This essay is a discussion about how English teachers in the Swedish school system can use Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice to encourage awareness and reflection in students regarding issues of class division and its impact on society. The essay provides examples of how the contemporary Swedish society and the society depicted in Pride and Prejudice share both similarities and differences in issues regarding class division. The reader response perspective has been applied to show how teachers may use the novel to emphasize students’ reflections and responses. This, in the hope of creating rewarding discussions in the classroom that are based on the curriculum for the Swedish upper secondary school’s content of democratic values and human rights. This essay will show that Pride and Prejudice is a suitable choice of literature to use as basis for generating awareness and reflection regarding the issues of the impact of class divisions on society in the EFL classroom.

The following essay analyzes Marvel blockbuster Black Panther with an intersectional lens, discussing relations of power, oppression and discrimination through the fictive society of Wakanda. The findings present similar factors of intersectionality to that of most western societies, with gender, sexuality, aptitude and tribal affiliations as the main factors of identity. The essay argues for the inclusion of culturally loaded films in the EFL classroom, with the intention of introducing students to intersectionality through a fictive society, in an effort to promote better understanding of relations of power, oppression and discrimination, whilst also including education on different types of language usage

This essay argues that while the main character in The Outsiders challenges the norms of toxic masculinity on a surface level, his decision to continue fighting for his gang, the greasers, actually reinforces the stereotypical view that violence is connected to masculinity. Furthermore, it is argued that studying The Outsiders in a Swedish EFL classroom can promote critical thinking and knowledge of issues connected to gender through using empathetic reading.  Empathetic reading is a way to read carefully to gain new perspectives in order to discuss and criticize the text. Even though the term toxic masculinity assumes a healthy/harmful binary, it is needed since the power dynamics that sustain gender inequality remain. Recent events in the Western world, such as the #Metoo movement and Trumpism, are just a couple of examples of how power dynamics are showing through gender discrimination and sexual harassment. However, gender can be a sensitive subject in lower secondary EFL classrooms, and by focusing on being empathetic towards how others express gender may lessen the pressure of speaking about gender subjectively.

This thesis argues that events in the postcolonial novel We Need New Names by NoViolet Bulawayo can be viewed as traumatic based on three different aspects; witnessed trauma, transgenerational trauma and cultural trauma. In addition, the thesis provides pedagogical implications and analysis of the novel’s usefulness in the Swedish EFL classroom. What is argued in this essay is that cultural clashes, mourning of home country and lacking of expressive opportunities affect the protagonist’s identity formation. The protagonist’s experiences from and reflections on her home country versus her new one are the focal point of this essay; to prove that belonging to the diaspora is a traumatic, ongoing, event that affects the individual and collective identity process negatively, depicted in the novel. Lastly, the novel’s potential in the EFL classroom is claimed to contribute with insight, understanding and acceptance towards cultural “others” in the Swedish society.

This paper sets out to analyze The Reluctant Fundamentalist by a narratological application of positioning theory with the aim of highlighting the bias of the main character. The paper argues that using said novel in the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classroom in conjunction with positioning theory could result in an improved understanding of how language is used in different situations for different purposes, which in turn can teach students to critically assess narratives in any medium. This paper also suggests that The Reluctant Fundamentalist could be a beneficial novel to use with the aim of providing students with ethical knowledge and awareness. The findings show that there are several acts of positioning from the main character where his bias against Americans is evident. These instances often consist of the main character contrasting himself and his behavior with Americans where differences of ethical values are expressed. The paper argues that his bias was formed because of an identity crisis, which was constituted of a multitude of factors. Furthermore, the pedagogical implications section suggests some benefits of working with positioning theory and the novel in the EFL classroom, in addition it also discusses some problematic aspects that could be important to be aware of when working with said novel.

The essay attempts to analys the film Alien directed by Ridley Scott and released in 1979 to see if the film’s themes and iconography can be interpretedas metaphors forsexual violence and gender norms. investigates if the film can be used in a Swedish upper secondary EFL classroom as a basis for discussing the societal problems of sexual violence and oppressive gender norms. Methods for film analysis by Barker and Austin is applied along with the gender theories of Moi and Connell among others.

Circe (2018) by Madeline Miller is a retelling of The Odyssey from the perspective of the witch Circe. The novel challenges the previous portrayal of Circe as a vindictive seductress and provides insight into the narrative of a woman negotiating a man’s world, in which she is denied autonomy due to her gender. This essay focuses on how oppressive structures prevent the protagonist to psychologically develop towards their true potential in Circe. Jungian psychoanalytic theory of individuation and archetypes are applied to analyze the psychological process. In addition, the impact of hegemonic masculinity in Circe is examined as it stunts the protagonist’s progress in individuation. Furthermore, Circe can be a tool in the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classroom in upper secondary school to enable discussions on gender oppression and unjust social structures. A feminist reading of the individuation process in Circe can provide new insight into the effects of gender oppression as it concerns the psychological impact of unjust treatment.

This qualitative study aims to examine the differences between Margaret Atwood’s novel and Bruce Miller’s adapted version of The Handmaid’s Tale by the application of adaptation, as well as, feminist theory. An additional aim is to investigate the didactic potential of using both the original version and the TV series adaptation in the EFL-classroom, this in relation to the Curriculum for English at upper secondary level. The two research questions addressed in this study were: What are the main differences between the adapted version and the original version? and, in relation to the EFL-classroom and the subject English 7, what can be gained by working comparatively with the original version and the TV series adaptation? The essay is examined by using adaptation theory and feminist theory. The findings of the analysis presented in this study show for example that the television adaptation features a more feminist portrayal of the female characters than the original story. In addition, the findings of this study suggests that by using both texts in the EFL-classroom, one can get the opportunity to highlight prominent themes within the two media which were discovered in this study. For example, discrimination based on gender or sexual orientation. Therefore, by comparing the two texts, students may become aware of differences between how the two texts are able to portray such indifferences as mentioned above. In an educational setting this is useful since by working with questions which aims to compare both texts in the EFL-classroom, students also get the chance to deal with various living conditions and attitudes in relation to both the historical and contemporary English-speaking world (Skolverket 2011, p. 4).

This essay investigates nine upper secondary English teachers’ awareness, beliefs and practices when dealing with pragmatics in the EFL classroom in relation to the intercultural dimensions of the subject. The study was conducted using a phenomenological approach where nine semi-structured interviews with upper secondary English teachers were conducted. The results showed that the teachers displayed a high level of awareness of pragmatics, especially when provided with propositions of pragmatic input based on formulations from the syllabi. In addition, the results showed that teachers incorporate pragmatics in their teaching as a way of enabling metacognitive conversations about language in order for the students to understand why certain phrases or words are deemed more appropriate than others. Consequently, the question of why speakers communicate the way that they do not only seems to be of interest to scholars but for teachers and students as well. In relation to the teachers’ perception of the intercultural dimensions of the English subject, all the participating teachers perceived it to be an important part of the subject, while also shedding light on current issues relating to monocultural teaching groups, filter bubbles and the rise of difficult conversations. The results also showed that using the students’ first languages was an important tool for teachers to understand and scaffold students in their learning of English. One conclusion drawn based on the results was that incorporating pragmatics in the EFL classroom not only seems to benefit language development, but it may also act as a facilitator when developing an understanding of other people.

In a world where gamification is increasingly prevalent, Dungeons & Dragons is a vast, seemingly untapped arena into which students in an EFL classroom could potentially venture. By exploring the various applications of the hugely popular tabletop role-playing game, there are several aspects in which students and teachers can explore in order to find practical as well as theoretical uses for a role-playing game of this size and scope. This study has discussed and analyzed the benefits and drawbacks of implementing Dungeons & Dragons in the EFL classroom through mental imagery and immersion as an effective teaching tool. The implementation of D&D in an EFL classroom is achievable through scaffolding and preparation. This study has also discussed the gamification aspects of the EFL classroom and the game specific areas of game-based pedagogy.