In light of the 2010 recommendation of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages that teachers use the target language (TL) "as exclusively as possible," teachers face the necessity of promoting target language use and assessing how their language choices influence their students. The purpose of this study was to analyze teachers' perspectives and practices of whether to use students' first language or the target language. Data from over 100 foreign language teachers, predominantly those in the K-12 sector, were collected through a survey in order to measure how teachers manage the phenomenon of language choice. The findings were analyzed descriptively, categorically, and inferentially to find relationships among teachers in general, as well as within subgroups of participants. Findings indicate that teachers felt using the target language was more of a challenge for academic purposes because of their belief that they should be conducted in the TL. Academic tasks were also reported involving a greater quantity of speech functions, which made them more difficult to complete in the target language. Additional findings showed that teachers in general were most often influenced by student attitudes, motivation, and proficiency as well as their own attitudes, motivation, and proficiency. For certain subgroups, however, when teachers focused more on their own proficiency, motivation, training and experience they were more likely to reach 90% TL use or more. Furthermore, it was found that promoting the target language effectively equated with incorporating many strategies that supported TL goals. The most prevalent techniques found for promoting TL use were preparing for making input comprehensible, giving praise and recognition, and explaining its importance at the beginning of the year. Recommendations for increasing the ability of teachers to face the challenges of TL use are to simplify and increase the academic, social, and managerial purposes for which it can be used, prioritize and focus on the most influential factors of language choice (LC) within teachers' control, and form and promote a plan for TL use built upon a foundation of most effective techniques and practices for optimizing language choices.

This is a case study that focuses on the oral proficiency in English manifested by the 4-year-old sonof the author. He speaks Swedish as his L1 like his both parents but has been exposed to Englishsince he was one year old from using a tablet. The child’s spoken production was recorded andtranscribed with a focus on the plural-forms and the genitive. An important field that this case studyis motivated by is how child language development may be connected to the concept of innatism,that language is based on innate principles (Lightbown & Spada, 2013:20) as it has been found that anumber of languages are acquired according to predictable patterns and processes (Moskowitz,1994:621-627) such as a the u-shaped learning process and over-generalization which has beenfound when investigating both L1 and L2 acquisition (Abrahamsson, 2013:663). The aim of thisstudy is to find possible similarities within the learning process: whether L2 acquisition follows thesame developmental patterns as in L1 acquisition by analyzing the recordings mainly targeting theplural and the genitive morphemes produced by a 4-year-old L2 speaker of English. Findings in thisresearch revealed that the child demonstrated a similar developmental pattern in the form of theu-shaped learning process (Abrahamsson, 2013:663).

Whether there is a place for L1 use in the EFL classroom or not is a debated topic. Lately, a slight shift from an English-only approach toward a more accepting attitude toward L1 use can be seen. Additionally, teaching should “as far as possible” be conducted in English, according to the National Agency of Education, Skolverket (2011, p. 53). Therefore, the aim of this study is to investigate upper secondary students’ and teachers’ attitudes toward L1 use in the EFL classroom in a Swedish context. Moreover, this study will aim to examine any potential connections between attitudes and societal and motivational factors. Via online questionnaires distributed to schools in Gävleborg county, 373 students and 15 teachers participated in the study. The findings in this study confirm the findings from the majority of previous attitudinal studies; there is a general consensus of a positive attitude toward L1 use among the students and teachers, but English should still be the main language used. Instead, a judicious use of L1 as a tool to facilitate comprehension is suggested. Finally, some factors such as motivation and L1 appear to affect the students’ and teachers’ preferences regarding L1 use in the EFL classroom as well.

The findings of the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) 2006 highlighted concerns about support for and the quality of reading literacy teaching in South African primary schools. In South Africa there is a paucity of research outlining schooling conditions and teachers’ reading literacy teaching practices especially in the Intermediate Phase. The aim of this mixed methods study was to explore schooling conditions and teaching practices for the implementation of the curriculum for Grade 4 learners’ reading literacy development across a range of education contexts. Two research sub-questions explored in two research phases were used to investigate the overall question which was: What influence do schooling conditions and teaching practices have on curriculum implementation for Grade 4 reading literacy? In phase one, PIRLS 2006 principal and teacher questionnaire data were re-classified for secondary analysis according to language of instruction (English First Language or English Additional Language) and the mean performance of each participating class of learners on the PIRLS 2006 international benchmarks and further benchmarks established to reflect the performance of the majority of South African learners. Response distributions on selected classroom level variables detailing teacher characteristics and reading literacy teaching practices as well as selected school level variables describing teaching conditions impacting the teaching of reading literacy were compared across each reclassified benchmark sub-sample. In phase two, six school and teacher case studies were purposively selected from each of the sub-samples to complement and extend the findings from the analysis of the survey data using multiple qualitative data sources. The findings revealed that differences in schooling conditions and teaching practices across the PIRLS achievement spectrum were generally aligned to differences between advantaged, high achieving schools and disadvantaged low-achieving schools. Thus, the study provides insights into the high levels of between-school inequalities for the development of Grade 4 reading literacy and school and classroom level reasons for such inequalities. On the basis of the findings, recommendations for policy, teacher practice and teacher education, and further research are provided. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Science, Mathematics and Technology Education / unrestricted

During the last decade Arabic has become the second most common mother tongue in Sweden, so the relationship between Swedish and Arabic is a relatively new area of interest. The purpose of this study is to examine the incorporation of Swedish words into Arabic among Arabic speakers in Sweden. The primary source is an in-depth interview of three fluent speakers of Arabic and Swedish (with origins in Damascus, Syria). My aim was to examine which Swedish words are used in Arabic by Arabic speakers in Sweden and how they are used.   Regarding which words are used, my hypothesis was that I would find support for the pattern of how word borrowing functions in general, i.e. that the language follows power; loan words tend to be borrowed from powerful languages and cultures. Thus, I intended to examine whether a similar tendency would also be demonstrated in this study, that is, if the individual L2-words used while speaking L1 were associated with power and authorities. The interview manifested an overrepresentation of words that could be associated with power, but no clear support that this was a correlative relationship. Other factors, such as the simultaneous introduction of the word and the phenomenon, were found to be more plausible.   With regards to how words are used, my proposition was that the person having left the L1-environment (in this case Syria) at the oldest age would, in analogy with the prevalent notion concerning L1-attrition in general, incorporate the L2 into the L1 to a greater extent than other interviewees. The study found that the interviewee who had left her L1-environment at oldest age did adapt the Swedish words to Arabic phonology and morphology to a greater extent.

Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka lågstadielärares attityder till elevers flerspråkighet som en resurs i elevernas språk- och kunskapsutveckling genom att besvara frågor om hur lågstadielärare ser på svenska språkets och förstaspråkets betydelse för de flerspråkiga elevernas lärande. Studien utgår från ett sociokulturellt perspektiv där språket ses som både mål och medel för lärande och där elevernas modersmål ses som resurs för tänkande och lärande. I studien har fyra lågstadielärare med erfarenhet av undervisning i flerspråkiga klasser på fyra olika skolor besvarat strukturerade skriftliga intervjuer. Av resultatet framgår att lärarna lägger stor vikt vid att eleverna ska lära sig svenska och att detta ska ske dels i den undervisning som leds av lärare i svenska som andraspråk, dels genom muntlig kommunikation såväl i skolan som på fritiden. Några av lärarnas svar visar att de lägger vikt vid att eleverna ska utveckla begrepp, vilket tyder på att de också ser samband mellan elevernas språkbehärskning och kunskapsutveckling i olika ämnen. Vidare visar resultatet att lärarna har en positiv attityd till att eleverna utvecklar sina modersmål. Lärarna ingår i team med modersmålslärare och studiehandledare och ser till att eleverna kan läsa böcker på sina modersmål och använda digitala verktyg för sin språkutveckling. Trots att modersmålet lyfts fram som viktigt i elevernas skolgång verkar utveckling av elevernas förstaspråk inte vara ett mål i undervisningen. I alla lärares svar framgår i stället att modersmålet snarare fungerar som ett medel att lära sig skolspråket svenska.

Grammar acquisition is a widely researched area in international psycholinguistics. A great amount of research has focused on determining the order of acquiring grammatical words and forms in individual languages (e.g. Bloom et al., 1980; Brown, 1973; de Villiers & de Villiers, 1973). By contrast, as regards Czech, to this day there has been only a limited amount of data on the process of the acquisition of grammar words and forms based on empirical research or sourced from an adequate number of child respondents. Some findings about Czech grammar acquisition were introduced e.g. by Pačesová (1979), Chejnová (2016a) or Smolík (2002). The present dissertation therefore aims to collect descriptive data on the acquisition of grammatical words and forms in Czech. It also determines whether these grammar acquisition data can be collected using parent reports (e.g. Fenson et al., 1993, 2007; Rescorla, 1989), a method which has been used primarily to monitor the acquisition of lexis. Grammar acquisition has been examined through parent reports only to a limited extent. The dissertation comprises five parent report surveys, aimed at the acquisition of noun and adjective cases, verb forms, prepositions, interrogative expressions, conjunctions and linking expressions. Data were collected from a total of 580...

Considering teacher talk as the main input into the English as a foreign language classroom, this study aims to highlight and gain a deeper understanding of how target language use can look like in a foreign language classroom in Sweden. To investigate in this essay, the following research questions are addressed: • What is the teachers´ attitude towards the use of the target language in English teaching? • To what extent does the teacher communicate orally in English during English lessons? And on what occasions does the teacher choose to use the target language andthe first language during English lessons? The study was conducted in four different elementary schools, and four teachers were observed who taught in different grades. An interview was held after every observation, and through the interviews a deeper understanding was obtained. The material consists of notes through observation schedules and recordings of interviews and recording of observation. The study is based on Krashen's (1981) input hypothesis as well as Vygotskijs (2001) notion of Zone of proximal development. Research indicates that using the target language consistently can create learning opportunities for students, and a relaxing environment for them to use the target language themselves fluently during English lessons. Furthermore, studies has alsoshown using the first language can affect the students own language production and learning of the target language. However, other have shown that in some cases it can be an advantage to use the first language to include all students during English lessons, especially for the weak students in the class. Therefore, taking into consideration these different perspectives, I investigate four teachers´ use of English and Swedish in the Swedish EFL classroom.The findings show that three out of the four teachers observed used the target language in the beginning of the English lesson, while giving instructions, commanding the students to use the target language and asking them questions however, only one of them used the target language consistently during the English lesson. The findings also shows that the teachers used the first language to facilitate the students´ comprehension and to translate when they didn’t seem to understand what was said in English. Notably, some of the participating teachers indicated a desire to use the target language to a larger extent during English lessons, but they felt obligated to use Swedish in order to include all the students. The overall 3conclusion of this study is that it can be beneficial for both teachers and students if the teacher is aware of their approach toward the target language. They can thereby reflect on the impact this can have on their students´ language learning, their English lessons and their students´ use of the target language.

Den här studien handlar om anknytning till barn som inte kan det svenska språket och har ett annat modersmål än svenska. Ämnet valdes utifrån att det har varit väldigt aktuellt de senaste åren, och specillt i förskolans värld. Jag vill ta reda på om förskollärare upplever svårigheter att skapa anknytning till barn när de inte förstår det svenska verbala språket. Syftet med studien handlar delvis om att undersöka hur förskollärare upplever språkets betydelse vid anknytning till barn som inte kan det svenska språket och har ett annat modersmål än svenskan. En annan del av syftet handlar om att ta reda på vilka strategier förskollärare använder sig av i samspelet med de här barnen för att utveckla deras språk och skapa en anknytning till dem. Den teoretiska grunden är anknytningsteorin och språkets betydelse. Tidigare forskning har visat att det är viktigt med en trygg relation mellan förskollärare och barn samt att en god kommunikation kan bidra till en ökad trygghet men även att denna vinkeln inte studerats särskilt mycket. För att besvara studiens frågeställningar använde jag mig utav den kvalitativa forskningsmetoden och genomförde semistrukturerade intervjuer med sex förskollärare från olika förskolor i två olika orter. Denna uppsats visar att anknytning och språk hör samman. Dock behöver inte det alla gånger handla om det verbala språket utan  det kan även vara kroppsspråk, bildstöd och andra medel som finns för att skapa en god anknytning.

Because most–if not all–intensive English programs (IEP) assign students to specific levels based on a placement test that does not involve any form of explicit vocabulary testing, some degree of variation in lexical knowledge of students within an individual class should not be surprising. However, very little research has ever quantified this variation. The current study fills the gap in this important area of TESOL research by investigating vocabulary variation among intermediate-level students at one IEP. Participants (N=79) were split into two main proficiency groups, high intermediate (N=28) and low intermediate (N=51). The 2K, 3K, and 5K levels from the Vocabulary Levels Test (VLT) were used as a vocabulary measure. In this study, VLT scores were analyzed by proficiency level and by students' original individual classes (N=7). The results revealed considerable vocabulary variation. In some instances, vocabulary size varied by 900 word families per student. First language influence was also investigated by comparing the largest two language groups in the sample, Arabic (N= 28) and Spanish (N=12). Spanish-speaking students significantly outperformed the Arabic speaking students in all vocabulary measures (except for the 2K level). The study, therefore, raises questions about the approaches used in teaching a class that has both Spanish and Arabic speakers. Implications and suggestions for further studies are discussed.