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 explores how native English speakers (NESs) are affected by the backgrounds of non-native English speakers (NNESs) when it comes to being comfortable interacting with then in English. Speech samples of 12 NNESs were gathered from the Level Achievement Tests conducted at Brigham Young University's English Language Center. There were six speakers who spoke Spanish as their first language (L1) and six speakers who spoke Chinese as their L1. In each L1 group, there were two Low proficiency speakers, two Mid proficiency speakers, and two High proficiency speakers. The speech samples were included in a Qualtrics survey which was completed by 122 American NES participants. The NES participants listened to each speech sample and rated their comfort level interacting with each NNES speaker in six different communication situations categorized as either formal or casual. The results were statistically analyzed in order to determine the effect of proficiency level, L1, and communication situation on NES comfort levels in NNES interactions. High proficiency speakers were rated significantly higher than Mid proficiency speakers which were in turn rated higher than Low proficiency speakers. Spanish L1 speakers were rated higher than Chinese L1 speakers. The more casual communication situations were ranked higher than the more formal communication situations. A statistical analysis of the interaction between proficiency level and L1 revealed that Spanish L1 speakers were strongly preferred at higher proficiency levels but Chinese L1 speakers were preferred at lower proficiency levels. These results suggest that Spanish L1 speakers have a greater need to be higher than Low proficiency while Chinese L1 speakers have a greater need to achieve High proficiency. NNESs who anticipate being in formal situations should also aim for High proficiency.

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In this study we researched varying aspects of using flashcards to increase vocabulary, these aspects include method variations, as well as variations to the flashcards themselves. Through this text it is conveyed that vocabulary is important for communication. The aim of this research is to reflect upon the various flashcards variances and understand their effects upon vocabulary teaching. To research both writers searched for relevant articles together, these articles were agreed upon together. Each researcher read and summerized half of the articles each. Afterwards, the other researcher read the same article and inspected the written summaries. The results of the various research papers generally agreed with theories of learning. Multiple different learning theories were used as basis for this research, and the findings of the research articles are overall in agreement with these theories. The different drill methods, altering the flashcards themselves and the introduction of digital flashcards were found to be in agreement with the relevant learning theories. The different flashcard alternatives were found to have positive results, however these positive results were in different aspects. Some results found the students had larger vocabulary, some other results found the students had longer retention of the vocabulary learnt, and some had increased motivation.

Esta pesquisa tem como foco transpor para a prática, em contexto de aulas de língua inglesa em uma escola pública, conceitos das teorias de letramentos críticos (LUKE e FREEBODY, 1997; GIROUX, 2005) e multiletramentos (LANKSHEAR, SNYDER e GREEN, 2000; GEE, 2006) e analisar as questões que emergem dessa transposição. Isso é feito através de um trabalho de colaboração, em que preparamos e implementamos práticas de leitura de textos multimodais, com foco não apenas na linguagem escrita, mas também nas linguagens visuais (KRESS, 2003). São utilizadas propagandas de revistas americanas, bem como um site em LI com informações sobre filmes. O processo de leitura proposto engloba inferências de significados na LI e também reflexões críticas a partir das imagens e dos textos escritos. A análise dos dados se baseia no conceito de objetividade entre parênteses, de Maturana (2001), segundo o qual não existe uma realidade externa ao observador, mas, sim, realidades que o observador ajuda a construir ao olhar para o contexto pesquisado. Entre as questões que emergem dessa transposição estão: o papel da língua materna nas aulas de línguas estrangeiras; as diferenças conceituais entre as propostas dos (multi)letramentos críticos e da abordagem comunicativa; os encontros, desencontros e a circulação de poderes que acontecem ao longo do processo (FOUCAULT, (1987 [1975]). As práticas propostas auxiliaram no desenvolvimento de ferramentas para a leitura em LI bem como para a reflexão crítica acerca de questões sociais que estão sempre presentes nos usos da leitura e da escrita (SOARES, 2004 [1998]). Ressalta-se que certas ausências trouxeram contribuições para as reflexões levantadas no presente estudo. / This research aims to transpose into practice, in the context of English classes in a public school, concepts of the theories of critical literacies (LUKE e FREEBODY, 1997; GIROUX, 2005) and multiliteracies (LANKSHEAR, SNYDER e GREEN, 2000; GEE, 2006) and to analyse questions that emerge from this process. It is done through a collaborative research, in which the researcher and the collaborative teacher prepared and implemented, together, reading practices of multimodal texts with focus not only in the written language but also in the visual languages (Kress, 2003). Magazine ads and a website about movies are used for this purpose. The reading process proposed englobes meaning inferences as well as critical thinking in relation to the images and written texts. The data analysis is based on the concept of objectivity between parenthesis from Maturana (2001), according to which there is no reality external to the observer; on the contrary, there are realities that the observer helps to build as he/she looks into the investigated context. Among the questions that emerged from this study are: the role of the mother tongue in the foreign language classes; the conceptual differences between the (multi)literacies and the communicative approach; the encounters, mismatches and the circulation of powers that took place along the process (FOUCAULT, (1987 [1975]). The proposed practices contributed to the development of tools for the reading of texts in the English Language as well as for the critical thinking in relation to social issues that are always present in practices of reading and writing (SOARES, 2004 [1998]). It is important to highlight that the drawbacks also contributed to the issues raised in this study.

Esta pesquisa tem como foco transpor para a prática, em contexto de aulas de língua inglesa em uma escola pública, conceitos das teorias de letramentos críticos (LUKE e FREEBODY, 1997; GIROUX, 2005) e multiletramentos (LANKSHEAR, SNYDER e GREEN, 2000; GEE, 2006) e analisar as questões que emergem dessa transposição. Isso é feito através de um trabalho de colaboração, em que preparamos e implementamos práticas de leitura de textos multimodais, com foco não apenas na linguagem escrita, mas também nas linguagens visuais (KRESS, 2003). São utilizadas propagandas de revistas americanas, bem como um site em LI com informações sobre filmes. O processo de leitura proposto engloba inferências de significados na LI e também reflexões críticas a partir das imagens e dos textos escritos. A análise dos dados se baseia no conceito de objetividade entre parênteses, de Maturana (2001), segundo o qual não existe uma realidade externa ao observador, mas, sim, realidades que o observador ajuda a construir ao olhar para o contexto pesquisado. Entre as questões que emergem dessa transposição estão: o papel da língua materna nas aulas de línguas estrangeiras; as diferenças conceituais entre as propostas dos (multi)letramentos críticos e da abordagem comunicativa; os encontros, desencontros e a circulação de poderes que acontecem ao longo do processo (FOUCAULT, (1987 [1975]). As práticas propostas auxiliaram no desenvolvimento de ferramentas para a leitura em LI bem como para a reflexão crítica acerca de questões sociais que estão sempre presentes nos usos da leitura e da escrita (SOARES, 2004 [1998]). Ressalta-se que certas ausências trouxeram contribuições para as reflexões levantadas no presente estudo. / This research aims to transpose into practice, in the context of English classes in a public school, concepts of the theories of critical literacies (LUKE e FREEBODY, 1997; GIROUX, 2005) and multiliteracies (LANKSHEAR, SNYDER e GREEN, 2000; GEE, 2006) and to analyse questions that emerge from this process. It is done through a collaborative research, in which the researcher and the collaborative teacher prepared and implemented, together, reading practices of multimodal texts with focus not only in the written language but also in the visual languages (Kress, 2003). Magazine ads and a website about movies are used for this purpose. The reading process proposed englobes meaning inferences as well as critical thinking in relation to the images and written texts. The data analysis is based on the concept of objectivity between parenthesis from Maturana (2001), according to which there is no reality external to the observer; on the contrary, there are realities that the observer helps to build as he/she looks into the investigated context. Among the questions that emerged from this study are: the role of the mother tongue in the foreign language classes; the conceptual differences between the (multi)literacies and the communicative approach; the encounters, mismatches and the circulation of powers that took place along the process (FOUCAULT, (1987 [1975]). The proposed practices contributed to the development of tools for the reading of texts in the English Language as well as for the critical thinking in relation to social issues that are always present in practices of reading and writing (SOARES, 2004 [1998]). It is important to highlight that the drawbacks also contributed to the issues raised in this study.

This explorative qualitative case study aims at finding out about the impact of pictures as an aesthetical tool in English language teaching, through an experiment in the English classroom. Aesthetical tools are here defined as tools through which one can reach a stronger experience and improve learning. The independent variable in the experiment was a picture assignment and the dependent variable was a Chinese high school class and their teacher in English. After having done the experiment, the research questions were answered through a student questionnaire and an interview with the teacher. The study is based on Dewey’s theory of an experience (Dewey 1934) which is about the benefits of aesthetical experiences, and six themes of aesthetical experience provided by Uhrmacher (2009) meant to make education into such an experience. A majority of the subjects responded positively to the experiment, and the assignment seemed to be able to implement Uhrmacher’s six themes, at least to a certain extent. The claims of earlier findings are also echoed in this study.

This study aims towards high performing students’ perspective on motivation and how they consistently obtain high grades in English classes. Different characteristics from Skolverket’s study that were common for high performing students along with Reeve’s self-determination theory was used as background research. Qualitative interviews were used to analyse the high performing students’ perception of how they are challenged in English classes and how they motivate themselves. The results show that high performance in English classes is not so much an innate ability, which some are born with, but rather a question of motivation and character.

In a digitalized world, learners from the 21st century prefer game-like lessons instead of traditional methods that are preferred by teachers according to previous studies. Creating a fun and engaging environment in the classroom is not an easy task for the teachers. In this study, primary school teachers’ attitudes toward game-based learning are investigated together with the challenges and barriers they encounter when using digital games when teaching English as a second language in a Swedish classroom. A mixed method was used in this study. 30 teachers participated in the online survey and three pre-service teachersfrom public and private primary schools participated in the semi-structured interview in Sweden. The results of this study agree with the findings of previous studies. Teachers are generally very positive to implementing digital games into English language learning and admit the positive effect digital games contribute to the students’ engagement and motivation of learning English. However, due to the challenges teachers encounter with digital games, such as lack of time, knowledge, suitable games, and costs, teachers find it difficult to implement digital game-based learning in their English language teaching.

This study aims to explore the attitudes and practices of Swedish parents regarding the use of digital tablets for their toddlers' English language acquisition. The study focuses on the perceptions of parents regarding the role of tablets in supporting or hindering the development of English language skills in English language learners during early childhood. A qualitative research design was adopted, employing a thematic analysis approach to analyze the data collected from semi-structured interviews with six participating parents. The interviews aimed to investigate the ways in which parents perceive the impact of tablet usage on their children's English language learning. The study revealed that parents generally viewed the use of digital tablets as a positive tool for supporting their children's English language learning. The tablets facilitated early exposure to a foreign language and sparked their child's interest in language learning. However, concerns about potential drawbacks such as excessive screen time were also expressed. Parents reported various strategies and techniques to support their children's language learning, including parental controls, child-friendly language learning apps, and active participation in tablet-based activities. Overall, this study contributes to the growing body of research on technology use in early childhood education and provides valuable insights into the experiences and perceptions of Swedish parents regarding their toddlers' English language learning through digital tablets.