Although research on content and language integrated learning (CLIL) has shown that CLIL instruction may enhance students' second or foreign language learning compared to regular foreign language instruction, there are also studies that have indicated similar language development between CLIL and non-CLIL students. However, CLIL can be organized…

Today, the Common European Framework of Reference (2009), and with it the action-based approach, underlies English Language Teaching (ELT) curricula throughout Europe. However, actual teaching practices are likely to vary according to factors such as the educational level and supra-national differences, including legal guidelines and the level of…

Standard language cultures are characterised by beliefs in idealised standard forms of the language in question. In this paper, these beliefs are connected to the concepts of referee design and speech community, through analysis of how Swedish adolescents reflect upon and self-assess their language proficiencies. The data consist of interviews…

Language aptitude remains one of the most understudied predictor variables in L1 attrition research. The current study seeks to address this gap by investigating the effects of language aptitude on L1 retention in late attriters. Forty L1 Spanish-L2 Swedish bilinguals living in Sweden participated in the study, along with 20 functionally…

This study investigates Swedish learners' lexical richness in French and Italian L2. A frequency-based measure was used to compare the lexical richness of learners at different proficiency levels to that of native speakers. Frequency bands based on oral L1 data were created for both languages to serve as a benchmark. For French, the results show…

Describes a bilingual education program for Finnish children in Sweden. Analyzes some of the factors influencing the school and language achievement of the Finnish pupils and compares their achievement level with other relevant student groups. (EKN)

This report describes the results of adult education students and upper secondary school students on two recently introduced standardized English tests in Sweden. Comparisons of the results are made between these two categories of students because they are entitled to compete, on an equal basis, for admission into restricted intake programs of…

Gender differences in English proficiency as a function of testing method were examined by comparing the scores of a representative sample of Swedish secondary school students who took the national English test. It found that boys performed better than girls on the multiple-choice part, whereas girls did better on the free-response part that…

A replication of a previous study assessed the construct validity of a national test for academically oriented Swedish upper secondary students. The analysis consisted of a comparison of test results of 10 percent of the Swedish test population to results obtained from a sample of native English speakers of the same age. Analyses of the Swedish…

This report presents results of research conducted in conjunction with a Swedish project focused on the bilingual instruction of immigrant children. The main aim of the project was to construct a model for teaching children with a mother-tongue other than Swedish (in this case, Finnish) in a way that would provide them the same educational and…