This thesis aims at exploring what linguistic challenges and opportunities multilingual students experience when reading in English. This paper has a qualitative approach and consists of focus group interviews as the method for collecting data. The participants were students in compulsory school, ninth grade, studying English as a foreign language. A total of nine multilingual were divided into three groups. Firstly they received a piece of informative text to read, containing a picture and a heading, and secondly they answered and discussed questions about their use of reading strategies. The results from the present study show that they tended to use top-down strategies when reading. The picture was not regarded as important as the heading; yet it was clear that they transferred already developed strategies from other languages. Previous research has shown that a reading ability developed in a student´s first language will be transferred to other languages, through an underlying proficency. Likewise it was expected in this study that the students would use their first language in order to understand English as a foreign language, but unpredictably findings show that Swedish was the preferred language when translating. In conclusion, one can therefore argue for Swedish as the strongest academic language and therefore important in scaffolding multilingual students.

abstract: Technology (i.e. the WhatsApp mobile application) can play a positive role in a student’s language and culture learning when it is used in collaboration with a language curriculum that uses a modular framework. When technology tools are used in an intensive language learning environment, those mobile devices will allow students certain affordances (like modifying, authoring, and reviewing content) as well as opportunities to work independently (e.g., create their own content to demonstrate cultural understanding) and/or to reflect upon cross-cultural issues that impact their intercultural sensitivity (Lee, 2011). Barker (2016) adds that cultural discussions performed during a student’s language learning process can lead to intercultural sensitivity development and learning if done communicatively and in engaging environments. In this study, participants intensely interacted in a three week immersion experience where they used WhatsApp to communicate with each other, with their instructors, and with their host families by completing tasks in three modules that were a part of an Advanced Spanish Conversation and Culture Course. The argument in this study is that if WhatsApp is well integrated into the course activities and curriculum of an upper level Spanish university course while abroad, the students will use more innovative ways to communicate, thus, allowing for more intercultural sensitivity growth. In this study, the author analyzed the intercultural sensitivity development and Spanish language use of twelve university level students as they learned Spanish in a 13 week study abroad program abroad in Segovia, Spain. The goal of the study was to gauge how effectively the students communicated with one another while simultaneously measuring their intercultural sensitivity growth to see if the integration of the mobile app, WhatsApp, had any effect on their intercultural learning capabilities. The author analyzed data from twelve learners’ interactions while they studied abroad in a country that they were mostly unfamiliar with. As a result of WhatsApp’s various modalities and capabilities, the findings showed that all of the 12 students showed modest intercultural sensitivity growth along the Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity Scale (Bennett, 1993) to assist them in more effectively communicating in the target language about the host culture. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Spanish 2020

The main purpose of this study was to investigate English second language(ESL) teachers' perceptions about learner self-assessment in the secondary school. The study also examined the factors that might influence the perceptions that teachers hold about self-assessment. The participants of this study were 163 ESL teachers who are teaching at secondary schools in Gauteng Province; they were from 94 randomly selected schools. The data was collected through questionnaires and the response rate was approximately 53%. The literature review was utilized to identify the main perceptions. The studies led to a 57-item teachers' perceptions of learner self-assessment questionnaire based on the following main perceptions: the value of self-assessment in the teaching and learning processes, the use of self-assessment as an alternative assessment technique in English second language learning, the accuracy and reliability of self-assessment and the role of teachers in the effective implementation of self-assessment in their classrooms. The data for the study were analysed using quantitative techniques. the findings for the study showed that teachers have a strong feeling about the value of learner self-assessment; they showed that it helps in the improvement of teaching and learning. The results also indicated that teachers agree that self-assessment should be used in English second language teaching as an alternative form of assessment as it enhances learners' linguistic skills. Teachers perceive that they have an important role to play in ensuring that the implementation of self-assessment becomes successful in their classrooms. However, some have indicated that learners are not objective enough when assessing themselves and therefore the results derived from self-assessment cannot be reliable and accurate. Teachers' perceptions correspond with their classroom self-assessment practice because most of them also indicated that they employ self-assessment to enhance learners' performance. Majority of teachers also indicated that factors such as class size, availability of materials, teacher professional training and development, formal teacher training, years of experience, classroom experience with self-assessment, and time available for self-assessment played a significat role in influencing their perceptions. The conclusions were drawn from the results and the recommendations were made for further research. The limitations of the study were also discussed. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2009. / Curriculum Studies / unrestricted

This paper is a study in the linguistic field of Second Language Acquisition (SLA), with some overlap in the relation of language and gender. Focus is placed on adults' experiences and feelings towards using their learned language in different scenarios and whether there are any substantial differences related to the sex of the learner. The main questions discussed are, firstly, how confident Swedish adults are when communicating in English in different scenarios with different recipients. Secondly, what factors there are and how these factors influence adults' feelings towards communicating in English. The paper compares a sample of female and male adults of varying ages from 23-70, who live in Sweden. Using quantitative and qualitative questions in a questionnaire paired with an interview, this paper examines the feelings towards communication in English among adults and how these feelings have changed since they were in school. The study research how language anxiety and motivation relates to learning and using a foreign language. The research also examines if these factors have any connection to the participant’s sex. Learning how the affective factors or individual differences change over time can aid future teachers of English in motivating and helping students struggling with learning English. At some point during their period of studies, most adults in the study reported that they felt language anxiety or lack of confidence. However, the findings of this study that most adults eventually outgrow such anxiety and develop confidence as they become older and use English more.

The aim of this essay is to gain knowledge about attitudes towards the use of different varieties of English in the classroom from the perspective of seven English teachers in Swedish upper secondary school. The study was carried out through interviews with teachers from different upper secondary schools in Sweden. Qualitative interviews were used to gain information from the teachers. The results showed that the language varieties most of the teachers used were American English and British English, which had to do with what variety they were more exposed to. When asked about their students’ choices of language variety in the classroom, the teachers said that they used American English because of the frequent presence of the variety in films and television. The teachers worked with language varieties in the classroom by incorporating different varieties into the teaching using films, clips or listening comprehensions with speakers of, for example, Indian English or Australian English. Regarding the significance of working with language varieties in the classroom, the teachers said that it could develop knowledge and understanding of other people and that it could expand knowledge about the English-speaking world. In conclusion, the results showed that, even though American English and British English are the most commonly used English varieties in Swedish upper secondary schools, there are many ways teachers try to incorporate other language varieties to help students develop their English.

Feedback can be given in many different forms, and the type that is written and strives to either correct students written errors or support their overall writing ability is suitably enough referred to as written corrective feedback (WCF) of which there are two main types of: indirect and direct WCF. We know that second language writers meet many obstacles, be that lack of motivation and vocabulary or misspellings and phrasal issues; nonetheless, teachers thought processes about what type of feedback to give on what type of error is of importance for the continuation of the development of sound feedback approaches. Therefore, we intend to investigate English teachers perceptions on the WCF they give with the help of the following research questions: What are primary school English teachers’ perceptions about WCF in order to promote their ESL students writing development? What are primary school English teachers’ perceptions regarding their choice between written direct CF or written indirect CF on their ESL students written production?To investigate these questions we wrote an interview guide, and conducted interviews with seven teachers in 4th to 6th grade, asking about their perceptions on the development of writing in English as a second language and how they would describe their corrective feedback and their thought process on what type to give and when to give it on their student’s writing. Our findings showed that all teachers acknowledged two types of students in their ESL classroom: the high proficiency and the low proficiency. The low proficiency need more direct, clear and specific corrections on most of their writing whilst the high proficiency benefit from more indirect CF in order to make use of their metacognitive thinking skills. The findings also revealed that teachers choose to use indirect or direct CF based on the activity and whether the purpose is to learn grammar or not. If the focus is grammar, they would choose direct CF, and if it was to write a fictional story, they would give more indirect CF in order to not stifle the student’s creative process and “take the fun out of it”. Our study points to a need of more research within the field of feedback in general, since there is not much evidence showing what approaches are the most beneficial. Another issue is that there are practically no guidelines for teachers to follow, telling them what type to choose and for what activities. This is something for future research to dig deeper into.

Detta är en diskursanalys genomförd utifrån en socialkonstruktionistisk ståndpunkt. Studien syftar till att granska etableringsmöjligheter i relation till svenskhet med fokus på det svenska språket. Metod för insamlad empiri har genomförts via sex semistrukturerade intervjuer med kvinnor vilka levt i Sverige mellan 3–10 år. Fokus har legat vid tolkning av tillkomna svenska kvinnors subjektiva berättelser. Denna studie har därför menat inkludera de individer det talas om i den politiska debatten genom att istället samtala med tillkomna svenska kvinnor. Detta av anledning att den svenska integrationspolitiken grundas i en diskurs som ofta berör "vi" och "dem". I detta “vi och dem”-tänk konstrueras vita svenskfödda som motpol till "de Andra", vilka ofta benämns som “invandrare”. Det svenska språket, etablering och svenskhet har därför visat sig intimt förknippade. Svenskheten består av normer om språk, etablering och kropp som efter att hon flertal ett levda år i Sverige upplevs som en begränsning för hennes möjlighet till integrering. Det har visat sig svårt att passera inom ramen för svenskhet om den tillkomna svenska kvinnan lever i en icke-vit kropp, med svenska med brytning och om hon inte anpassar sig till en tillskriven position som gäst i Sverige. / This is a discourse analysis conducted on the basis of a social constructionist perspective. The study aims to examine establishment opportunities in relation to constructions of Swedishness with a focus on the Swedish language. The method for collected empirical data has been conducted through six semi-structured interviews with women who have lived in Sweden between 3-10 years. The focus has been on the interpretation of the subjective stories from women who have moved to Sweden. In this study, we have aimed to include the individuals who are being talked about in the political debate, by instead talking to women who have moved to Sweden. We have chosen this angle because Swedish integration policy often follows a discourse that shapes an "us" and "them" distinction on newcomers. In this "us and them" thinking, white Swedish born citizens are constructed as opposites to "the Others" which are often referred to as "immigrants". Throughout our study, the Swedish language, establishment and Swedishness have proved to be intimately associated. Swedishness consists of several norms about language, establishment and body appearance which after several years in Sweden can be perceived as a restriction on her opportunities for integration. It has proved difficult to pass within the framework of Swedishness if the woman who has moved to Sweden lives in a non-white body, with a "broken" Swedish and if she does not adapt to the attributed position as a guest in Sweden.

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Engelska som skolämne behöver bemöta eleverna på ett motiverande sätt och ha ett innehåll som främjar elevernas språkförmågor så att de kan bli trygga språkanvändare på engelska i framtiden. Forskning anser att läsning är en grundläggande nyckel för att skaffa ny kunskap. Genom att använda bilderböcker i språkundervisning som ett undervisningsinstrument kan elevernas upplevelse och motivation främjas, vilket vidare kan påverka deras framtidaanvändande av målspråket. Syftet med denna studie är, för det första, att undersöka elevers upplevelse av att läraren använder bilderböcker i engelskundervisning och för det andra hur eleverna då upplever sin motivation till att lära sig engelska språket genom dessa. I studien utgår vi ifrån två frågeställningar: 1) Hur eleverna upplever engelskundervisningen genom att läraren använder engelska bilderböcker i den? 2) Hur eleverna upplever att deras motivation till att lära sig engelska språket påverkas genom att läraren använder engelska bilderböcker i undervisningen? Studien utgår ifrån en kvalitativ metod och en fenomenografisk teori där vi valt att samla indata genom semistrukturerade fokusgruppsintervjuer. Urvalet till studien var 7 elever som har erfarit engelskundervisning där läraren har använt engelska bilderböcker i närtid. Under studiens genomförande gick eleverna i en årskurs tre och var mellan 9 till 10 år. Analysarbetet av den insamlade data vi erhållit har utgått ifrån fenomenografiskt ramverk, vilket fokuserar på elevernas egna personliga upplevelser av fenomenet. Utifrån en fenomenografisk analysmodell i sju steg har elevernas utsagor delats in i tre övergripande beskrivningskategorier. I resultatet urskiljs tre beskrivningskategorier såsom: elevernas upplevelse, deras upplevelse av motivation och deras vision kopplat till engelskundervisning där läraren använt engelska bilderböcker. Resultatet visar att eleverna upplever klassrumsmiljön som lugnande och inspirerande när läraren använder engelska bilderböcker i engelskundervisning. De upplever att de motiveras av intresseväckande händelser i bilderboken, men också bokens rika bilder och väl avvägda text. Dessutom visar resultatet att eleverna har utvecklat en vilja och ett självförtroende att läsa en bilderbok på engelska på egen hand.

This study aims to investigate vocabulary activities provided in English workbooks for year 9 students in Sweden. Vocabulary knowledge is an important part of language proficiency in the L2 and should therefore be supported by adequate activities. An analysis of vocabulary activities in existing workbooks allows for to investigate of which aspects of vocabulary knowledge (as defined by Nation, 2001, referred to in Brown, 2010, pp. 83-84) are presented and how they are addressed; this kind of analysis may have implications for teaching. The results show that the focus is on meaning and the written form of words by requiring the students to work with definitions through writing and reading. The findings indicate that the methods suggested by Zhang and Lu (2015) regarding contextualised language use and the suggestions by Brown (2010) and Neary-Sundquist (2015) regarding the aspects of vocabulary knowledge are only followed to an extent. The knowledge requirements and core content for year 9 in Sweden are discussed as an explanation as to why some aspects of vocabulary knowledge are not addressed or only addressed in certain language skills. Additionally, possible interpretations are discussed as to why working at the individual word level in vocabulary activities is commonly based on the interplay between the textbooks- and workbooks. The present study illustrates how teaching materials (i.e., workbooks) do not seem to support vocabulary learning adequately.