A current topic in Swedish schools is the use of computer games and gaming. One reason is because computers are becoming more and more integrated into the schools, and the technology plays a large role in the everyday lives of the pupils. Since teachers should integrate pupils’ interests in the formal teaching, it is of interest to know what attitudes teachers have towards gaming. Therefore the aim of this empirical study is to gain an insight into the attitudes Swedish primary teachers have towards online and offline computer games in the EFL classroom. An additional aim is to investigate to what extent teachers use games. Five interviews were conducted with teachers in different Swedish schools in a small to medium-sized municipality. After the interviews were transcribed, the results were analyzed and discussed in relation to relevant research and the sociocultural theory. The results show that teachers are positive towards games and gaming, mostly because gaming often contains interaction with others and learning from peers is a main component in sociocultural theory. However, only one out of the five participants had at some point used games. The conclusion is that teachers are unsure about how to use games in their teaching and that training and courses in this area would be valuable. More research is needed within this area, and it would be of value to investigate what suggested courses would contain and also to investigate exactly how games can be used in teaching.

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BACKGROUND: Playing computer games is a favourite way to have fun since the end of the 20th century. The age of users rises together with the development of games and many gamers are nowadays middle-aged. Despite the growing number of research dealing with the issue of playing computer games, this phenomenon lacks a comprehensive definition and method of diagnosis. In some diagnostic tools, the conflict between gamers and a close person is the main and key criterion. AIM: The main aim of the research is to describe the symptoms of conflict in the close relationships of computer games players. A partial goal is to compare conflicts in close relationships in addicted or threatened by addiction gamers and non-addicted gamers. METHODS: The concept of the research is based on a qualitative research methodology. Respondents were recruited using the snow ball selection method and selected by targeted selection based on predefined criteria. The research sample consisted of 36 respondents. 18 were computer games players and 18 were close persons. All respondents took part in a semi- structured interview. The obtained data was analyzed using the pattern capture and comparison method. RESULTS: Symptoms of conflict in the close relationships of computer game players have been described by individual...