The aim of this project was to analyse Swedish EFL teachers’ methods and opinions regarding teaching fluency in their classrooms. Furthermore, the project aimed at exploring the attitudes towards the importance of including fluency in their language teaching. Previous research suggests that the usage of so-called task based exercises is something that helps in promoting students’ level of fluency. The previous research further suggests that the teaching of effective vocabulary, as well as linking-words, is beneficial for the developments of individual fluency. The method used in the gathering of data was based on qualitative interviews. The interviews were conducted with six EFL teachers at Swedish upper secondary schools. The questions asked during said interviews were of a semi-structured and open-ended nature. This particular structure was chosen in order to encourage the respondents to talk freely, and to combat the sense of there being right or wrong answers to the questions posed. The theoretical framework of the study is based on Burner’s (Nino & Burner, 1978) theory on scaffolding, and Gibbons’ (2015) approach on how to apply this to the EFL classroom.  The specific genres of fluency that held the focus of this paper were speech and writing. However, as a result of the data generated by the interviews, the two genres were not, to any significant extent, discussed or handled separately throughout the project. The results of the study shows that the interviewed teachers tend to employ small-group discussions in order to promote fluency in their students. Furthermore, the results show that most teachers are inclined to teach their students different kinds of vocabulary in order to further their students’ abilities. Other findings indicate that students seem to benefit from a safe environment in their classrooms when practicing fluency, this as to not feel exposed in a negative way when they are to perform in front of their peers.

Enligt skollagen har alla elever rätt till stimulans i utbildningen. Alla elever “ska ges den ledning och stimulans som de behöver i sitt lärande och sin personliga utveckling för att de utifrån sina egna förutsättningar ska kunna utvecklas så långt som möjligt enligt utbildningens mål.” Skollagen (2010:800, 3 kap. 2§). Internationell forskning visar att elever som ”resonerar och utmärker sig med skärpa” behöver stimulering utöver det vanliga skolarbetet.  Förmågan att kunna utmärka sig med skärpa utöver det vanliga skolarbetet är ett fenomen som beskrivs som särbegåvning.  Studien bidrar till kunskap om lärarens egen uppfattning och reflektioner kring särbegåvning i den svenska grundskolan i relation till sitt eget yrkesutövande. Studien är gjord utifrån ett fenomenografiskt perspektiv vilket innebär att kvalitativa intervjuer med lärare har analyserats för att förstå tolkning av fenomenet särbegåvning. Empirin har analyserats och kategoriserats efter frågeställningarna för att framställa och diskutera forskningsresultatet.   Resultaten visar att, även om det råder en ovisshet och oenighet hos lärare kring begreppet särbegåvning, så kunde alla lärare i studien framgångsrikt identifiera attributen för den särbegåvade eleven samt var överens om att det finns ett behov av ytterligare resurser och stöd i lärares arbete med dessa elever. Utbildning om särbegåvning och särbegåvade elevers förutsättningar inom lärarkåren anses som viktig för framtiden. / According to the Education Act in Sweden, all students have the right to stimulation in education. All pupils “must be given the guidance and stimulus they need in their learning and personal development so that they can develop as far as possible according to the goals of education and in accordance with their own abilities.” Skollagen (2010:800, 3 kap. 2§). International research shows that students who give evidence of the ability for exceptional achievement need stimulation in addition to the usual schoolwork. The ability to excel with exception is a phenomenon described as gifted and talented. The purpose of this study is to understand the teacher’s perceptions and reflections on the phenomenon of gifted and talented students in Swedish primary schools. The study has used a phenomenographic perspective, which means that qualitative interviews with teachers were analyzed to understand their interpretations of the phenomenon gifted and talented. The data was then analyzed and categorized according to the research questions in order to present and discuss the research results.  The results show that even though there is uncertainty and disagreement among teachers over the concept of gifted and talented, all the teachers in the study could successfully identify the attributes of the gifted student and they agreed that there is a need for additional resources and support in their work. Further education, about gifted and talented students, for the teaching staff was considered essential for future progress.