This qualitative minor field study is conducted in a multilingual public secondary school in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. The aim is to analyse the literacy teaching from a critical literacy point of view and to gain new perspectives on how to work with literacy in multilingual classrooms in Sweden. The material was collected over approximately three weeks and consists of participant observations and two semi-structured group interviews with nine learners in total. The theoretical approach derives from a socio-cultural orientation and focuses on how unequal power relations are represented in language. Our results indicate a focus on individual learning of cognitive skills, for example, answering pre-written questions to a text in the work with reading comprehension. Furthermore, reading is considered important to be able to influence one’s own life and to connect with the surrounding society, as is good knowledge of English, which in turn is developed by reading. English is the language the learners are most used to use in school related activities and the language they feel confident to read in. In addition, the results show social, critical and transformative aspects of literacy. The teachers want to make use of the learners’ experiences in the teaching. Moreover, this goal is occasionally connected to a desire to empower the learners with agency to act for change. However, this desire is limited by the curriculum since it is forcing the teachers to teach at a certain pace. These results are then analysed by the use of Hilary Janks’ interdependent model for critical literacy by considering the consequences of focusing on any of its four parts – power, access, diversity and design – without any one of the others. We conclude that it is a challenge to design teaching that does not separate, but include cognitive, social, critical and transforming aspects of literacy in Sweden as well. Janks’ model can be used to design a teaching that includes these aspects to a greater extent and thereby create a more inclusive multilingual learning environment. Finally, we suggest that theories about critical literacy should be added to both teacher education and to the steering documents.

The aim of this compilation thesis is to explore variations in bilingualism with the help of everyday specific situations at a Spanish-Swedish early childhood institution in Sweden, and by means of a ‘material-semiotic theorizing’. This means that material and semiotic elements are treated equally and entwined. Through studying a bilingual preschool practice, theory and politics as three interwoven practices, the thesis produces knowledge on language and literacy as socially and materially divergent, transformative occurrences. The research process is a commitment with Deleuzio-Guattarian philosophy, theory and politics, and is defined as a becoming in and of the three practices (education, theory, politics). Ethical and methodological undertakings are described as results of the interaction of these practices. Processes of data production include a yearlong fieldwork with all year groups (1-5) at a bilingual preschool in Sweden with a Spanish-Swedish language policy. The materials of data (approx. 59 hours of video-recordings and additional field-notes of everyday activities) are extended and developed upon in interaction with theoretical concepts and political concerns in terms of an analytical process that ‘puts theory to work’. The results are phrased as three temporal suggestions: 1) Bilingualism is a plural, collectively produced, both transitory and specific phenomenon 2) Bilingualism emerges with different, simultaneous dimensions of language and literacy (language as both code and material intensities) 3) Bilingualism is shared and public but also private and inconclusive. The thesis also shows the interconnectedness and continuity between different constructions of bilingualism (i.e. separate – flexible, public - private) as well as the productivity of the unknown and of what is labelled as (il)literate expertise. The impact that these suggestions may have in working with bilingualism in early childhood education is discussed. At the same time the discussion inspires to thinking towards a minor bilingualism also in more general terms. / Syftet i denna sammanläggningsavhandling är att utforska variationer i tvåspråkighet med hjälp av alldagligt specifika situationer vid en spansk-svensk förskola i Sverige, samt genom ett ’material-semiotiskt teoretiserande’. Det betyder att materiella och semiotiska aspekter behandlas jämbördigt, sammanlänkat och icke-hierarkiskt. Genom att studera en tvåspråkig förskolepraktik, teori och politik som sammanvävda praktiker producerar avhandlingen kunskap om språk och litteracitet som socialt och materiellt divergenta, transformativa fenomen. Forskningsprocessen är en förlovning med DeleuzioGuattariansk filosofi, teori och politik och definieras som ett tillblivande i och med de tre praktikerna (utbildning, teori, politik). Etiska och metodologiska göranden beskrivs som resultat av interaktionen mellan dessa tre praktiker. Processer av dataproduktion inkluderar ett årslångt fältarbete med alla åldersgrupper (1-5) på en tvåspråkig förskola i Sverige med en spansk-svensk språkpolicy. Datamaterialen (59 timmars videoinspelningar och fältanteckningar från vardagliga aktiviteter) förlängs och utvecklas i avhandlingen i interaktion med teoretiska begrepp och politiska angelägenheter i termer av en analytisk process som ‘sätter teori i arbete’. Resultaten formuleras som tre temporära förslag. 1) Tvåspråkighet är ett pluralt, kollektivt producerat, både flyktigt och specifikt fenomen 2) Tvåspråkighet uppträder med olika, samtidiga språkliga dimensioner (språk som både kod och materiella intensiteter) 3) Tvåspråkighet är delat och publikt men också privat och odeciderat. Avhandlingens resultat visar också på länkar och kontinuitet mellan olika konstruktioner av tvåspråkighet (till exempel separat – flexibel, publik – privat) samt produktiviteten i det okända och vad som kan benämnas (il)litterat expertis. Betydelsen som avhandlingens förslag kan ha i arbete med tvåspråkighet i utbildningspraktiker med små barn diskuteras. Samtidigt inspirerar diskussionen till att tänka i riktningar mot en mindre tvåspråkighet också i mer generella termer.