Translanguaging has been breaking ground with ideas that learners’ already mastered languages and the target language should coexist to support and scaffold each other's development, instead of the historically preeminent idea that has been to separate the school language and the target language. The curriculum for Swedish schools does not give any guidelines on how to address this contradiction in research. This degree project aims to examine how English teachers in Sweden perceive the use of translanguaging in their teaching of grades 4-6 (ages 9-12). Also, how they possibly prepare for and implement this in their lessons. The study was conducted through an online questionnaire with a total of 24 participants, with quantitative and qualitative type questions. In addition to the questionnaire, qualitative email interviews were conducted with a total of three participants. The collected data show that the majority of the participating teachers have a positive view of translanguaging. Despite some teachers being against it and believing that target language should be used as much as possible, the school language was still used by all participants to scaffold the learners. Though translanguaging is a relatively new, not very well-known concept, it is being regularly used although not always consciously.Our hope is for this study to generate more research to further define the concept of translanguaging and what effect it has on learners.

The Reggio Emilia Approach (REA) and Head Start (HS) value high-quality early education, support for families, and community partnerships according to the literature. Exploring principles of REA in relation to the HS program model may reveal alignment that will inform high-quality developmentally appropriate practices that are meaningful and enhance learning outcomes. This multiple case study explores the REA in alignment within three Head Start programs in New Mexico, Massachusetts, and Tennessee. Participant groups include one education director, one education leader, and four teachers in each of the three locations. In New Mexico, the HS program was located on a Native American pueblo. In Massachusetts the HS program was located in a diverse urban community, and the HS program in Tennessee was located in rural east Tennessee. Data to demonstrate participant’s alignment with nine REA principles include a survey, an interview, and observations without children present at each location. All participants responded with some alignment to the REA principles, yet lack of clear understanding was found among a majority of participants. Classroom observations revealed stronger alignment with REA principles in New Mexico. An interesting finding was that across cases there was one teacher who had more experience with including Reggio-inspired principles in her teaching practices. Teachers were interested in professional development beyond HS mandates. A small ungeneralizable sample is a limitation, which suggests future research using the survey and development of the 3 observation tool with a larger sample. Implications suggest future professional development introducing the REA may inform teaching practices in Head Start programs.

English has been on the rise on the global stage for the last half century, and is now the most studied second language, being used regularly in international academia, social and mainstream media and international relations. In Sweden, the increase in the use of English is particularly noticeable in the country’s higher education system, with recent studies reporting a significant increase in English as the language of instruction. Although Sweden has a generally high proficiency in English, recent reports show a number of students feel insecure in using English at universities. A possible pedagogical method to address students' uncertainty is Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL). While there is much research regarding CLIL, the research is divided on its efficacy best practices, and research is limited in the Swedish context. Thus, the purpose of this study is to investigate the beliefs and practices of CLIL among upper secondary English teachers in Sweden in order to add to the body of knowledge surrounding CLIL use, especially in the Swedish context. Data collection was done with a survey sent out to 260 schools in Sweden. The results of the study are limited in scope and depth due to very low response rates (n=8), but tentative conclusions may be drawn from it that support earlier findings, such as the importance of certain contextual factors in the school. The study concludes that CLIL is indeed an appreciated tool among the teachers asked, and that any teacher who is considering using it should ensure that the school environment is one that facilitates CLIL rather than hinders it.

There has long been a debate regarding how much Swedish and English can and should be used in the EFL classroom. Some favor using only English, whereas others prefer using a mixture of languages i.e. translanguaging (Garcia, 2012). This study explores the language used by EFL teachers in Sweden. Through observations, we looked into the extent and functions of English and Swedish used by four EFL teachers in Southern Sweden. By conducting interviews, we were also able to ascertain the teachers’ beliefs about teachers’ language use and what factors they perceive to have affected those beliefs. The results were compared to previous research related to the two approaches and they were also related to the steering documents for Swedish secondary schools. The results show that teachers used predominantly English in their teaching and that this usage also corresponded to their beliefs. Some discrepancies were found between their beliefs in using Swedish and their actual practice. Furthermore, the participants' beliefs were found to be mainly affected by their teacher education, research, and their personal language learning experience.

When supporting students’ language development, English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers use different scaffolding methods, such as Oral Corrective Feedback (OCF). This method’s purpose is to assist learners’ oral language skills, and there are various strategies that can be utilised in an input providing or output prompting manner. The aim of this study is to investigate Swedish EFL teachers in K-3 regarding their preferences for OCF strategies, the challenges they face in implementing these strategies, as well as adapting them to their teaching context. In order to examine this phenomenon, data was collected through conducting semi-structured interviews with teachers as participants. The results indicate that Recast is the most prevalent approach, whereas output prompting strategies pose the greatest difficulty for teachers. One of the output prompting strategies that were frequently mentioned as the least preferred was Metalinguistic Feedback. Moreover, teachers tend to adapt their OCF strategies and sometimes even choosing to not correct their students at all, depending onthe learning context and the individual student attributes. In comparison to previous studies conducted in other countries, different strategies were preferred such as Explicit Correction, which teachers in Sweden tend to refrain from using. However, the beliefs regarding output prompting OCF strategies were similar. Overall, teachers believe that providing OCF is an effective method for scaffolding young learners’ language development in the EFL classroom.

This degree project aims to investigate how teachers negotiate their teaching practices and what determines their choice of working methods when it comes to teaching vocabulary. Since we are interested in teachers’ thoughts and opinions regarding vocabulary teaching, a selection of English teachers were interviewed. Our theoretical background is rooted in Nation’s (2001) theories on what it means to know a word, Schmitt’s (2000, 2007) theories on how vocabulary is acquired and on Lundahl’s (2012, 2014) perspectives on traditions in the English classroom. Additionally we used research articles for our analysis of the results. The results from our findings indicate that vocabulary is being taught in both a revised traditional- and a non-traditional way. Our results also show that education and contextual factors influence how teachers teach vocabulary. From our results, we can conclude that our informants teach vocabulary for communicative purposes, but that there is a considerable difference in their approach to vocabulary learning. In addition, we can also conclude that the informants all expressed the need for further professional development in English, and that there is a need for more research on how contextual factors affect teachers in their work.

Each year as a growing number of students with learning disabilities are included in statewide assessments, teacher perceptions and beliefs toward student achievement are being identified and examined. The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001(NCLB) and the 2004 reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA, 2004) raise the achievement expectations of students with disabilities and require that teachers are knowledgeable about state academic content and achievement standards (Thompson, Lazarus, Clapper, & Thurlow, 2006). State departments of education are responsible to ensure that teacher competencies and expectations are specific to the achievement of grade level content standards (Thompson, et al., 2006). Educational reform, increased knowledge in the teacher-learning process, and greater access to the general education curriculum require changes in instructional practice. This study investigated special education teachers' perceptions, backgrounds and beliefs related to test performance of third grade students with learning disabilities who passed the reading portion of the state assessment in Florida, the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT). The comparative descriptive research design was used to identify these factors and their effects in the study (Creswell, 2002). Quantitative data collection was used. A survey instrument was developed to include information on teachers' background, beliefs, experience, and perceptions toward statewide assessments. The survey was sent to seventy six third grade teachers of students with learning disabilities. Teachers receiving the survey were categorized into two groups based on the outcome of the 2007 FCAT in reading. Significant differences between teacher responses were found in the areas of professional development for test accommodations, co-teaching, and working with professionals in the general curriculum. Response to survey items on service delivery models indicated that students who spend the majority of time in the general education classroom or in a resource room setting have increased student achievement on statewide assessments. Differences were also found between teachers on questions related to school location, percentage of minority students, students who are eligible for free and reduced lunch, and positions employees held in education by the teachers in the study. One of the most significant findings of this study concluded that increased time spent in the general education classroom and collaboration of special education teachers with general education staff proved to be most beneficial when addressing the needs of students with learning disabilities and statewide assessment. The concept of teacher knowledge base and continued awareness of perceptions andbeliefs addressed in this study allowed for further research investigations.

The purpose of this study was to examine teachers’ availing and nonavailing epistemic beliefs about teaching and learning, with particular focus on beliefs about visual, auditory, and kinesthetic (VAK) learning styles; the study investigated VAK belief sources and justification, and the ways those beliefs were enacted in classroom practice. 660 teachers in Mississippi were surveyed, with the large majority (94.5%) reporting they believed that students’ learning styles are important for learning. Most teachers had been introduced to the idea in teacher preparation coursework, and few had heard about information suggesting learning styles were not supported by research. Teachers reported that they considered learning styles to be useful for student grouping, assessments, and instructional delivery. Implications for bridging educational psychology research and teacher practices are discussed in light of findings.

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