This study aims to find an understanding of how pleasure reading outside of a classroom context can assist in the development of English as a second language. The study primarily seeks to examine what teachers and parents say about how the access to and active reading of English books in children’s home environment can benefit their language skills development in the classroom, and this has been done through qualitative interviews. The interviewees were categorized into two groups, one group consisting of four teachers working as English teachers in grades 4-6 at four different schools, and the other consisting of parents of children currently studying in grades 4-6. The results of the study show that most of the interviewed parents encourage their children to read in English, however most of the mentioned children engage more in pleasure reading in Swedish rather than English. The study also shows that the interviewed teachers share the opinion that students who read in English during their free time bring better comprehension of and proficiency in the English language to the classroom. / Den här studien syftar till att få en förståelse för hur nöjesläsning utanför ett klassrumssammanhang kan assistera i utvecklingen av engelska som andraspråk. Studien riktar sig i första hand mot att undersöka vad lärare och föräldrar säger om hur tillgången till och läsningen av böcker på engelska i ett barns hemmiljö kan gynna utvecklingen av deras språkkunskaper i klassrummet, och detta har gjorts genom kvalitativa intervjuer. De intervjuade deltagarna kategoriserades i två grupper, en grupp bestående av fyra lärare som arbetar som engelsklärare i årskurserna 4-6 på fyra olika skolor, och den andra gruppen bestående av fyra föräldrar till barn som går i årskurs 4-6. Resultaten av studien visar att de flesta intervjuade föräldrarna uppmuntrar sina barn att nöjesläsa på engelska, men att de flesta av de nämnda barnen ägnar sig mer åt nöjesläsning på svenska. Studien visar också att de intervjuade lärarna delar åsikten att elever som läser på engelska under sin fritid har med sig bättre förståelse och språkfärdighet i det engelska språket till klassrummet.

<p>Language-play can briefly be described as the wilful manipulation of the peculiarities of a linguistic system in a way that draws attention to these peculiarities themselves, thereby causing a communicative and cognitive effect that goes beyond the conveyance of propositional meaning. Among the various phenomena answering this description are the different kinds of puns, but also more strictly form-based manipulations such as rhymes and alliteration, in addition to a host of other, sometimes even fuzzier, subcategories.</p><p>Due to its unusual nature, and especially its frequently strong dependence on the idiosyncrasies of a particular language, language-play can generally be assumed to constitute a significant challenge in a translation context. Furthermore, given its non-negligible effects, the translator is not free to simply ignore the language-play (provided it has been recognized as such in the first place) without having taken an active stance on its treatment. However, the difficulties in finding a suitable target-language solution are possibly exacerbated if the source text is a complex multimedia product such as a film, the translation of which, normally in the form of dubbing or subtitling, is subject to additional constraints.</p><p>In view of these intricacies, it has been the aim of this study to analyze and measure how language-play in film has actually been treated in authentic dubbing and subtitle versions. As a prerequisite, the concept of language-play has been elaborated on, and more than a dozen subcategories have been described, developed, and employed. For the purpose of carrying out a meaningful analysis of the dubbing and subtitling of language-play, a corpus has been compiled, comprising 18 family films and 99 of their various target versions, most on DVD, and yielding nearly 800 source-text instances of language-play and thousands of translation solutions.</p><p>The results indicate that especially two sets of factors, among the many that are likely to influence a translation, play a prominent role: the type of the language-play, and the identity and working conditions of the translator. By contrast, the mode of translation (dubbing vs. subtitling), the target language, or the general properties of the films, could not be shown to have a sizeable impact.</p>

<p>The main aim of this paper was to find out if and how teachers in upper secondary school use oral feedback when they correct their students' oral mistakes. I also wanted to find out which approach the teachers find most useful and if they use different approaches depending on the error made by the student.</p><p>I have found that the majority of the teachers find oral feedback as an important tool to help students achieve a higher proficiency in a second and foreign language. My results also show that feedback is most often used when the student makes errors regarding content and pronunciation. Most of my respondents are aware of the necessity of applying different feedback approaches to different errors made by the students. My investigation shows that teachers chose to give feedback on different occasions, both directly, but more commonly, indirectly, to a single student or later on to a full class. Most teachers also prefer a mix of feedback approaches depending on the specific student and situation.</p><p>My intention with this study has also been to determine what factors influence the students' uptake. My respondents have, among several factors, stressed the importance of comfortable learning situations, students' personal interest and size of group.</p>

In classrooms all over the world, there are students who fear the attention of both teachers and peers alike. Anxiety is a cause for such fears and in foreign language classrooms it can be prevalent. Foreign language anxiety (FLA) is a concept developed by Horwitz et al (1986) to describe the unique anxiety that arises in a foreign language learning situation. Anxious students are less prone to use their target language and feel less motivated in their language studies, both of which have a negative effect on their learning. The aim of this study was to measure and compare anxiety levels among Swedish lower and upper secondary school students, identify major sources of anxiety and gain understanding of individuals’ perception of foreign language anxiety. 49 subjects from two classes participated in the study. Their anxiety was measured with the foreign language classroom anxiety scale (FLCAS) developed by Horwitz et al (1986). Interviews were used to gain insight into the subjects’ perception of foreign language anxiety. The results showed that a majority of the subjects were anxious and that students in the lower secondary school class were more anxious than the upper secondary school class. The identified major sources of anxiety were teacher-induced anxiety, fear of negative evaluation and general anxiety. / I klassrum över hela världen finns det elever som är rädda för både lärarens och sina klasskamraters uppmärksamhet. Nervositet är en orsak till en sådan rädsla och kan vara vanligt i främmandespråkklassrum. Språkängslan inför främmande språk är ett begrepp utvecklat av Horwitz m. fl. (1986) för att beskriva den unika nervositet som uppstår vid lärande av främmande språk. Nervösa elever är mindre benägna att använda språket de lär sig och känner sig mindre motiverade att lära sig och båda sakerna har en negativ effekt på deras inlärning. Syftet med studien var att mäta och jämföra nervositetsnivåer bland svenska högstadie- och gymnasieelever, identifiera de största källorna till nervositet och få förståelse för elevers uppfattning av nervositet. 49 elever från två klasser deltog i studien. Deras nervositet mättes med skalan för språknervositet i samband med undervisning i främmande språk, utvecklad av Horwitz m fl (1986). Intervjuer användes för att få insikt i deltagarnas uppfattning om språknervositet inför främmande språk. Resultatet visade att en majoritet av deltagarna led av språknervositet och att högstadieeleverna i högre grad var nervösa än gymnasieeleverna. De största källorna till nervositet som identifierades var lärarorsakad nervositet, rädsla för negativt omdöme och generell nervositet.

Out of the debate in Swedish media about homework, the idea for this study was born. The idea was to investigate the popular belief of many foreign language teachers which suggest that homework glossing is a necessity in the English classroom for pupils vocabulary acquisition, while other assumes this method doesn’t lead to knowledge that last. Therefore, the purpose for this study was to examine how learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) manage to learn new words when they received glossing as homework and when they studied the words in a context during class. Furthermore, out of the argument that homework stress pupils and lowers their interest and motivation for the subject, a secondary purpose was to find out pupils’ opinions about learning new words through glossing as English homework. The study was focused on two teaching methods for vocabulary acquisition: the traditional teaching method designed to teach vocabulary by giving glossing as homework, and teaching new words during class with a focus on teaching the new words in context. Through the survey of these two different methods for vocabulary learning and an empirical study with two primary school classes in which these two methods were put on test, contrary to the expectation that learning words through homework glossing wouldn’t lead to vocabulary knowledge that last, the results of the empirical study showed that the group which received glossing as homework, did better on both test than the group which studied the word in context. Similarly, the data results showed the average pupil had a positive attitude to vocabulary homework as for the most part they felt it benefited them to study this method because of the effects of learning.

This study investigates when and why teachers use code-switching as a method as well as teachers’ approach to the use of code-switching as a language strategy. I’ve seen that pupils in Swedish schools have a problem with oral communication and often use code-switching as a strategy. Earlier research has been done on the subject, but most has been done with observations of pupils or teachers. There is also a lack of research done in Swedish schools. It therefore felt necessary to carry out a study interviewing teachers about their approach to the strategy and how they use it. The informants of the study are five teachers who teach English in grades 4-6 in four Swedish schools. Interviews as a qualitative method were used to be able to answer the research questions. The results show that four of the informants use code-switching quite frequently. It shows five different reasons why they code-switch and that they mostly have a positive approach to the strategy, while they see the negative aspects and wish they could use the English language more in class. One of the informants has got a negative approach to the subject and only used codeswitching when necessary. The conclusion shows that all informants think that code-switching helps pupils that have a difficulty with the language of some sort. / Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka när och varför lärare använder kodväxling som metod och även lärares inställning till kodväxling som språkstrategi. Jag har sett att elever i svenska skolor har svårigheter med den muntliga kommunikationen och ofta använder kodväxling som strategi. Tidigare studier har utförts på ämnet men de flesta har varit observationer av elever och lärare. Det råder också brist på forskning utförd i Sverige. Därför kändes det nödvändigt att utföra en studie där lärare intervjuas kring deras inställning till och användande av strategin. Studien genomfördes på fem lärare som undervisar i engelska i årskurs 4–6 på fyra svenska skolor. Intervju som kvalitativ metod användes för att kunna svara på forskningsfrågorna. Resultaten visar att fyra av informanterna använder kodväxling ofta. De visar fem olika anledningar till att de kodväxlar och att de mestadels har en positiv inställning till strategin, samtidigt som de ser negativa aspekter och önskar att de använde engelskan mer i undervisningen. En informant har en negativ inställning till strategin och använder den bara när det är nödvändigt. Slutsatsen visar att alla informanter tycker att kodväxling är bra när det kommer till elever som har någon svårighet med språket.

The purpose of this study has been to examine how Swedish teachers of English encourage the development of students’ oral proficiency in the English language. By interviewing six Swedish teachers of English at upper secondary school, the study addresses which methods are mostly used by the teachers in order to encourage the improvement of students’ oral proficiency. The results of the study indicate that all the teachers tried in different manners to encourage students’ self-confidence, which would help them develop their oral proficiency. Furthermore, it was possible to conclude that the teachers shared the notion that insecurity is detrimental to the development of students’ oral proficiency. Another method that was used by the teachers was allowing students to work in either pair or groups. Even though most teachers used this method, they did point out different things that were important to think about in terms of group work. For the teachers, it was important that the students had fun during oral exercises, and thus, most teachers used different games when conducting oral activities in order to inspire a more relaxed or comfortable environment. The last concept that the teachers talked about was the usage of the target language in the classroom. Here the teachers’ ideas were not in alignment with each other. Some thought that it was good to force the students to use the target language throughout the lessons when communicating, whereas others only believed that students had to communicate orally in the target language during speaking activities. If students were insecure, it did not, according to these teachers, help the students to force them to speak English throughout the lessons. Most of the concepts that were introduced by the teachers were similar to those found in previous studies on Swedish teachers of English. Furthermore, the results of this paper could also be tied to previous research concerning oral development for L2 learners. / Syftet med denna studie har varit att studera hur svenska engelskalärare främjar utvecklingen av elevers muntliga färdigheter i engelska. Genom att intervjua sex svenska engelskalärare på gymnasieskolan undersöker studien vilka metoder som används mest av lärarna för att utveckla elevernas muntliga färdigheter. Resultaten av studien visar att de flesta lärare som intervjuades på olika sätt uppmuntrar elevernas självförtroende, vilket i sin tur hjälper dem att utveckla deras muntliga färdighet. Tanken om att osäkerhet är skadligt för elevers utveckling av muntlig färdighet delades av alla lärare som intervjuades. En annan metod som användes av lärarna var att tillåta elever att arbeta i par eller grupper. Även om de flesta lärare använde den här metoden pekade de på olika saker som var viktiga att tänka på när det gällde grupp- och pararbeten. Nästa metod som lärarna använde berörde inspirerandet av en mer avslappnad eller bekväm miljö som möjliggör utvecklingen av elevers muntliga färdigheter. För lärarna var det viktigt att eleverna hade kul under muntliga övningar, och sålunda använde de flesta lärare olika spel när de utförde muntliga aktiviteter. Det sista konceptet som lärarna talade om var användningen av målspråket i klassrummet. Här var lärarens idéer inte i linje med varandra. Vissa trodde att det var bra att tvinga eleverna att använda målspråket under hela lektionen medan andra inte trodde det hjälpte elevernas utveckling av sitt muntliga språk. Om en student var osäker, hjälpte det inte, enligt dessa lärare, att tvinga studenten att tala engelska under lektionerna. De påpekade dock att eleverna var tvungna att under talaktiviteter och muntliga presentationer interagera på målspråket. De flesta av de koncept som lärarna introducerade liknade dem som hittades i tidigare studier om svenska engelskalärare. Dessutom kan resultaten av denna uppsats kopplas till tidigare forskning kring oral development for L2 learners.

The aim of this study is to investigate what educational approaches and strategies that are used by five teachers of English as a second language (ESL) and how they differ between three different schools. This was done through reviewing literature about educational approaches and strategies in ESL and analyzing the responses from a questionnaire given to five teachers in grades seven to nine at three different schools. The results showed a wide usage of the following approaches and strategies: using computers, including drama and role-playing, watching films and TV programs in English, listening to radio, news, or songs in English, using code-switching, encouraging pupils to speak like native speakers, teaching about cultures where English is spoken, and promoting discussions and social interaction.   The results of this study showed that most of the differences exist between the individual teachers rather than between the schools, when it comes to the use of and attitudes towards these approaches and strategies. However, the two which differed the most, judging from the responses, were: using code-switching and encouraging pupils to speak like native speakers. In these two cases it was possible to see differences both between specific schools and teachers.

No description available.

<p>För att se hur olika skopoi påverkar en översättning översattes en källtext parallellt med vardera sitt specifika skopos. En facktext om vikingarna i Irland på 800-talet översattes dels för publicering i en fackbok, dels för publicering i en populärvetenskaplig tidskrift. För att analysera översättningsprocessen under de två översättningarna registrerades det som Christiane Nord (2005) kallar loopar, återkopplingar under översättningsprocessen när ny kunskap kräver en omformulering av strategin. I en egen metodutveckling av Nords modell registrerades och kategoriserades looparna. Den kvantitativa studien visar att klart flest loopar inträffar i inlednings- och avslutningsskedet av översättningen, oavsett skopos. Antalet loopar för ett skopos som går ut på att producera en nära översättning av denna vetenskapliga text, med dess specifika genremarkörer, är högre än antalet loopar vid produktionen av en kraftigt omarbetad populärvetenskaplig översättning. Den kvalitativa studien visar att kulturspecifika kategorier orsakar flest loopar och ofta kräver individuella strategier.</p> / <p>The <em>Skopos </em>theory, as formulated by Vermeer (1984), stresses that all translations have a purpose to fulfil. However, how this purpose is fulfilled depends on the strategy used by the translator. In order to see the effect of two different purposes for one and the same text, a study, conducted as two parallel annotated translations, was carried out on a scientific text about Vikings in Ireland. Nord‟s (2005) term and understanding of „translation loop‟ was used in order to pinpoint when and how often the different skopoi made it necessary to stop, make a loop, and adjust the translation strategy. The quantitative study shows a pattern where most loops occur at the start and at the end of the translation. The qualitative study of the translation loops shows that cultural aspects originate most loops, and they often demand individual strategies.</p>