This study investigates Swedish upper secondary school English teachers’ definitions of oral proficiency, how they rate the importance of oral proficiency, and how they work with promoting pupils’ development of oral proficiency through their teaching. The study used semi-structured interviews with 11 Swedish upper secondary school English teachers. The results showed that the teachers had different views of what constitutes oral proficiency. More specifically, four themes were identified. These were making yourself understood, fluency, extensive vocabulary, and connecting with the receiver. In addition, the results showed that six of the 11 teachers rated the oral skill as one of, or even the most, important language skill, whereas five of the 11 teachers did not. The discrepancies mostly tied to perceived usefulness and Swedish upper secondary school English courses in general. Furthermore, the results showed that teachers had similar methods and strategies for promoting pupils’ development of oral proficiency, mostly tied to creating communicative contexts. Lastly, the results highlighted the importance of feedback since it makes pupils able to visualize their own learning and development. The present study concludes that oral proficiency plays an immensely important role for pupils, both within and outside of school.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:hj-64974 |
| Date | January 2024 |
| Creators | Fahlström, Kim |
| Publisher | Jönköping University, Högskolan för lärande och kommunikation |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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