumentative analysis to analyse the teachers’ arguments. The earlier research in the field concluded that the canon debate is polarized and mostly discussing whether canon is good or bad, and not so much on trying to discuss it in a constructive way on how to use canonized literature in school. My research concludes that the teachers’ opinions on canon are essentially polarized, but many teachers also think that a canon is at the same time beneficial, important and problematic. A majority of the arguments used on both sides are the same arguments that are used by the scientific literary field which studies canon. The biggest difference is the alignment to an educational context. The result show that the teachers’ use different pro-arguments and suggestions on how to establish a definite literary canon that could be used within the school system. Some argue for a formally decided literary canon established by the state and mean that the education will be equal and distinct, and students will develop the same cultural references. But not all teachers are positive to the proposition of a state established literary canon. The arguments on why and how teachers use canon in the education are similar to why there should be a definite literary canon in all schools. The contra-arguments the teachers’ use for a formally decided literary canon are that it will intrude in the teachers’ possibilities to adapt the education to the students. They also use contra-arguments that says the canonized literature is not adaptable to the students’ interests and that it is narrow and exclusive. They also mean that it is time consuming and will remove teachers’ possibilities to plan their education and make it adaptable for the students. The teachers’ contra-arguments on using canon in the education are similar to the above contra-arguments that the canonized literature is problematic in the perspective of authors and adaptiveness to different groups of students.

I det här arbetet har jag studerat hur lärare i svenska för invandrare (sfi) arbetar med sina elever med bilder och kommunikation. Syftet med undersökningen har varit att bidra med kunskap om sfi-lärares val av bilder för att få igång muntlig kommunikation i studieväg 1. Jag har genomfört en enkätundersökning på nätet med 105 deltagande lärare. Resultatet av undersökningen visar att mer än hälften av lärarna använder bilder varje dag. Bildmaterialet lärarna använder sig av är igenkännbara färgfotografier som föreställer olika händelser. Lärarna använder sig av många olika typer av bilder och materialet är utformat på ett varierat sätt. Det har i min undersökning visat sig, att det vanligaste sättet att använda en bild på är att eleverna får beskriva bilden som läraren visar. Eleverna tas idag inte tillvara som den resurs de borde vara i skolan. Då eleverna tar med sig egna bilder till skolan används dessa i ringa utsträckning. Förbarnsligande material ska inte användas till vuxna elever men resultatet visar ändå att alla elever inte tycker att materialet är förbarnsligande. Ur ett specialpedagogiskt perspektiv bör vi ta tillvara elevernas kunskaper och erfarenheter. Med utgångspunkt i dessa kan lärare och elever tillsammans arbeta med att utveckla elevernas bildtolkningsförmågor och möjligheter att diskutera bilder. / In this study I have examined how teachers of Swedish for Immigrants (sfi) work with their students using pictures and communication. The purpose of the study has been to contribute to the knowledge of sfi-teachers' selection of pictures in order to initiate verbal communication in Study path 1. I have completed a survey on the internet which included 105 active teachers. The results of the study show that more than half of the teachers use pictures every day. The picture material that the teachers use are recognizable color photographs of different incidents. The teachers use many different types of pictures and the material is often designed in a varied way. My study has shown that the most common way to use a picture is to let the students describe the picture the teacher displays. In today´s school the students are not utilized as the resources they should be. When they bring their own pictures to school this is seldom used. Juvenile material should not be used with adult students but the result shows that not all the students think that material for children is juvenile. From a special education teachers' point of view we should put the students' own skills and life experiences into use. Using these as our starting point teachers and students can work together to develop the students' abilities in image interpretation and create opportunities to discuss pictures.