Språkval svenska/engelska på grundskolan: en genomlysning

Abstract

When the Swedish nine-year compulsory school got new curricula and syllabi in 1994, the concept of Language Choice was introduced. All pupils will be offered to study a Modern Language: German, French or Spanish. Besides the Modern Languages the schools need to offer further English or Swedish. Pupils with another native language than Swedish are given the possibility instead to choose their native language or Swedish as a second language. Rather soon after the introduction of new curricula and syllabi it became apparent that there were a great number of pupils who chose to study Swedish or English. Many schools also made the two subjects into only one Language Choice, but even though this has become the largest Language Choice alternative it is, perhaps, the part of the compulsory school that has been most anonymous. We have analyzed the Language Choice alternative of Swedish - English. The purpose of the mapping is to get answers to uestions like • How is the Language Choice in Swedish and/or English organized? • Which are the contents of the teaching in the Language Choice of SwEng? • Does SwEng lead to an improvement of Swedish and English for the pupils who choose it? • When and why do pupils drop out of Modern Languages? • What do the pupils, teachers and principals think about SwEng? • How have the inspections of the National Swedish Agency for Education commented upon local variants of Language Choice organizations? • How has the organization of Optional Subjects in the nine-year compulsory school developed? To get answers to these questions we have carried out five types of data acquisitions: • An electronic survey has been carried out. 124 principals gaive answers to questions about how the Language Choice of Swedish/English is organized around the country. • We have carried out in-depth interviews with principals, teachers of Modern Languages, teachers of SwEng and pupils at eight schools which have been chosen to show a cross-section of the nine-year compulsory schools of the country. • The statistical material of the National Swedish Agency for Education has been studied to get answers to questions about how and when the pupils choose different Language Choice alternatives.

• A study of the inspection reports made by the National Swedish Agency for Education has been carried out to examine report comments concerning the Language Choice. • We have studied school historical documents from the time when the trial with the comprehensive school started from 1949 till our days, to be able to describe the historical background regarding the history of Optional Subjects – and the role of languages in the nine-year compulsory school. The results show an activity not only lacking a name but also an identity.