In Sweden, 50% of all teenagers between the ages 12-18 spend at least three hours a day, spending their time on anything from digital games to YouTube and homework research. Given the popularity of such activities, it is worthwhile investigating to what degree any one of them might be used to help facilitate English second language learning. Research show that digital games use lead to an enhanced vocabulary comprehension, reading comprehension, speaking comprehension, lowered anxiety level and enhanced willingness to communicate for L2 English learners. In the current study we used a qualitative teacher interviews and a quantitative student questionnaires to determine to what extent Swedish elementary school teachers and students in the southern part of Sweden perceive extramural multiplayer online games as being effective for facilitating L2 learning motivation and vocabulary acquisition, as well as their strategies for implementing digital gaming. The major conclusions of this study from both a teacher and student perception is that the motivation is enhanced in students who are frequent gamers, also enhancing their motivation in the classroom to learn English. Additionally, teachers found a wider vocabulary and knowledge of synonyms in students who frequently play games.

This degree project aims to explore, in the context of translanguaging, teachers' perceptionsof the use of pupils’ first language within English as a second language education inSweden. Following a review of the concept of translanguaging from a historic andpedagogical perspective, teachers’ views on the roles of their pupils’ first and secondlanguages as reported in international research, recent research pertaining to teachers'perceptions and pedagogical methods within translanguaging is highlighted. Results from amethodological triangulation examination of data emanating from a survey, interviews andclassroom observations show that: even though the term translanguaging is relativelyunknown, teacher respondents use translanguaging as a method within ESL education inSweden; a majority of teachers value their English-use higher than their use of the pupils’first language, but are not averse to using translanguaging when deemed appropriate; and amore positive attitude is displayed towards the pupils use of their first language, but the useof English is preferred.

This paper aims to investigate to what extent creative writing promotes motivation for EFL learners to write. A report published by the National Assessment Project (NAFS) commissioned by The Swedish National Agency for Education evaluated the national tests in English for Swedish students during 2018/2019, documenting that the Swedish students obtained the lowest English scores on writing. This result corresponds with the national test scores in English from earlier years. According to The Swedish National Agency for Education (Skolverket, 2019) motivation is a necessary component for L2 learning, and teachers are expected to play a fundamental role in creating student motivation. However, research within the area of motivation indicates that the understanding of motivation in L2 learning is limited. Likewise, the research indicates a need for the understanding of motivation to be both revised and subject to further research, both to understand the nature of motivation and to define tools on how to push motivation in L2 writing. One such tool could be creative writing (CW). Thus, to understand to what extent CW can motivate EFL learners to write, we explore recent studies that examine how different implementations of CW activities and CW courses can motivate students to write within a school context. In the study, we argue that CW motivates EFL learners to produce text. CW seems to facilitate relevance for the student and empower writing activities that consider the student’s self-interest as well as bring new life to the student’s understanding of writing. The insights of this study hold pedagogical values for L2 writing in the EFL classroom.

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In Czechia, teaching L2 English pronunciation is underestimated, which might lead to potential production slips and affect the intelligibility of the learners. This study investigates accuracy in L2 English pronunciation of checked vowels (/ʌ, ɛ, ɪ, ɒ, ʊ, æ/) as produced by Czech students. I applied cross-sectional approach and analysed participants from two distinct school classes who are divided by an 8-year study period. The pronunciation accuracy is analysed with the help of the computer program Praat, which generates frequencies for both Czech and English vowel phonemes produced by the participants reading out loud a set of monosyllabic citation words. The formant frequencies are later compared to a reference set of SSBE frequency values, which represents the targeted native language model. The results of this work show that the L2 English values are influenced by the students’ inventories of L1 Czech, leading to inaccuracy in production of the phonemes /ʌ, ɛ, ɪ, ɒ, ʊ/ and setting constraints to the L2 /æ/ acquisition.

INTRODUCTION: Programmed Death Ligand 2 positive B1 cells (L2pB1) cells have a unique immunoglobulin repertoire that is poly-reactive to self-antigens and have previously been shown to have an essential role in autoimmunity. The active accumulation of L2pB1 cells inside tumors grown in vivo led us to hypothesize that this subpopulation of B1a cells may play a role in the immunosurveillance of cancer. Here, we report our investigation of the role of L2pB1 cells in the antitumor response using a three dimensional (3D) murine melanoma and colon cancer models. Our results showed that the depletion of L2pB1 cells rendered the loss of tumor inhibition effects of the syngeneic peritoneal immune cells. METHODS: Lymphocytes were collected from L2pB1 cell depleted and non-depleted peritoneal cavity washout (PCW) from an inducible knockout mouse model. Then tumor spheroids were incubated with PCW cells. Spheroid cross-sectional area (CSA) and volume were measured using a Celigo plate imager and Keyence fluorescence microscope. RESULTS: Tumor spheroid growth was significantly inhibited following incubation with syngeneic PCW but not with splenocytes. Depletion of L2pB1 significantly attenuated the tumor-inhibition effect and showed a negligible difference from the untreated control. This loss of tumor inhibition indicated that L2pB1 cells are essential for the tumor-inhibition effects of autologous peritoneal immune cells. CONCLUSIONS: These findings demonstrate the robust anti-tumor function of L2pB1 cells. In particular, peritoneal L2pB1 cells play an essential role in cancer inhibition. Future studies into the activation and antigen presentation pathways of L2pB1 cells could lead to novel immunotherapy of cancer.

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Abstract The aim of this study is to expound on the gender discrepancy that is present in the English subject in the Swedish school, where female students generally and consistently attain higher grades. We do so by investigating any gender differences in motivation to learn a second language (L2). Further, we apply a gender perspective as we research the motivating effect of incidental English as L2 learning through out-of-school activities, known as extramural English (EE) activities. The study provides a summary of five articles that examine the effect that gender has on motivation and four articles that explore how exposure to and use of EE act as a motivator for male and female students separately. The articles show that female students in general are more motivated to learn an L2. Moreover, a possible explanation for this gender difference is different self-constructs and societal expectations. These findings are relevant to the Swedish educational context since the curriculum for the compulsory school states that all teaching should be equivalent, meaning that all students’ different needs and prerequisites should be taken into account. This includes variations in motivation. On the matter of EE activities, there is a stronger connection between time spent on EE hobbies and school performance for male students, especially for those who play digital games with a communicative aspect; this may offer a solution for the aforementioned gender discrepancy in grades. Nevertheless, there needs to be further research on how to bring the benefits from EE activities into the English classroom.

In an ever-changing modern world people migrate, to a greater extent than ever before. Sweden has faced a huge influx of new immigrants in the past 10 years, many of which have had to study for many years before being able to work, including learning English as a third language.This study looked at foreign-born adult learners (Swedish L2) of English and compared them to Swedish-born (Swedish L1) learners of English in terms of English vocabulary. This study also compared factors of age, gender, length of stay in Sweden and Swedish language level completed in Swedish L2 learners learning English; the study found that there is a small positive correlation between length of stay, younger age and completed Swedish studies with the results in the English Vocabulary Levels Test (VLT). As expected, the female students within both Swedish L1 and L2 learners outperformed the male counterparts. The study found a significant correlation between attainment on a Swedish vocabulary test and the English vocabulary test. A learner with a higher score on the Swedish test generally performed better on the English vocabulary test, to a statistically significant degree. This, most likely, is because Swedish is typologically close to English with a high number of cognates between the languages. Surprisingly enough, the results produced pointed to very limited vocabulary learning by moving through the Swedish adult education system as the increase in both Swedish and English vocabulary was negligible.

This study focuses on evaluating and enhancing the user experience of Emely, a conversational agent aimed at improving language skills for second language learners, particularly those who want to increase their chances of securing employment in Sweden. Usability testing was conducted in two test rounds, with the first round providing design implications for the user interface in the second round. However, assessing the effectiveness of the interface improvements was challenging due to low Swedish proficiency among the test groups consisting of potential users of Emely. Although the study did not result in design implications for the user interface, important findings highlight the need to adapt conversational agents, like Emely, for users with low literacy levels and illiteracy, emphasizing the importance of inclusive design for effective language learning support.