Out-of-School English and the possible effect it has on Second Language Acquisition : - a study on how students with different backgrounds acquire the English language outside of school

Second language acquisition is a field that has fascinated linguists for numerous years and is a topic that is very much connected to how English teachers in Sweden try to teach the English language to the students in their classrooms. In 2009 Sundqvist examined what possible effects extramural English could have on learners' oral proficiency and their vocabulary. In her study she found out that extramural English “is an independent variable and a possible path to progress in English” (Sundqvist, 2009, p. i).  In 2014, three Swedish secondary- and upper secondary school teachers started a project for the Erasmus+. These three teachers tried to create better teaching conditions and to come up with new methods for teaching English. During their investigation they noticed that students who had only been in Sweden for four years or less, seemed to get less exposed to English in their spare time than native Swedish students, which created a disadvantage for them. Since the time when these two studies were carried out, the number of immigrants has increased drastically, which creates the need for further investigation within this area of second language acquisition. In this study, I therefore investigate how much and in what way students come in contact with the English language outside of school. I also examine if there are any differences between native Swedish students versus non-native Swedish students and if so, how this might affect the students and their grades in English. The study was conducted through the use of questionnaires and through observations of different teaching situations, including the participating teachers' methods and the participating students' reactions. The results show that there are differences between native- and non-native students when it comes to extramural English activities. The results also show that these differences seem to affect the students' grades in English, in favour of the native Swedish students. The native students tend to spend more time on extramural English activities, especially in connection to the Internet and computer games, than the non-native students. These results indicate that something needs to be done in order to compensate for the non-native students' disadvantage.

Vad man ska kunna och hur man ska vara : En studie om enhetschefers och vårdbiträdens yrkeskompetens inom äldreomsorgens särskilda boendeformer

The dissertation What to do and how to be reflects upon the professional skills needed by unit managers and nursing staff within the institutions of eldercare. Throughout the study, three conceptions are essential: formal education and training, professional skills, and individual competence. In order to understand the professional skills within its proper context, an activity perspective has been applied. The study is based on empirical materials, historical and present national and municipal documents, interviews with and observations of unit managers as well as questionnaires filled in by nursing staff members. A main result is the stress the respondents put on the importance of individual competence among unit managers and nursing staff members. “How to be” is more important than formal training and professional skills. To work with – and develop – individual competence therefore becomes momentous both to job activities and to education. The result shows a discrepancy between the way professional skills are discussed and the actual work performance. A lot of tasks carried out by unit managers and nursing stuff are never mentioned in connection with professional skills. The unit manager’s task is to lead both unit operations and staff work. Such responsibilities demand basic knowledge in social sciences, an overall understanding of the work activities from political management, job conditions and duties of the nursing staff. The professional skills given priority are those present in organisations and leadership. Problematic are economic and budget tasks which may sometimes cause unit managers to give up their economic responsibility, favouring client – directed over economy – directed care. The main task of the nursing staff is the care of elderly. It calls for social, caring, medical and housekeeping skills. For this one needs an upper secondary level education supplying the students with solid knowledge within social science as well as basic medicine and an overall understanding of the situation and needs of the elderly. Throughout the study, knowledge of the demented and of other mental disorders is emphasized as well as treatment of elderly persons suffering from those disorders. Units still have a long way to go before reaching the goal that every nursing staff member be given a formal education. Some municipalities already offer employees shorter nursing staff training. As to the rest, the educational development is neglected.

Automaticity in L2 learning: Correlation between vocabulary proficiency and response time in word recognition

Automaticity (in this essay defined as short response time) and fluency in language use are closely connected to each other and some research has been conducted regarding some of the aspects involved. In fact, the notion of automaticity is still debated and many definitions and opinions on what automaticity is have been suggested (Andersson,1987, 1992, 1993, Logan, 1988, Segalowitz, 2010). One aspect that still needs more research is the correlation between vocabulary proficiency (a person’s knowledge about words and ability to use them correctly) and response time in word recognition. Therefore, the aim of this study has been to investigate this correlation using two different tests; one vocabulary size test (Paul Nation) and one lexical decision task (SuperLab) that measures both response time and accuracy. 23 Swedish students partaking in the English 7 course in upper secondary Swedish school were tested. The data were analyzed using a quantitative method where the average values and correlations from the test were used to compare the results. The correlations were calculated using Pearson’s Coefficient Correlations Calculator. The empirical study indicates that vocabulary proficiency is not strongly correlated with shorter response times in word recognition. Rather, the data indicate that L2 learners instead are sensitive to the frequency levels of the vocabulary. The accuracy (number of correct recognized words) and response times correlate with the frequency level of the tested words. This indicates that factors other than vocabulary proficiency are important for the ability to recognize words quickly.

The effects of video games on the receptive vocabulary proficiency of Swedish ESL students

Playing video games is an activity that takes up an increasing amount of children’s and adolescent’s spare time. While some previous studies have highlighted the negative aspects of video games, little research has been carried out on the linguistic learning opportunities that video games present. This study primarily investigates if Swedish second language learners of English can increase their vocabulary proficiency in English with the use of video games. In order to answer the research questions, two quantitative data elicitation methods are used: a questionnaire which aims to gather attitudinal and behavioral data, and a Vocabulary Levels Test which elicits data about the participants’ receptive vocabulary proficiency. The participants consist of 25 students at an upper secondary school in Stockholm. The results show that participants who played video games scored higher on the Vocabulary Levels Test, indicating a higher receptive vocabulary proficiency. Furthermore, the results show that participants who played moderate to frequent amounts of time performed better in the Vocabulary Levels Test than infrequent players. The results also show that video games emphasizing co-operation and communication are preferable to use for vocabulary acquisition. Additionally, the study discusses if video games could be integrated into the Swedish upper secondary school system.

Teachers’ perception of the concept of intercultural competence in teaching English

Intercultural competence (IC) as an essential part of conceptualization of the cultural dimension in FLT has been promoted by educationalists as the most preferred type of competence. One of the challenges of incorporating IC into FLT is to move from the recognition of IC as a model of teaching (Byram, Nichols and Stevens, 2001) to the development of practical applications. This can be due to the fact that teachers do not have sufficient knowledge of the theory behind the concept and consequently, have difficulties to implement the curriculum requirements with regards to IC into their teaching. The purpose of this study was to investigate how teachers of English in upper secondary schools in Sweden interpret the concept of IC and, accordingly, what is their view of culture in English language teaching. In order to answer the research question, I used an exploratory investigation by adopting a qualitative research method in form of semi-structured interviews. The results are similar to the previous studies (Lundgren, 2002; Larzén, 2005) and suggest that teachers lack theoretical background and central guidance with regards to IC and do not always integrate language and culture into an intercultural model of the English language pedagogy.

Skolad blick på blommor : Formandet av yrkeskunnande i floristutbildning

This article-based thesis focuses on the formation of vocational knowing within adult and upper secondary floristry education in Sweden. Three articles explore classroom interaction and assessment actions; a fourth considers changes in vocational subject matter during the period 1990–2015. While the first three articles draw on empirical data in the form of video and audio recordings in combination with participant observation, the fourth is based primarily on material-based interview data. All four articles share a sociocultural perspective on educational practice (Wertsch, 1998; Säljö, 2011, 2013) and a relational view of knowing (e.g., Carlgren, 2015; Molander, 1996), in combination with the use of conversation analysis (Goodwin & Heritage, 1990; Sahlström & Melander, 2010) as a tool to illuminate the formation of vocational knowing. The interaction between teacher, student, and floral arrangement is foregrounded to facilitate analysis of the formation of vocational knowing. The results contribute to our understanding of the schooling of the gaze (Goodwin, 1994; Grasseni, 2009, 2011) as appropriated by participants in the interaction. Floristry vocational knowing is shown to evolve in the temporal dimension, encompassing (a) financial and aesthetic values, (b) verbal and non–verbal communication, (c) botanical material and tools, and (d) making. The respective roles and interrelations of these four components of vocational knowing in floristry are discussed. The contribution of the thesis is twofold. First, these articles contribute to the understanding of vocational education through close appraisal of the formation of vocational knowing. Second, in exploring the previously under-researched field of Swedish floristry vocational education, the thesis bridges a gap in existing knowledge of the evolution of Swedish vocational education. As floristry education is little researched internationally, the thesis also contributes to the wider body of international research.