This study examined the extramural activities, that is, what a language learner does with the target language outside of class time, in Japanese of adult beginner level foreign language learners of Japanese studying at Stockholm University, Sweden, and how these activities relate to Japanese language proficiency. The study looked at both extramural activities and foreign language proficiency from a holistic and quantitative perspective. The participants' extramural activities were measured through self-reported data in a questionnaire, and several measures; a cloze test, earlier grades, and self-evaluations; were triangulated and used to provide an adequate measure of general Japanese language proficiency.    The results indicate that extramural activities which provide a foreign language learner with enough time for thorough processing of input and support through the usage of several cooperating modalities seem to have a positive effect on general foreign language acquisition.

Elevernas tillgång till olika digitala medier har under de senaste 10 åren ökat. Flera elever möter idag det engelska språket utanför skolan i form av olika aktiviteter. Syftet med studien är att undersöka hur lärare förhåller sig till den engelska som eleverna har med sig in i klassrummet.  Begreppet extramural engelska innefattar all den engelska som eleverna kommer i kontakt med på fritiden. Studien har en fenomenografisk inspirerad ansats och materialinsamlingen har gjorts genom semistrukturerade intervjuer. Fyra lärare på tre olika skolor har medverkat i studien. Resultatet visar att lärarna försöker att inkludera elevernas extramurala engelska i undervisningen, Lärarna ser dock både möjligheter och hinder med att använda elevernas extramurala engelska i engelskundervisningen. Samtliga lärare ser elevernas extramurala engelska som något positivt och tycker det är bra att eleverna lär sig engelska utanför skolan. / Students’ access to digital media has for the last ten years increased. Several students have been exposed to the English language out of school in the form of various activities. The aim of the study is to examine how teachers relate to the English that the students bring into the classroom. Extramural English includes all English that students encounter in their spare time. The study has a phenomenographic inspired approach and semi-structured interviews have been used to collect data. Four teachers from three different schools have participated in the study. The conclusion of the study shows that teachers try to include students extramural English in the classroom, however the teachers see both possibilities and obstacles with using students extramural English in the classroom. All teachers see the students extramural English as something positive and think that it is good that the students learn English out of school.

Oral communication is a central aspect of language learning in EFL-classrooms all over the world. Therefore, problems arise when students are passive, or unwilling to communicate and participate. The aim of this study is to investigate what factors impact Swedish upper secondary students’ willingness to communicate using self-reported data. The data in the study is gathered from a questionnaire with 203 participants currently studying in Swedish upper secondary school. The data analysis comprised inferential statistics to investigate causal relationships between the concepts of foreign language anxiety (FLA), self-perceived communicative competence (SPCC), extramural English (EE), and willingness to communicate (WTC). The results of the study suggest a causal relationship between the concepts, thus contributing to previous studies on factors that impact and describe willingness to communicate. Also, the results indicate that students’ extramural English habits impact their behavior in oral communication. In conclusion, motivating the utility of the English language for real-world purposes, in combination with a positive classroom environment, and the improvement of students’ oral communication confidence are imperative tools for the stimulation of willingness to communicate in the EFL classroom.

In der Vergangenheit wurde gezeigt, dass Altersbilder von Zahnmedizinern auf deren Bereitschaft älteren Menschen zahnärztliche Dienstleistungen anzubieten Einfluss nehmen können. Das Ziel der vorliegenden Studie war die Beschreibung der Altersbilder von Zahnmedizin-Studierenden und deren Veränderung während der Teilnahme an einer prägraduellen gerostomatologischen Ausbildung. Ein Frage-bogen wurde an 160 (31 % männliche) Zahnmedizin-Studierende der Universität Leipzig im Alter von 19,2 – 30,5 (Mean 21,7; SD + 2,3) Jahren, jeweils vor Beginn (T1) und beim Abschluss (T2) des gerostomatologischen Kurses, ausgehändigt. Es wurde eine Definition vom Jung- und Altsein sowie von Hoffnungen und Befürch-tungen bezüglich des Alterns erbeten. Das „Semantic Aging Differential“ (SAD) wurde verwendet, um die studentischen Altersbilder in drei Kategorien zu messen. Die statistischen Auswertungen beinhalteten durchschnittliche geschlechtsspezi-fische Altersdefinitionen und Mittelwerte des SAD bei T1 und T2. Das Alter wurde mit einem Beginn zwischen 56 und 64 Jahren definiert. Weibliche Studierende betrachteten bei T1 eine Frau bis zu 35,8 Jahre als jung, für männliche Studierende war eine Frau nur bis 33,5 Jahre jung. Männliche Studierende betrachteten Männer ab 60,1 Jahren und Frauen ab 55,7 Jahren als alt. Befürchtungen angesichts des Alterns bezogen sich hauptsächlich auf die Verschlechterung der Gesundheit und den Verlust naher Angehöriger. Hoffnungen auf Erholung, Ruhe und Gelassenheit waren vorrangig. Die SAD-Ergebnisse waren in allen drei Dimensionen nahezu neutral. Es traten geringfügige Veränderungen zwischen T1 und T2 auf. Schlussfolgernd waren die studentischen Altersbilder ausgewogen. Spezifische Barrieren zur Bereitstellung zahnmedizinischer Versorgung für ältere Menschen, ausgehend von negativen Einstellungen oder Ängsten seitens der Zahnmedizin-Studierenden, wurden nicht identifiziert.

Syftet med studien var att undersöka huruvida elever i årskurs 3 möter engelska i så stor utsträckning att det påverkar deras motivation till att lära sig engelska i skolan och huruvida elevernas hörförståelse påverkas av deras extramurala aktiviteter. Studien genomfördes i två olika klasser i årskurs 3 på en ort i Norrland. Respondenter i studien var 30 elever och två lärare. Studien genomfördes med hjälp av enkäter som delades ut till elever i årskurs 3 för att ta reda på i vilken utsträckning de mötte extramural engelska och hur motiverade eleverna var att lära sig engelska. Ansvariga lärare i respektive klass fick fylla i en enkät där de fick ge ett omdöme kring elevernas hörförståelse. Studien använde sig av en kvantitativ metod där numeriska data samlades in och analyserades. Resultaten i studien tyder på att elevers hörförståelse påverkas av den mängd extramural engelska de deltar i. Eleverna i studien som hade en högre nivå av extramural engelska hade ett bättre omdöme i hörförståelse i engelska. Ytterligare ett positivt samband mellan extramural engelska och motivation kunde etableras. De elever som deltog i studien som hade en högre extramural engelska var också mer motiverade att lära sig engelska. Sammanfattningsvis verkade extramural engelska vara gynnsamt för hörförståelsen och för viljan att lära sig engelska bland eleverna som deltog i undersökningen.

Streaming video services have been ingrained into everyday life among Swedish teens, and the media content is often considered to benefit English language learners. The present study aims to verify that elevated English language proficiency and avid consumption of online streaming media appear synchronously in upper secondary school students. This is done by gauging online streaming media habits in students enrolled in a Swedish upper secondary school using a questionnaire, and then employing Pearson correlations to investigate the strength of the relationship between this data and student scores on a provided test of receptive vocabulary. Some attention is given to the effect of subtitle language choice on the viewer, as well as giving a brief summary of extramural English. The results are that there were found to be mostly weak correlations of low significance between test scores and online streaming media-use. The discussion links the predominantly weak correlations and significance values to previous studies about frequent multitasking occurring while participants are watching audiovisual media at home. Some space is given to a suggestion on how to adapt the present methodology to upper secondary schools to enable active teachers to explore how their English learners consume audiovisual streaming media and how this may relate to language proficiency. The study concludes that more research is needed to form a more accurate view of the relationship between watching online streaming audiovisual media and improved English language proficiency, and that further investigations should be of greater magnitude and breadth in both sampling as well as what demographic data is gathered.

The diploma thesis deals with families who face sudden separation of a loved one due to imprisonment. From previous experience the work differs in focusing primarily focused on the family, not prisoners. Theoretical part is devoted to conceptual and legislative definition, the negative effects of imprisonment and the specific needs of the prisoners families as an object of help. Thesis marginally touches on recidivism in the chapter about the family as an entity assist in the reintegration of prisoners and also highlights the potential risks that may family for imprisoned in the process mean. It results from foreign experience, which is traditionally ahead. The empirical part of the qualitative research carried out within of self-help groups of prisoners families provides insight into the specific experiences of families. Its purpose is both to draw attention to this marginalized social group and its needs, as well as outline effective assistance, which would deal with this life situation the best. POTOCKÁ, Veronika. Prisoner's family as an object of social work. Prague, 2014. 121 pages. The diploma thesis. Charles University in Prague, Department of social work. Supervisor: Andrea Matoušková

This literature review explores the use of Extramural English in the classroom and its effects on students’ language acquisition. Through a systematic analysis of different studies on EE activities such as video games, the Internet, gaming, and other activities, this paper will investigate the possible positive or negative effects of EE activities on students’ performance. The results of this literature review show that students who are more exposed to EE activities have a better result with regard to the acquisition of English than their peers because the language of communication in Extramural activities is mainly English.  The results also show that by incorporating EE in the classroom, teachers will be able to define the student’s strengths and weaknesses through eliciting the learning evidence when learning English as a second language.

Because of the globalization of society, English as a foreign language (EFL) has become easier to access through internet and outside school English activities, so called “extramural English activities” (EEA). Previous research indicates a positive relation between pupils’ EFL vocabulary development and EEA (Sundqvist, 2009). This development may influence teachers’ lesson planning, because of pupils’ wide span of interests and the resulting different levels of EFL vocabulary. The focus of this degree project is on year five teachers’ perception of pupils’ EEA and their level of vocabulary. We investigate there is a relationship between those variables, and how teachers are bridging the gap between pupils’ EEA and classroom activities. Further on, different theories of motivation and vocabulary, and previous research are presented and used in the analysis of collected data. The data was collected qualitatively through six interviews with teachers in year five. The results indicate that the teachers, to some extent know what kind of EEA the pupils are interested in. Teachers’ perceptions of the pupils’ level of EFL vocabulary correlated to some extent with their EEA. To bridge the gap between pupils’ EEA and enhancing motivation in EFL classrooms, some teachers tried to include pupils’ experiences in their teaching. Further on, these conclusions are discussed in relation to previous research. Finally, this degree project may motivate teachers to explore the EEA habits of their pupils.

The EF English Proficiency Index has presented high English proficiency levels for Swedish students. Previous investigations have studied different factors that contribute to high proficiency in a second language, such as the engagement with the language in the free time, or personal characteristics such as motivation or learners’ home environment. The purpose of this quantitative study was to investigate correlations between Swedish 9th grade studentsʼ grades in the English subject with three factors; 1) their extramural activities, 2) their home environment, and 3) the students’ personal characteristics. The participants in this study were 49 students of ages 15-16 years old from a primary school in northern Stockholm. They answered an online survey with four open-ended questions and 35 statements in which the participants answered on a Likert scale between 1-6. The results suggest a weak correlation between extramural activities and the students’ English grades, a weak correlation between home environment and the students’ grades in English, and a moderate correlation between individual differences and students’ English grades. Given the small sample size and potential limitations of the study, the results cannot be generalized to a larger population and further investigation, such as a qualitative study through interviews with students and EFL practitioners, may provide us with a more in-depth understanding of the connections between the investigated factors and Swedish students’ proficiency levels in English.