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This study explores the influence of collaborative learning on motivation and speaking anxiety in the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classroom for young learners. The study highlights a crucial research aspect by examining the role of collaborative learning in addressing speaking anxiety. The research question is explored by multiple investigators, and Lundahl's (2022) groundbreaking work particularly stands out, emphasising the vital role of collaborative learning in education. Building on this foundation, Fenyvesi's (2020) study on Danish learners aligns with these collaborative learning findings, emphasising the importance of fostering positive attitudes from the early stages of language acquisition. Kopinska and Azakari's (2020) study of collaborative reconstruction tasks provides a task-based perspective, illustrating the positive impact on motivation and a preference for collaboration. Nilsson's (2019) research reveals several triggers of speaking anxiety amongst Swedish learners, emphasising the role of classroom situations. Collaborative learning relieves speaking anxiety, as highlighted by Nilsson (2019) and supported by Bozkurt and Aydin's (2023) study involving 34 EFL students. Pladevall-Balusters (2019) study in Catalonia, Spain, compares motivation levels in traditional and Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) settings, acknowledging the potential and challenges of CLIL. The result of this study shows that collaborative learning has a positive impact on young EFL learners' motivation and speaking anxiety in English classes. It reduces anxiety, increases confidence, and fosters a supportive classroom atmosphere, ultimately contributing to improved motivation and vocabulary acquisition.

The EF English Proficiency Index has presented high English proficiency levels for Swedish students. Previous investigations have studied different factors that contribute to high proficiency in a second language, such as the engagement with the language in the free time, or personal characteristics such as motivation or learners’ home environment. The purpose of this quantitative study was to investigate correlations between Swedish 9th grade studentsʼ grades in the English subject with three factors; 1) their extramural activities, 2) their home environment, and 3) the students’ personal characteristics. The participants in this study were 49 students of ages 15-16 years old from a primary school in northern Stockholm. They answered an online survey with four open-ended questions and 35 statements in which the participants answered on a Likert scale between 1-6. The results suggest a weak correlation between extramural activities and the students’ English grades, a weak correlation between home environment and the students’ grades in English, and a moderate correlation between individual differences and students’ English grades. Given the small sample size and potential limitations of the study, the results cannot be generalized to a larger population and further investigation, such as a qualitative study through interviews with students and EFL practitioners, may provide us with a more in-depth understanding of the connections between the investigated factors and Swedish students’ proficiency levels in English.

This corpus-based study explores writer-reader visibility (WRV) features in the writing by young Swedish learners of English. Specifically, using Petch-Tyson’s (1998) framework, this study examines the use of WRV features in essays written by young Swedish learners in lower and upper secondary school, and compares their use to that of Swedish university-level learners. The findings align with Hasund and Hasselgård’s (2022) observation based on young learners that “the tendency to be visible writers starts early” (p. 19). Yet, as the writing proficiency or experience of this learner population increases, their visibility decreases by relying less on WRV devices. This study contributes to the understanding of how young learners’ use of WRV features in their writing develops and provides insights into writing instructions for young learners of English.

This study provides a literature review of the most effective ways to teach pronunciation to EFL secondary school students in Sweden. There is limited time allocated to pronunciation leading to a scarcity of available effective methods. This impacts the important role which intelligibility holds in pronunciation. Therefore, the objective of this review centres around finding the most effective ways to teach pronunciation in a Swedish EFL secondary school classroom, considering a variety of approaches. A selection of electronic databases were used consisting of specific search terms and limitations, concentrating on English language pronunciation. This resulted in eight articles, all of which experimented on finding ways to teach pronunciation. These studies are different in their methods and objectives, studies all lead to different results which we categorised into three themes: computer-assisted learning, social network learning and unconventional learning. Although all studies reported positive outcomes, only two were proven to be the most effective for this context. The results indicate that computer-assisted learning in combination with a teacher is the most effective way to teach pronunciation to EFL learners. This aligns with both the Swedish curriculum and two educational theories formulated by Krashen and Vygotsky. Our findings demonstrate an opportunity to implement this combination into the Swedish school context and allow for future research projects on pronunciation.

This paper is a synthesis of research that presents and reflects on the possible benefits of integrating media information literacy and critical thinking into the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) curriculum with the intention of facilitating for students' development in their critical thinking and media information literacy when engaging with English-language social media content. English is of major significance in the Swedish society and students get some of their news feed from social media in the English language along with their native language of Swedish. The aim of this paper is to investigate which strategies are currently used to promote students’ critical thinking and media information literacy when engaging with English-language social media content as well as which potential strategies which could possibly be incorporated by Upper-Secondary school EFL teachers in Sweden. Relevant academic articles were analysed showing various findings such as 1) the general importance of critical thinking and media literacy skills, 2) the importance of incorporating media information literacy in teacher training and practice, and lastly 3) the continuous development of critical thinking and media information literacy by age throughout the schooling years. This is an important field to continue to study in order to transform teaching practices and materials with the inclusion of media information literacy and critical thinking in the teaching of EFL in Sweden. In a wider perspective this can be seen as one of many tools to strengthen the state of democracy in Sweden.

This study explores the influence of collaborative learning on motivation and speaking anxiety in the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classroom for young learners. The study highlights a crucial research aspect by examining the role of collaborative learning in addressing speaking anxiety. The research question is explored by multiple investigators, and Lundahl's (2022) groundbreaking work particularly stands out, emphasising the vital role of collaborative learning in education. Building on this foundation, Fenyvesi's (2020) study on Danish learners aligns with these collaborative learning findings, emphasising the importance of fostering positive attitudes from the early stages of language acquisition. Kopinska and Azakari's (2020) study of collaborative reconstruction tasks provides a task-based perspective, illustrating the positive impact on motivation and a preference for collaboration. Nilsson's (2019) research reveals several triggers of speaking anxiety amongst Swedish learners, emphasising the role of classroom situations. Collaborative learning relieves speaking anxiety, as highlighted by Nilsson (2019) and supported by Bozkurt and Aydin's (2023) study involving 34 EFL students. Pladevall-Balusters (2019) study in Catalonia, Spain, compares motivation levels in traditional and Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) settings, acknowledging the potential and challenges of CLIL. The result of this study shows that collaborative learning has a positive impact on young EFL learners' motivation and speaking anxiety in English classes. It reduces anxiety, increases confidence, and fosters a supportive classroom atmosphere, ultimately contributing to improved motivation and vocabulary acquisition.

In order to provide equal education to students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in Swedish upper secondary English as a foreign language (EFL) classrooms, support must be provided that adapts to their strengths and needs regarding reading comprehension. Multiple studies show that many upper secondary students with ASD in Sweden do not meet the knowledge requirements for passing grades in English, and require support in reading comprehension. Through a systematic research review based on ten studies regarding reading comprehension for L2 students as well as students with ASD, this paper aims to investigate what current research says regarding how L2 students with ASD process text and also explores scaffolding tools and teaching methods used for developing reading comprehension. Further the findings are discussed in regard to the Swedish educational context. The results from the reviewed studies found four factors that can affect the reading comprehension of L2 students with ASD; namely: 1) individualistic problem-solving strategies, 2) working memory and main idea comprehension, 3) forms of scaffolding and teaching methods as well as 4) language proficiency. The discussion sheds light on how the way in which these four factors interplay when teaching reading comprehension to L2 students with ASD is relevant for teachers as it identifies the strengths of students with ASD through a resource perspective. Adaptations that could be implemented based on the results, align with Swedish policy documents. Thus, future interventional studies that combine the four factors found in the results could be significant for teachers working with EFL students with ASD.

Research shows that there are several benefits that can be extracted from the usage of literature in EFL. The question is which benefits teachers tend to make use of in their classrooms. The present study set out to map upper secondary school teachers’ reflections on the topic of literature in EFL, in general as well as in relation to language learning. The three research questions were to find out (1) teachers’ views regarding opportunities as well as challenges of literature in the EFL classroom, (2) how EFL teachers reason around their own uses of literature in EFL, and lastly, (3) how EFL teachers reflect on literature in relation to language learning. The data was collected from semi-structured interviews with three teachers. The study found that, overall, the teachers viewed literature as an important part of EFL partly because it can be utilized to acquire tools for literary analysis, to learn about the world, to create a basis for discussion about difficult topics and lastly, to develop language proficiencies.

The EF English Proficiency Index has presented high English proficiency levels for Swedish students. Previous investigations have studied different factors that contribute to high proficiency in a second language, such as the engagement with the language in the free time, or personal characteristics such as motivation or learners’ home environment. The purpose of this quantitative study was to investigate correlations between Swedish 9th grade studentsʼ grades in the English subject with three factors; 1) their extramural activities, 2) their home environment, and 3) the students’ personal characteristics. The participants in this study were 49 students of ages 15-16 years old from a primary school in northern Stockholm. They answered an online survey with four open-ended questions and 35 statements in which the participants answered on a Likert scale between 1-6. The results suggest a weak correlation between extramural activities and the students’ English grades, a weak correlation between home environment and the students’ grades in English, and a moderate correlation between individual differences and students’ English grades. Given the small sample size and potential limitations of the study, the results cannot be generalized to a larger population and further investigation, such as a qualitative study through interviews with students and EFL practitioners, may provide us with a more in-depth understanding of the connections between the investigated factors and Swedish students’ proficiency levels in English.

This corpus-based study explores writer-reader visibility (WRV) features in the writing by young Swedish learners of English. Specifically, using Petch-Tyson’s (1998) framework, this study examines the use of WRV features in essays written by young Swedish learners in lower and upper secondary school, and compares their use to that of Swedish university-level learners. The findings align with Hasund and Hasselgård’s (2022) observation based on young learners that “the tendency to be visible writers starts early” (p. 19). Yet, as the writing proficiency or experience of this learner population increases, their visibility decreases by relying less on WRV devices. This study contributes to the understanding of how young learners’ use of WRV features in their writing develops and provides insights into writing instructions for young learners of English.

Introduction: Like children with typical language development, their peers with developmental language disorder (DLD) are expected to learn English as a foreign language (EFL). For pupils without DLD, it is well-established that amount of informal exposure to English outside of the classroom, starting age of EFL instruction and motivation are strong positive predictors of EFL learning rate and/or achievement, whereas anxiety is negatively related to performance. This paper is the first attempt to investigate how these predictors of EFL performance operate in learners with DLD. Methods: Participants were nineteen Dutch-speaking 7th graders with DLD learning English as a school subject at a specialist education facility in the Netherlands. English receptive grammar and receptive vocabulary were measured twice, with a four-month interval. Foreign language learning motivation, anxiety and (length and amount of) informal exposure to and instruction in English were measured via questionnaires. Results: The participants did not show any progress on English vocabulary and grammar. At Time 1, vocabulary and grammar scores were positively related to starting age of EFL instruction and negatively related to anxiety. For vocabulary, achievement was also positively predicted by attitudes towards English lessons. Only the relationship between starting age of instruction and vocabulary outcomes was visible at Time 2. Amount and length of informal exposure to English did not predict performance, which is in stark contrast to the patterns observed in EFL learners with typical language development. Conclusions: We conclude that children with DLD benefit from a later onset of foreign language lessons, whereas length and amount of out-of-school exposure to English are less important in the context of DLD, possibly due to difficulty with implicit learning.

The Telesecundaria school emerged as a government response to meet the educational needs of rural or semi-urban population. In this modality, classes are taught through satellite television and a teacher monitor in a classroom. This teacher-monitor is in charge of teaching the lessons of all the subjects that conform the educational curriculum, including English as a Foreign Language (EFL). The EFL learning process is particularly challenging for Telesecundaria students. This is due to the presence of four factors: deficiencies in the social and school environment; lack of didactic materials; as well as interaction between teacher and students (Martínez; 2005; Navarrete&López, 2022; Sánchez, 2000; Sandoval, 2000; Sántos, 2001). Therefore, the present research aimed to analyze the nature of the challenges that a group of students from a Telesecundaria located in the mountainous area of the state of Veracruz, Mexico faced when learning EFL. Three data collection methods were used: observations, interviews and a survey. The results revealed that students faced three main difficulties: lack of technological resources in the classroom, inadequate didactic competencies for language teaching, and didactic procedures not aligned to their EFL learning needs. In contrast, students' attitudes toward the materials, as well as teacher-student interaction were positive. These results implicate Telesecundaria teachers to consider contextual conditions, the use of didactic materials and EFL teaching techniques according to the students' learning needs., La escuela Telesecundaria surgió como una respuesta gubernamental para atender las necesidades educativas de poblaciones rurales o semi-urbanas. En esta modalidad, las clases se imparten a tarvés de televisión satelital y de un profesor monitor en un salón presencial. Dicho profesor monitor es el encargado de impartir las lecciones de todas las asignaturas que conforman el currículo educativo, incluida la asigantura de Inglés como Lengua Extranjera (ILE). Particularmente, el proceso de aprendizaje de ILE resulta desafiante para los estudiantes de Telesecundaria. Ello se debe a la presencia de cuatro factores: carencias en el entorno social y escolar; falta de materiales didácticos; así como la interacción aúica entre agentes escolares (Martínez; 2005; Navarrete&López, 2022; Sánchez, 2000; Sandoval, 2000; Sántos, 2001). En este sentido, la presente investigación tuvo como objetivo anaizar la naturleza de los desafíos que un grupo de estudiantes de una Telesecundaria ubicada en la zona montañosa del estado de Veracruz, México enfrentaron al aprender ILE. Se emplearon tres métodos de recolección de datos: observaciones, entrevistas y una encuesta. Los resultados revelaron que los estudaintes enfrentaron principalmente tres dificultades: nulo uso de tecnología en el salón de clases, competencias didácticas no adecuadas para la enseñanza del idioma, y procedimientos didácticos no acordes con sus necesidades de aprendizaje de ILE. En contraste, las actitudes de los estudiantes hacia los materiales, así como la interacción entre docente y estudiantes fueron positivas. Estos resultados implen a los docentes de Telesecundaria para que consideren las condiciones contextuales, el uso de materiales didácticos y técnicas de enseñanza de ILE acordes a las necesidades de aprendizaje de los estudiantes.

Developing competency in second language learning requires mastery of reading, which affects other language skills. Reading in the target language exposes learners to a variety of structures and improves their comprehension. English language teachers have started to utilize authentic materials to promote learning experiences and introduce real-world language use to their learners. Authentic materials, such as newspapers, magazines, novels, and short stories, are used in reading classes to expose students to authentic language, promote reading comprehension, and raise cultural awareness. The study aims to explore English language teachers’ views on integrating authentic materials in reading lessons. The study employs quantitative research by using a questionnaire to examine teachers' viewpoints regarding the effectiveness and significance of these resources in preparatory schools. Findings indicate strong consensus among respondents on the important role of authentic materials in English as a Foreign Language reading instruction. The study’s key findings show that even though integrating authentic materials can be challenging when selecting and designing them, most respondents stated that they enable learners to see actual language usage, improve their grammar and vocabulary skills, motivate them, and foster a deeper understanding of the language and target culture.

This Final Degree project aims to demonstrate how film can be used as an effective tool in foreign language classrooms, specifically in the English classroom. In this work we will show the importance of language nowadays and at the same time the relevance, as teachers, of showing our students that language learning should not be done in a decontextualized way but should be linked to the reality of the students and their daily lives. Throughout my work, I will demonstrate how "The Audiolingual methodology" can be an extremely effective tool within language teaching classrooms. Combined with supportive methodologies in the development of a didactic sequence, this methodology can facilitate language learning from a more innovative and stimulating perspective for students. It is relevant to highlight that the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training of Spain establishes specific guidelines for the teaching of a second foreign language in the educational system. Among these guidelines, emphasis is placed on the communicative approach in the teaching and learning process of the foreign language, prioritising real contexts within the classroom where oral communication skills must be developed. Likewise, active methodologies are promoted, encouraging student participation in their teaching and learning process. The task-based approach is also important, promoting work on projects or activities with a specific purpose in an authentic context. Furthermore, the integration of language skills is emphasised, working alongside students in the development of different skills such as listening comprehension, oral expression, writing, and reading. Finally, the use of technological resources within the classroom is encouraged, enriching access to different materials and interactive learning methods relevant to the current social context. In conclusion, by following these guidelines, a didactic proposal has been proposed that covers the different directives established by our cur

This thesis examines vocabulary instruction in English as a foreign language within a primary school classroom, providing insights into how textbooks and other resources are used when teaching young learners. The research aims to deepen our understanding of vocabulary instruction in the middle years of primary school by observing a class of 10–11-year-old pupils and their teacher over nine weeks of English lessons. The research addresses the following questions: 1. What conditions for vocabulary development are provided by the pedagogical materials used? 2. How are different aspects of vocabulary addressed in English teaching activities in the middle years of primary school? The theoretical foundation of the study is a usage-based approach, which conceptualizes vocabulary development as emerging from linguistic experience and usage. The analysis is based on Nation’s model of aspects of vocabulary knowledge (Nation, 2022) and a framework for vocabulary learning conditions (Nation, 2022; Webb & Nation, 2017). A mixed methods case study design is employed, combining video-based observations, interviews, a questionnaire, and corpus analyses of classroom materials. An analysis of lexical coverage showed that the most frequent 1,000 word families were well represented in the materials. However, it became clear from the results that only a small proportion of words from the largest lexical word classes (adjectives, nouns, verbs, and adverbs) were recycled at least 10 times in the textbooks, suggesting insufficient exposure for effective vocabulary learning. Classroom activities primarily focused on vocabulary form and meaning, such as practicing spelling and pronunciation, with a greater emphasis on grammatical usage than on aspects such as word forms, collocations, and constraints on use. The instruction was characterized by diverse, multimodal methods, such as images, talk, text, video, audio, music, movement, and role-play, creating conditions conducive to vocabula

This project aims to research teachers’ and students’ perspectives on Foreign Language Anxiety when speaking English, and what strategies teachers and students report having in the ESL classroom. To achieve this, three ninth-grade students were interviewed in a group setting, and five secondary school ESL teachers used semi-structured interviews. The interviews were conducted in a school south of Sweden. This is done to get both perspectives with a focus on perceptions and strategies to manage speech-related anxiety. Speaking is one of the four important skills that students need to master to fully master a language. The results show that many students find Foreign Language Anxiety to be a factor in hindering their progress in English, as they sometimes have difficulties speaking because of psychological issues where anxiety often occurs as a factor. Through exploration and comparison between the perceptions of students and teachers, the study uncovers effective strategies to lessen or eliminate Foreign Language Anxiety for students and help them develop their speaking skills in English. Additionally, the results show that it is important to give the students the opportunities and conditions for them to succeed regardless of psychological barriers. This study contributes to the existing findings of Foreign Language Anxiety while adding the comparison between the teachers and students and also effective strategies.

This paper examines the effects of explicit morphology instruction on English vocabulary acquisition and morphological awareness in a Swedish L2 secondary school context. The purpose of this paper was to research if explicit morphology instruction affects students’ vocabulary acquisition and morphological awareness. The research questions for this paper are: To what extent does explicit morphology instruction affect morphological awareness in a Swedish 7-9 school context? and to what extent does explicit morphology instruction affect vocabulary learning in a Swedish 7-9 school context? A quantitative method with pre- and posttests was used to measure the effects of the intervention at a school with three participating classes and one teacher that taught the intervention. The study was conducted during a four-week period with short sessions of the intervention taught in the experimental groups each lesson and the control-group were taught their ordinary materials. The results of our study were statistically insignificant because of issues regarding the number of participating students. Instead, we focused on highlighting specific examples from the experimental groups in both morphological awareness and vocabulary acquisition

This research delves into the influence of visual aids on vocabulary development amongEnglish as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners, particularly in fostering independent readingskills. Numerous studies have debated the efficacy of integrating visuals, such as pictures,with text in enhancing reading comprehension. These visual supports have been observed toheighten motivation levels among EFL learners during the vocabulary acquisition process.The primary focus lies in examining how visual aids impact vocabulary acquisition andcontribute to the development of independent reading comprehension. Conducted primarilythrough searches in primary sources like ERIC and ERC, this study utilized keywords such as“vocabulary acquisition,” “EFL,” “visual support," and "primary school" spanning a decade(2019-2022). The findings from these studies concerning visual aids and vocabularyacquisition are then contextualized within the Swedish National English curriculum andrelevant theoretical frameworks. However, due to the scarcity of research specific to certainage groups, further studies are deemed necessary to explore the backgrounds of various EFLlearners and devise more effective methods for facilitating vocabulary acquisition.

The most important part of learning a language is being able to communicate, understanding others and making yourself understood. Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) is a perspective on language teaching where the focus is on the students and letting them communicate and interact with each other in the learning language. CLT creates safe classroom environments and great knowledge in how to use the language in everyday life. The aim with the study was to investigate English teachers’ usage of CLT and attitudes towards using CLT in the Swedish classroom during English teaching. Seven English teachers in Sweden participated in the study by answering questions in a semi-structured interview that was designed to answer the study´s research questions. The main results show that although English teachers are not familiar with the concept of CLT, they still have a positive attitude towards many tools and activities that are in keeping with it – and they also use these tools and activities. Hence, to get the most out of what CLT has to offer in the Swedish classroom, support from schools in the form of a teacher-training program would be appropriate.

Many Filipinos have found employment in the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) online tutoring industry. The EFL online tutoring extends beyond the traditional academic mainstream, becoming a dynamic and personalized avenue for language learning. This paper aimed to fill the research gaps surfaced by the dearth of research in online learning, where there are limited known teaching and assessment strategies used to deliver EFL tutoring classes. It specifically sought to identify the effectiveness and adaptability of communicative language teaching strategies to cater to the language needs of EFL learners. The participants were tutors of Chinese, Japanese, and Vietnamese learners. Through a phenomenological qualitative inquiry, this study subsequently gathered data through a semi-structured interview with eight priori codes as a research instrument. On the other hand, tutoring class observations also corroborated the parallel validation of interview data. The data further analyzed using cool, warm, and thematic analyses. The directives of themes explicated in this study were delineated by the emerging Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) approach by Richards and Schmidt as conceptual framework, other prevalent strategies were also reiterated. In a nutshell, the participants’ perspectives highlighted the effective utilization of language activities in all instructional and evaluative aspects. These are the use of authentic materials as a push for authenticity, opinion sharing, role-playing, information gap activities, information transfer activities, mechanical practice in language familiarization, meaningful practice by giving prompt feedback, language task, and project work. Consequently, the constraints revolved around language barrier, technological barrier, short attention span, and validity of assessments involved. Also, essential suggestions for future researchers are accentuated in this study.

Engelskämnet ska bidra till att elever förbereds och utvecklar kunskaper för att kunna verka i ett globalt sammanhang. Elevers upplevelser av att verbalt kommunicera i engelskklassrummet påverkar deras språk- och kunskapsutveckling. Många elever upplever oroskänslor över att bli utpekade när de talar engelska som främmande språk. Studien har därmed i syfte att undersöka hur elever i grundskolans årskurs 4–6 upplever att kommunicera verbalt inför klasskamrater i engelskklassrummet. Syftet besvaras genom två frågeställningar: Hur upplever elever att kommunicera verbalt i engelskundervisningen? I vilken utsträckning upplever elever att klassrumsklimatet påverkar viljan att verbalt kommunicera i engelskklassrummet? För att undersöka elevers upplevelser av verbal kommunikation på engelska kombineras det sociokognitiva perspektivet med en kvalitativ analys som grundar sig i semistrukturerade fokusgruppsintervjuer. Intervjuerna genomfördes med tolv elever från tre olika skolor. Studiens resultat visar att eleverna är motiverade till att lära sig engelska, men det finns situationer där de inte är trygga att verbalt kommunicera, exempelvis vid muntliga presentationer. Slutligen konstateras att lärarens stöttning och klassrumsklimatet är avgörande för god språkutveckling., The English subject should help prepare and develop students' ability to operate in a global context. Students' experiences of communicating orally in the English classroom affect their language and knowledge development. Many students experience feelings of anxiety about being singled out when speaking English as a foreign language. The aim of this study is to investigate how students in grades 4-6 of elementary school experience communicating verbally in front of classmates in the English classroom. Aims are fulfilled, and research questions are answered concerning students' experiences: How do students experience verbal communication in English classes? To what extent do students feel that the classroom climate affects their willingness to verbally communicate in the English classroom? To investigate students' experiences of oral communication in English, the socio-cognitive perspective is combined with a qualitative analysis based on semi-structured focus group interviews. The interviews were conducted with twelve students from three different schools. The results of the study show that students are motivated to learn English, but that there are situations where they do not feel confident in oral communication, such as oral presentations. Finally, it is concluded that teacher support and classroom climate are crucial for good language development.

This project aims to research teachers’ and students’ perspectives on Foreign Language Anxiety when speaking English, and what strategies teachers and students report having in the ESL classroom. To achieve this, three ninth-grade students were interviewed in a group setting, and five secondary school ESL teachers used semi-structured interviews. The interviews were conducted in a school south of Sweden. This is done to get both perspectives with a focus on perceptions and strategies to manage speech-related anxiety. Speaking is one of the four important skills that students need to master to fully master a language. The results show that many students find Foreign Language Anxiety to be a factor in hindering their progress in English, as they sometimes have difficulties speaking because of psychological issues where anxiety often occurs as a factor. Through exploration and comparison between the perceptions of students and teachers, the study uncovers effective strategies to lessen or eliminate Foreign Language Anxiety for students and help them develop their speaking skills in English. Additionally, the results show that it is important to give the students the opportunities and conditions for them to succeed regardless of psychological barriers. This study contributes to the existing findings of Foreign Language Anxiety while adding the comparison between the teachers and students and also effective strategies.

This study offers insight into washback processes via interactions between the national test, teachers and students as well as raises questions about contemporary educational politics and standardized testing in EFL classrooms. Washback is a term for the effects a test has on teaching and learning. Standardized tests are given increased weight in Sweden and globally, risking an increase of washback. This development puts various properties of education at risk of being undermined. In Sweden, the national tests in ninth grade can be considered high-stake standardized tests since they should be particularly considered in grading. The oral subtest in English may involve specific issues due to socio-affective aspects and challenges of assessing foreign language speech. Through qualitative interviews with six English teachers in Sweden, this study explored their perceptions of washback effects of the oral subtest of English in the national tests in ninth grade. The results indicate substantial washback on teaching practices and learning behaviors, and that socio-affective aspects play a major role in teachers’ choices. Also, some teachers exhibit ambivalence to the content of the test and whether the test results should impact the grades.

This paper examines the effects of explicit morphology instruction on English vocabulary acquisition and morphological awareness in a Swedish L2 secondary school context. The purpose of this paper was to research if explicit morphology instruction affects students’ vocabulary acquisition and morphological awareness. The research questions for this paper are: To what extent does explicit morphology instruction affect morphological awareness in a Swedish 7-9 school context? and to what extent does explicit morphology instruction affect vocabulary learning in a Swedish 7-9 school context? A quantitative method with pre- and posttests was used to measure the effects of the intervention at a school with three participating classes and one teacher that taught the intervention. The study was conducted during a four-week period with short sessions of the intervention taught in the experimental groups each lesson and the control-group were taught their ordinary materials. The results of our study were statistically insignificant because of issues regarding the number of participating students. Instead, we focused on highlighting specific examples from the experimental groups in both morphological awareness and vocabulary acquisition

The most important part of learning a language is being able to communicate, understanding others and making yourself understood. Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) is a perspective on language teaching where the focus is on the students and letting them communicate and interact with each other in the learning language. CLT creates safe classroom environments and great knowledge in how to use the language in everyday life. The aim with the study was to investigate English teachers’ usage of CLT and attitudes towards using CLT in the Swedish classroom during English teaching. Seven English teachers in Sweden participated in the study by answering questions in a semi-structured interview that was designed to answer the study´s research questions. The main results show that although English teachers are not familiar with the concept of CLT, they still have a positive attitude towards many tools and activities that are in keeping with it – and they also use these tools and activities. Hence, to get the most out of what CLT has to offer in the Swedish classroom, support from schools in the form of a teacher-training program would be appropriate.

This research delves into the influence of visual aids on vocabulary development amongEnglish as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners, particularly in fostering independent readingskills. Numerous studies have debated the efficacy of integrating visuals, such as pictures,with text in enhancing reading comprehension. These visual supports have been observed toheighten motivation levels among EFL learners during the vocabulary acquisition process.The primary focus lies in examining how visual aids impact vocabulary acquisition andcontribute to the development of independent reading comprehension. Conducted primarilythrough searches in primary sources like ERIC and ERC, this study utilized keywords such as“vocabulary acquisition,” “EFL,” “visual support," and "primary school" spanning a decade(2019-2022). The findings from these studies concerning visual aids and vocabularyacquisition are then contextualized within the Swedish National English curriculum andrelevant theoretical frameworks. However, due to the scarcity of research specific to certainage groups, further studies are deemed necessary to explore the backgrounds of various EFLlearners and devise more effective methods for facilitating vocabulary acquisition.

The intention of this study is to examine how music influences the secondlanguage acquisition for secondary student, as well as unfolding how songs asteaching tools can be applied to English as a foreign language (EFL) education.Research indicates that songs help generate motivational and linguistic benefitsto students as it prompts development in all four language skills if songs areapplied accurately. English songs can likewise provide students with an insightin social and cultural aspects appearing in countries where English is spoken.This might be some of many reasons to why the English syllabus for year 7-9 inSweden list songs in education as a developing mean that needs to be addressed.However, the implementation of songs in English education does not comewithout friction as teachers witness the hardship that might occur when usingmusic as teaching tools. The issues derive from teachers not knowing how toselect songs that serve an educational purpose, the overall image where music isseen as s fun activity rather than an educational activity, and that songs are notconsidered to help students reach teaching goals. These components all promptfor a demotivation amongst students to participate in song-centred lectures,creating a negative impact on students’ language development.

This mixed-method study examines Ecuadorian preservice English as a foreign language teachers’ cognition regarding pronunciation models and targets, identity, and confidence. Data were gathered through a self-reported, anonymous online questionnaire. Factor analysis and Spearman’s correlations were conducted on the quantitative data, and content analysis on the qualitative data. The results revealed that the participants highly value the native speaker model of pronunciation, are dissatisfied with their nonnative English pronunciation, are not interested in showing their Ecuadorian identities when speaking English, and are still not confident in their English pronunciation. The findings are discussed in light of the implications for pronunciation teachers.

The current study focuses on the effect of the target language on learner emotions and attitudes/motivation. More specifically, it investigates whether the status and prestige of English results in more positive learner emotions and attitudes/motivation compared to less prestigious languages other than English (LOTE). Statistical analyses of a database of 360 students in an English-speaking university in Kuwait enrolled in English, German, Spanish and French as foreign language classes revealed that the LOTE learners (who also knew English) reported significantly more foreign language enjoyment (FLE), equal levels of foreign language classroom anxiety (FLCA) and – surprisingly – lower levels of attitudes/motivation than their peers studying English. Due to confounding variables, it is impossible to establish the cause of the difference with certainty, but this outcome does show that a stronger motivation to study English does not necessarily translate into more enjoyment in class. In other words, while FLE and attitudes/motivation typically correlate, they are independent concepts.

This article seeks to explore Preparatory Schools of language teaching at tertiary education in Turkey in conversation with the arguments and theorization of such conceptual frameworks as neoliberaliza¬tion of education, curriculum policy and identity. In doing so, the article aims to critically scrutinize a recent boom in the number of preparatory schools of English across Turkey and how they function as either agents of social justice or contributors to the reproduction of inequalities in and through education. The article embarks on findings of a study employing two research methods: demographic research and critical ethnography. The demographic research aims to identify commonalities, differences, and general characteristics of preparatory schools of English in Turkey concerning their curriculum approaches and mission perspectives. The ethnographic part of the study analyzes how sociopolitical forces beyond the classrooms impact perceptions and relationships among learners and teachers of English in the classroom environment. The findings suggest that the significant increase in the number of preparatory schools in Turkey may be linked to the changing roles of education due to policies of neoliberalism and privatization and thus the study calls for an approach to language education through the lens of critical pedagogies., In diesem Artikel wird versucht, die Vorbereitungsschulen für den Sprachunterricht im tertiären Bildungsbereich in der Türkei mit Argumenten und Theorien in Bezug auf die Rahmenkonzepte Neoliberalisierung der Bildung, Lehrplanpolitik und Identität zu untersuchen. Dabei zielt der Artikel darauf ab, den jüngsten Boom von Vorbereitungsschulen für den Englischunterricht in der Türkei kritisch zu hinterfragen und zu untersuchen, inwiefern sie entweder als Akteure sozialer Gerechtigkeit fungieren oder zur Reproduktion von Ungleichheiten in und durch Bildung beitragen. Der Artikel stützt sich auf die Ergebnisse einer Studie, die zwei Forschungsmethoden einsetzt: demografische Forschung und kritische Ethnografie. Die demografische Untersuchung zielt darauf ab, Gemeinsamkeiten, Unterschiede und allgemeine Merkmale der vorbereitenden Schulen für Englisch in der Türkei in Bezug auf ihre Lehrplanansätze und Aufgabenperspektiven zu ermitteln. Der ethnografische Teil der Studie analysiert, wie sich gesellschaftspolitische Kräfte außerhalb der Klassenzimmer auf die Wahrnehmung unter, sowie die Beziehungen zwischen Englischlernenden und -lehrenden im Klassenzimmer auswirken. Die Ergebnisse deuten darauf hin, dass der signifikante Anstieg der Zahl der Vorbereitungsschulen in der Türkei mit der sich verändernden Rolle des Bildungswesens aufgrund der Politik des Neoliberalismus und der Privatisierung zusammenhängt. Daher fordert die Studie einen Ansatz für die Sprachausbildung durch die Linse der kritischen Pädagogik., Peer Reviewed

This article seeks to explore Preparatory Schools of language teaching at tertiary education in Turkey in conversation with the arguments and theorization of such conceptual frameworks as neoliberaliza¬tion of education, curriculum policy and identity. In doing so, the article aims to critically scrutinize a recent boom in the number of preparatory schools of English across Turkey and how they function as either agents of social justice or contributors to the reproduction of inequalities in and through education. The article embarks on findings of a study employing two research methods: demographic research and critical ethnography. The demographic research aims to identify commonalities, differences, and general characteristics of preparatory schools of English in Turkey concerning their curriculum approaches and mission perspectives. The ethnographic part of the study analyzes how sociopolitical forces beyond the classrooms impact perceptions and relationships among learners and teachers of English in the classroom environment. The findings suggest that the significant increase in the number of preparatory schools in Turkey may be linked to the changing roles of education due to policies of neoliberalism and privatization and thus the study calls for an approach to language education through the lens of critical pedagogies., In diesem Artikel wird versucht, die Vorbereitungsschulen für den Sprachunterricht im tertiären Bildungsbereich in der Türkei mit Argumenten und Theorien in Bezug auf die Rahmenkonzepte Neoliberalisierung der Bildung, Lehrplanpolitik und Identität zu untersuchen. Dabei zielt der Artikel darauf ab, den jüngsten Boom von Vorbereitungsschulen für den Englischunterricht in der Türkei kritisch zu hinterfragen und zu untersuchen, inwiefern sie entweder als Akteure sozialer Gerechtigkeit fungieren oder zur Reproduktion von Ungleichheiten in und durch Bildung beitragen. Der Artikel stützt sich auf die Ergebnisse einer Studie, die zwei Forschungsmethoden einsetzt: demografische Forschung und kritische Ethnografie. Die demografische Untersuchung zielt darauf ab, Gemeinsamkeiten, Unterschiede und allgemeine Merkmale der vorbereitenden Schulen für Englisch in der Türkei in Bezug auf ihre Lehrplanansätze und Aufgabenperspektiven zu ermitteln. Der ethnografische Teil der Studie analysiert, wie sich gesellschaftspolitische Kräfte außerhalb der Klassenzimmer auf die Wahrnehmung unter, sowie die Beziehungen zwischen Englischlernenden und -lehrenden im Klassenzimmer auswirken. Die Ergebnisse deuten darauf hin, dass der signifikante Anstieg der Zahl der Vorbereitungsschulen in der Türkei mit der sich verändernden Rolle des Bildungswesens aufgrund der Politik des Neoliberalismus und der Privatisierung zusammenhängt. Daher fordert die Studie einen Ansatz für die Sprachausbildung durch die Linse der kritischen Pädagogik., Peer Reviewed

Engelskämnet ska bidra till att elever förbereds och utvecklar kunskaper för att kunna verka i ett globalt sammanhang. Elevers upplevelser av att verbalt kommunicera i engelskklassrummet påverkar deras språk- och kunskapsutveckling. Många elever upplever oroskänslor över att bli utpekade när de talar engelska som främmande språk. Studien har därmed i syfte att undersöka hur elever i grundskolans årskurs 4–6 upplever att kommunicera verbalt inför klasskamrater i engelskklassrummet. Syftet besvaras genom två frågeställningar: Hur upplever elever att kommunicera verbalt i engelskundervisningen? I vilken utsträckning upplever elever att klassrumsklimatet påverkar viljan att verbalt kommunicera i engelskklassrummet? För att undersöka elevers upplevelser av verbal kommunikation på engelska kombineras det sociokognitiva perspektivet med en kvalitativ analys som grundar sig i semistrukturerade fokusgruppsintervjuer. Intervjuerna genomfördes med tolv elever från tre olika skolor. Studiens resultat visar att eleverna är motiverade till att lära sig engelska, men det finns situationer där de inte är trygga att verbalt kommunicera, exempelvis vid muntliga presentationer. Slutligen konstateras att lärarens stöttning och klassrumsklimatet är avgörande för god språkutveckling., The English subject should help prepare and develop students' ability to operate in a global context. Students' experiences of communicating orally in the English classroom affect their language and knowledge development. Many students experience feelings of anxiety about being singled out when speaking English as a foreign language. The aim of this study is to investigate how students in grades 4-6 of elementary school experience communicating verbally in front of classmates in the English classroom. Aims are fulfilled, and research questions are answered concerning students' experiences: How do students experience verbal communication in English classes? To what extent do students feel that the classroom climate affects their willingness to verbally communicate in the English classroom? To investigate students' experiences of oral communication in English, the socio-cognitive perspective is combined with a qualitative analysis based on semi-structured focus group interviews. The interviews were conducted with twelve students from three different schools. The results of the study show that students are motivated to learn English, but that there are situations where they do not feel confident in oral communication, such as oral presentations. Finally, it is concluded that teacher support and classroom climate are crucial for good language development.

This study offers insight into washback processes via interactions between the national test, teachers and students as well as raises questions about contemporary educational politics and standardized testing in EFL classrooms. Washback is a term for the effects a test has on teaching and learning. Standardized tests are given increased weight in Sweden and globally, risking an increase of washback. This development puts various properties of education at risk of being undermined. In Sweden, the national tests in ninth grade can be considered high-stake standardized tests since they should be particularly considered in grading. The oral subtest in English may involve specific issues due to socio-affective aspects and challenges of assessing foreign language speech. Through qualitative interviews with six English teachers in Sweden, this study explored their perceptions of washback effects of the oral subtest of English in the national tests in ninth grade. The results indicate substantial washback on teaching practices and learning behaviors, and that socio-affective aspects play a major role in teachers’ choices. Also, some teachers exhibit ambivalence to the content of the test and whether the test results should impact the grades.

The intention of this study is to examine how music influences the secondlanguage acquisition for secondary student, as well as unfolding how songs asteaching tools can be applied to English as a foreign language (EFL) education.Research indicates that songs help generate motivational and linguistic benefitsto students as it prompts development in all four language skills if songs areapplied accurately. English songs can likewise provide students with an insightin social and cultural aspects appearing in countries where English is spoken.This might be some of many reasons to why the English syllabus for year 7-9 inSweden list songs in education as a developing mean that needs to be addressed.However, the implementation of songs in English education does not comewithout friction as teachers witness the hardship that might occur when usingmusic as teaching tools. The issues derive from teachers not knowing how toselect songs that serve an educational purpose, the overall image where music isseen as s fun activity rather than an educational activity, and that songs are notconsidered to help students reach teaching goals. These components all promptfor a demotivation amongst students to participate in song-centred lectures,creating a negative impact on students’ language development.

This paper is a synthesis of research that presents and reflects on the possible benefits of integrating media information literacy and critical thinking into the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) curriculum with the intention of facilitating for students' development in their critical thinking and media information literacy when engaging with English-language social media content. English is of major significance in the Swedish society and students get some of their news feed from social media in the English language along with their native language of Swedish. The aim of this paper is to investigate which strategies are currently used to promote students’ critical thinking and media information literacy when engaging with English-language social media content as well as which potential strategies which could possibly be incorporated by Upper-Secondary school EFL teachers in Sweden. Relevant academic articles were analysed showing various findings such as 1) the general importance of critical thinking and media literacy skills, 2) the importance of incorporating media information literacy in teacher training and practice, and lastly 3) the continuous development of critical thinking and media information literacy by age throughout the schooling years. This is an important field to continue to study in order to transform teaching practices and materials with the inclusion of media information literacy and critical thinking in the teaching of EFL in Sweden. In a wider perspective this can be seen as one of many tools to strengthen the state of democracy in Sweden.

In order to provide equal education to students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in Swedish upper secondary English as a foreign language (EFL) classrooms, support must be provided that adapts to their strengths and needs regarding reading comprehension. Multiple studies show that many upper secondary students with ASD in Sweden do not meet the knowledge requirements for passing grades in English, and require support in reading comprehension. Through a systematic research review based on ten studies regarding reading comprehension for L2 students as well as students with ASD, this paper aims to investigate what current research says regarding how L2 students with ASD process text and also explores scaffolding tools and teaching methods used for developing reading comprehension. Further the findings are discussed in regard to the Swedish educational context. The results from the reviewed studies found four factors that can affect the reading comprehension of L2 students with ASD; namely: 1) individualistic problem-solving strategies, 2) working memory and main idea comprehension, 3) forms of scaffolding and teaching methods as well as 4) language proficiency. The discussion sheds light on how the way in which these four factors interplay when teaching reading comprehension to L2 students with ASD is relevant for teachers as it identifies the strengths of students with ASD through a resource perspective. Adaptations that could be implemented based on the results, align with Swedish policy documents. Thus, future interventional studies that combine the four factors found in the results could be significant for teachers working with EFL students with ASD.

This study provides a literature review of the most effective ways to teach pronunciation to EFL secondary school students in Sweden. There is limited time allocated to pronunciation leading to a scarcity of available effective methods. This impacts the important role which intelligibility holds in pronunciation. Therefore, the objective of this review centres around finding the most effective ways to teach pronunciation in a Swedish EFL secondary school classroom, considering a variety of approaches. A selection of electronic databases were used consisting of specific search terms and limitations, concentrating on English language pronunciation. This resulted in eight articles, all of which experimented on finding ways to teach pronunciation. These studies are different in their methods and objectives, studies all lead to different results which we categorised into three themes: computer-assisted learning, social network learning and unconventional learning. Although all studies reported positive outcomes, only two were proven to be the most effective for this context. The results indicate that computer-assisted learning in combination with a teacher is the most effective way to teach pronunciation to EFL learners. This aligns with both the Swedish curriculum and two educational theories formulated by Krashen and Vygotsky. Our findings demonstrate an opportunity to implement this combination into the Swedish school context and allow for future research projects on pronunciation.

Research shows that there are several benefits that can be extracted from the usage of literature in EFL. The question is which benefits teachers tend to make use of in their classrooms. The present study set out to map upper secondary school teachers’ reflections on the topic of literature in EFL, in general as well as in relation to language learning. The three research questions were to find out (1) teachers’ views regarding opportunities as well as challenges of literature in the EFL classroom, (2) how EFL teachers reason around their own uses of literature in EFL, and lastly, (3) how EFL teachers reflect on literature in relation to language learning. The data was collected from semi-structured interviews with three teachers. The study found that, overall, the teachers viewed literature as an important part of EFL partly because it can be utilized to acquire tools for literary analysis, to learn about the world, to create a basis for discussion about difficult topics and lastly, to develop language proficiencies.

Motivation has long been acknowledged as an undeniably important factor in language learning, and recent research indicates that it may play an even more important role in CLIL than non-CLIL settings (Navarro Pablo & García Jiménez, 2018). However, given the lack of research into CLIL in languages other than English, Dalton-Puffer, Nikula and Smit (2010) have called for a comparison across additional languages, so as to determine the strengths and weaknesses of CLIL language-independently. This comparison is particularly necessary with respect to L2 motivation, given that the spread of English as a global language has led to qualitative differences between learning English compared with other languages (Dörnyei & Ushioda, 2013). The current study thus investigates the language learning motivation of students taking both English and French CLIL classes to determine if there are quantitative differences between the participants’ English and French language learning motivation. Results indicate that the participants exhibited a higher level of language learning motivation towards English than French. The findings highlight the need to better prepare CLIL methodologies when languages such as French are taught alongside English., La motivación es un factor imprescindible en el aprendizaje de un idioma extranjero, y se ha demostrado que desempeña un papel más significativo en un contexto AICLE que no-AICLE (Navarro Pablo y García Jiménez, 2018). Sin embargo, dado la falta de investigación sobre el AICLE en idiomas distintos del inglés, Dalton-Puffer, Nikula y Smit (2010) han hecho un llamamiento a la investigación comparativa de diferentes lenguas meta, para comprender las fortalezas y debilidades de AICLE independientemente de la lengua del programa. Esta comparación es particularmente necesario con respecto a la motivación, dado que hay una diferencia fundamental entre la motivación para aprender el inglés frente a otras lenguas (Dörnyei y Ushioda, 2013). Este estudio investiga la motivación de alumnos que cursan a la vez asignaturas de instrucción AICLE en inglés y francés para comparar las diferencias cuantitativas entre la motivación hacia cada idioma. Los resultados demuestran que hay una diferencia evidente entre el inglés y el francés, ya que en todos los casos los participantes indicaron un nivel más alto de motivación hacia el inglés. Los hallazgos destacan la necesidad de preparar de manera más eficaz la metodología AICLE cuando se enseña el francés junto con el inglés.

This mixed-method study examines Ecuadorian preservice English as a foreign language teachers’ cognition regarding pronunciation models and targets, identity, and confidence. Data were gathered through a self-reported, anonymous online questionnaire. Factor analysis and Spearman’s correlations were conducted on the quantitative data, and content analysis on the qualitative data. The results revealed that the participants highly value the native speaker model of pronunciation, are dissatisfied with their nonnative English pronunciation, are not interested in showing their Ecuadorian identities when speaking English, and are still not confident in their English pronunciation. The findings are discussed in light of the implications for pronunciation teachers.

Communication through social media is a phenomenon whose relevance has involved the consideration of online discourse in the language teaching context. This article explores the functionality of Twitter (now called “X”) for science dissemination within the teaching and learning of English as a foreign language. To do this, 100 tweets from the accounts @WWF and @Greenpeace were gathered and analysed from the perspective of digital discourse analysis and communicative language teaching. I argue that using these tweets encourages the development of key competencies, provides room for the practice of integrated skills, and enhances the application of 21st-century skills. Conclusively, science dissemination tweets may be considered adequate for teaching and learning English.

Las metodologías activas y las Tecnologías de la Información y la Comunicación (TIC), esenciales en el proceso de enseñanza-aprendizaje de la lengua inglesa en los diferentes contextos curriculares, nos proporcionan la posibilidad de investigar desde el punto de vista de los alumnos de las diversas etapas educativas y desde la óptica de los futuros docentes. La implementación de las metodologías activas en el proceso de enseñanza-aprendizaje de la lengua extranjera, ha supuesto un gran cambio metodológico, potenciando la adquisición de competencias personales y académicas curriculares, permitiendo al alumno desarrollar habilidades y competencias sociales, necesarias para su futuro profesional. Esta tesis doctoral ahonda en la investigación de la aplicación de metodologías activas y las TIC en contextos curriculares y formativos integrados, especialmente en la investigación del Aprendizaje Basado en Proyectos y el enfoque AICLE (Aprendizaje Integrado de Contenido y Lengua Extranjera), por sus siglas en inglés CLIL, en el aula bilingüe., Active methodologies and Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), essential in the teaching-learning process of English in a broad range of curricular contexts, allow for the possibility of researching from the perspectives of students at different educational levels and pre-service teachers. The implementation of active methodologies in the teaching-learning process of foreign languages has entailed a great methodological change promoting the acquisition of personal and academic curricular competences, these methodologies enable students to further develop the necessary social skills and competences for their professional future. This doctoral dissertation delves into the application of active methodologies and ICT in integrated curricular and training contexts, especially in the research of Project Based Learning and the CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning) approach in the bilingual classroom.

Introduction: One of the bilingual advantages often reported in the literature on typically-developing children involves advantages in foreign language learning at school. However, it is unknown whether similar advantages hold for bilingual pupils with learning disabilities. In this study, we compare the performance of monolingual and bilingual primary-school children with developmental language disorder (DLD) learning English as a school subject in special education schools in the Netherlands. Methods: The participants were monolingual (N = 49) and bilingual (N = 22) children with DLD attending Grade 4−6 of special education (age 9–12). The bilingual participants spoke a variety of home languages. The English tests included a vocabulary task, a grammar test and a grammaticality judgement task. The Litmus Sentence Repetition Task and the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test were used as measures of, respectively, grammatical ability and vocabulary size in Dutch (majority/school language). In addition, samples of semi-spontaneous speech were elicited in both English and Dutch using the Multilingual Assessment Instrument for Narratives. The narratives were analysed for fluency, grammatical accuracy, lexical diversity, and syntactic complexity. A questionnaire was used to measure amount of exposure to English outside of the classroom. Results and discussion: The results for Dutch revealed no differences between monolinguals and bilinguals on the narrative measures, but monolinguals performed significantly better on both vocabulary and grammar. In contrast, bilinguals outperformed monolinguals on all English measures, except grammatical accuracy of narratives. However, some of the differences became non-significant once we controlled for amount of out-of-school exposure to English. This is the first study to demonstrate that foreign language learning advantages extend to bilingual children with DLD. The results also underline the need to control for differences in out-of

This article is one of the first attempts to study the mechanisms of foreign language learning by children with DLD. We test the effectiveness of a cognate intervention aiming to enhance cross-linguistic awareness of Dutch-speaking primary-school pupils with DLD, as part of their English as a Foreign Language (EFL) curriculum. The participants were learning English as a school subject in the last three years of special primary education in the Netherlands (ages 8;11–13;8). The intervention group (n = 41) received 12 short lessons on cognate relationships over the course of 14 weeks. The control group (n = 46), matched to the intervention group on the amount and intensity of foreign language instruction, received their regular English lessons that were mainly implicit and skill-based. The study used a pre-test–post-test design and compared the development of English word recognition in the two groups, at the same time controlling for the amount of prior EFL instruction and out-of-school exposure to English. The performance at pre-test was already high, particularly on cognates. Word recognition in the control group did not improve over the course of the 14 weeks. The performance of the intervention group showed significant improvement from pre-test to post-test. After the intervention, they recognized not only more of the words practised in the lessons but also more nontreated cognates, which demonstrates that the intervention participants developed a cognate strategy that allowed them to recognize more English words based on similarity to Dutch. We conclude that explicit cognate instruction implemented in a regular classroom setting facilitates the development of EFL vocabulary in special primary education.

Research on second language learning by children with DLD has mainly focused on naturalistic L2 acquisition with plenty of exposure. Very little is known about how children with DLD learn foreign languages in classroom settings with limited input. This study addresses this gap and targets English as a foreign language (EFL) learning by Russian-speaking children with DLD. We ask whether learners with DLD benefit from a later onset of EFL instruction because older children are more cognitively mature and have more developed L1 skills. The second aim of this study is to determine whether EFL learners with DLD benefit from positive L1 transfer in vocabulary learning. We administered a receptive vocabulary test to younger (Grade 6, n = 18) and older (Grade 10, n = 15) children with DLD matched on the amount of prior EFL instruction. The younger group started EFL instruction in Grade 2 and the older group in Grade 6. The performance of the two groups was compared after four and a half years of English lessons. Half of the words in the test were English-Russian cognates and half were noncognates. Contra to our hypothesis, the results showed no difference between younger and older children. Both groups equally benefitted from cognate vocabulary suggesting that positive cross-language transfer is available to children with DLD, irrespective of their age and onset of EFL instruction.

Audio-visual resources are currently potential resources for foreign language teaching, due to the large number of advantages they offer to both students and teachers. Because of the special impact that audio-visual resources has on the development of communication skills, this paper explores the advantages of these materials in relation to the natural method, the five hypotheses of language acquisition and the development of listening skills. The second part deals with the planning of a Teaching proposal that might be implemented in EFL classrooms of Secondary Education – Year 4. The intervention proposal addresses the youth culture of the Swinging Sixties through different audio-visual resources., Los medios audiovisuales son actualmente un recurso potencial para la enseñanza de lenguas extranjeras, por las numerosas ventajas que ofrecen tanto a alumnos como a profesores. Por su especial incidencia en el desarrollo de las destrezas comunicativas, este trabajo pone en relación las ventajas de los recursos audiovisuales con el método natural, las cinco hipótesis de la adquisición de la lengua y el desarrollo de la comprensión oral. En la segunda parte, se presenta la planificación de una propuesta de intervención destinada a poder implementarse en el aula de Inglés Lengua Extranjera de cuarto curso de Educación Secundaria Obligatoria. La propuesta trata sobre la cultura juvenil que se desarrolló en los Swinging Sixties, a través de diversos recursos audiovisuales., Departamento de Didáctica de la Lengua y Literatura, Máster en Profesor de Educación Secundaria Obligatoria y Bachillerato, Formación Profesional y Enseñanzas de Idiomas

The main objective of this Final Degree Project (FDP) is to implement in the classroom, through a didactic proposal, creative writing as a vehicle for learning English as a foreign language. Writing is one of the four language skills, being, in most cases, the most tedious for students because it is totally disconnected from their interests. In this document, which combines bibliographic review with real classroom intervention and subsequent analysis of results, cooperative learning is proposed as a means of implementing creative writing in the classroom, in a versatile way adapted to the real motivations and interests of a specific learner and context., Este Trabajo de Fin de Grado (TFG) tiene como objetivo principal implementar en el aula, a través de una propuesta didáctica, la escritura creativa como vehículo para el aprendizaje de la Lengua Extranjera Inglés. La escritura forma parte de las cuatro habilidades lingüísticas, siendo, en la mayoría de los casos, la más tediosa para el alumnado por encontrarse totalmente desvinculada de sus intereses. En este documento, que combina la revisión bibliográfica con la intervención en el aula real y el posterior análisis de resultados, se propone el aprendizaje cooperativo como medio para ejecutar la escritura creativa en las aulas, de una forma versátil adaptada a las motivaciones e intereses reales de un alumnado y contexto concreto, Grado en Educación Primaria

One core aspect of learning a language is developing vocabulary, an endeavor that requires a structured and principled focus in the classroom. As the EFL textbook has a central position in the language learning classroom, it should have an important role to play in structuring vocabulary development. Yet, what guides decisions concerning the vocabulary content in textbooks has not been thoroughly studied. This paper presents an interview study with eight Swedish materials developers of frequently used EFL teaching materials aimed at school years 7–9. The results show that the materials developers focus primarily on providing engaging texts and base the vocabulary content on end users’ opinions and their own intuition. The study also indicates that word lists are construed as a tool primarily for reading comprehension rather than for vocabulary learning. The study concludes that vocabulary research findings appear to have a limited impact on decisions about vocabulary content., Validerad;2023;Nivå 2;2023-01-18 (johcin)

One core aspect of learning a language is developing vocabulary, an endeavor that requires a structured and principled focus in the classroom. As the EFL textbook has a central position in the language learning classroom, it should have an important role to play in structuring vocabulary development. Yet, what guides decisions concerning the vocabulary content in textbooks has not been thoroughly studied. This paper presents an interview study with eight Swedish materials developers of frequently used EFL teaching materials aimed at school years 7–9. The results show that the materials developers focus primarily on providing engaging texts and base the vocabulary content on end users’ opinions and their own intuition. The study also indicates that word lists are construed as a tool primarily for reading comprehension rather than for vocabulary learning. The study concludes that vocabulary research findings appear to have a limited impact on decisions about vocabulary content., Validerad;2023;Nivå 2;2023-01-18 (johcin)

Background: In the past ten years or so, the publication of research journal articles has been increasing and growing. The development is even more significant when the Higher Education in Circular Letter No.152 / E / T / 2012 requires article writing for students of all levels as one of the graduation requirements. The publication of articles, especially in English-language journals, is a challenge for Indonesian authors to be able to produce scientific papers that not only meet scientific rules but also linguistic rules in English. Methodology: This study aims to see the function of rhetorical moves in English journal articles published in SINTA-accredited journals. The part of the article to be studied is focused on the Introduction which has the main role of providing general information about the research background. The rhetoric function of this article will show a series of texts that have a specific function in the Introduction. The sample of this study was taken from articles in the SINTA-accredited journals level 2 and written in English written by authors of non-English-language disciplines. Two articles were randomly selected from each journal so in total it amounted to 16 articles. Findings: This study looks at what rhetorical functions were used, and the textuality of the rhetorical functions used in the Introduction to articles written and published in SINTA-accredited journals level 2. “Indicating the Structure of the Research Paper” and “Announcing Principal Findings” were the least two rhetorical functions stated by the authors in the Introduction section. Two articles in this study fulfil the textuality components but the rests fail to fulfill the textuality components. Conclusion: Writing journal articles in English is a great challenge for Authors with an English as a foreign language (EFL) background. Language proficiency, academic language mastery, academic writing convention and mechanics awareness which include rhetorical functions and textu