Pia Sundqvist

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• Professor
• Professor at University of Oslo

An increasingly globalised world has led to great language diversity in institutional settings. Sweden is no exception; 3 of 10 students in compulsory school have a migrant background. Increased diversity may result in challenges, e.g. knowing how to balance the use of the target language with other languages represented among the students to facil...

Oral assessments are of vital importance to second language learners, but how can teachers and examiners best test L2 learner talk and interaction? Bringing together theory and research within the field of L2 oral proficiency, with the concept of L2 encompassing any language learned later than the early childhood years, this book provides a state-o...

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In light of findings from research on informal foreign/second language (L2) learning, with a focus on English as a target language and using the concept of extramural English (EE), this position paper argues that learners’ engagement in EE (through activities such as watching television or films or playing digital games) constitutes an important in...

Research has shown that playing commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) games can have a positive influence on L2 English vocabulary learning. COTS games are commercially available digital games, either for computer or console, which are designed for entertainment (Reinhardt, Gameful second and foreign language teaching and learning: Theory, research, and...

This article comprises two international studies. Study 1 aimed to develop a scale to measure the frequency of learners' voluntary, informal, out‐of‐school engagement with English, so‐called Extramural English (EE) activities. It involved three stages – pilot study, exploratory factor analysis, and confirmatory factor analysis – followed by measuri...

Frequent engagement in English extramural activities (i.e., activities that take place outside the classroom) has been found to have a positive impact on EFL learners' vocabulary knowledge and reading comprehension. In the present study, we aim to extend our knowledge of the possible impact of extramural activities into the realm of second-language...

Swedish students’ oral proficiency in English as a foreign/second language (L2) is tested annually in a part of the English national test entitled Speaking (test construct: oral production and interaction), which students’ own teachers both administer and assess. Despite access to extensive assessment guidelines from the Swedish National Agency for...

English is taught in classrooms across the globe to learners of all ages, from very young learners in primary school to older learners who have reached retirement and occupy their time in the so-called third age by studying English [...]

Vocabulary experts recommend first language (L1) translation equivalents for establishing form–meaning mappings for new second language (L2) words, especially for lower proficiency learners. Empirical evidence to date speaks in favor of L1 translation equivalents over L2 meaning definitions, but most studies have investigated bi‐ rather than multil...

Classroom language ecologies are increasingly diverse as a result of mobility, migration and information technology. In these spaces, interlocutors may draw upon shared linguistic and cultural resources, but also bring in others. Prime examples are additional-language (AL) classrooms, where there is a shared target language, but where students may...

This paper focuses on language practices in multilingual English as a foreign language (EFL) classrooms in lower-secondary education. Based in the Ethnography of Language Policy, it presents a case study of a lead teacher of EFL and a year-8 class in a large urban multilingual school in Sweden. The study aims to map and understand language practice...

Today, we globally observe a sharp increase in learners’ engagement in extramural (out-of-class) English (EE; Sundqvist 2009). This undoubtedly affords new opportunities for, but also challenges to, English language teaching (ELT) and learning. To our knowledge, this study is the first to explore this topic from a cross-national perspective. Upper...

This study involves young learners of English as a foreign/second language (L2) in Sweden. The aim is to see whether there is a relation between their online gaming habits on the one hand and L2 English vocabulary knowledge and listening comprehension on the other, and to investigate known words more closely in relation to their gaming preferences....

Pedagogical translanguaging and L2 English vocabulary learning during an intervention Pedagogical translanguaging research often shows positive effects on student engagement and learning (e.g., García & Kleyn, 2016; Paulsrud, Rosén, Straszer & Wedin, 2018; Paulsrud, Tian & Toth, 2021). Given that each classroom is a unique sociocultural context (By...

Den svenska föreningen för tillämpad språkvetenskap, Association suédoise de linguistique appliquée (ASLA), arbetar för att uppmärksamma och sprida forskning om praktiska problem med anknytning till språk. Under hösten 2020 beslutade ASLA:s styrelse att erbjuda en ny(gammal) publiceringskanal för vetenskapligt granskade studier inom tillämpad språk...

A preprint of a book chapter in Swedish due to be published in May, 2022.

This paper focuses on language practices in multilingual English as a foreign language (EFL) classrooms in lower-secondary education.

This paper focuses on language practices in multilingual English as a foreign language (EFL) classrooms in lower-secondary education.

Assessment of foreign/second language (L2) oral proficiency is known to be complex and influenced by the local context. In Sweden, extensive assessment guidelines for the National English Speaking Test (NEST) are offered to teachers, who act as raters of their own students’ performances on this high-stakes L2 English oral proficiency (OP) test. Des...

It is common that foreign/second language (L2) learners on their own initiative engage in and learn from English-mediated activities outside of school, so-called extramural English activities (Sundqvist, 2009). This type of informal learning through extramural English has become a concern for English language education because there is a gap betwee...

The main objective of this study was to examine whether a Rater Identity Development (RID) program would increase interrater reliability and improve calibration of scores against benchmarks in the assessment of second/foreign language English oral proficiency. Eleven primary school teachers-as-raters participated. A pretest–intervention/RID–posttes...

Jentene bruker engelsk til å snakke om fag, guttene bruker engelsk til alt mulig. Når elever på yrkesfag snakker engelsk i engelsktimene, snakker guttene inntil tre ganger så mye som jentene. Mens guttene snakker engelsk både om faglige og ikke-faglige temaer, snakker jentene engelsk kun når de snakker om faglige temaer. Det er ikke et mål at gutte...

ASLA-föreningen arrangerar regelbundet symposier vid olika svenska lärosäten där såväl svenska som utländska deltagare möts. För närvarande hålls symposiet vartannat år och den 12–13 april 2018 välkomnade Karlstads universitet deltagare från inte mindre än 15 länder. Temat för ASLAsymposiet 2018 var ”Klassrumsforskning och språk(ande)”, på engelska...

The purposes of this study are to examine the relation between playing commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) games in the wild and L2 English vocabulary and to offer comparisons with non-gamers' vocabulary. Data were collected from two samples of teenage L2 English learners in Sweden, Sample A (N = 1,069) and Sample B (N = 16). Questionnaires and English...

Motivational Practice provides a rich account of how teachers who are successful in motivating their students negotiate classroom relationships, and create engaging learning opportunities. It sheds light on how motivation emerges through teacher–student relationships, and in classroom activities. Drawing on examples of motivational practice from...

Under ASLA-symposiet hölls för första gången ett panelsamtal om forskningsbehov i språkämnena där lärare, språkforskare och gymnasieelever deltog. I detta kapitel situerar vi idén med panelsamtalet i studier av lärares roll i och för den praktiknära skolforskningen. Vi redogör för några modeller för samverkan mellan lärare och forskare och diskuter...

Despite a long-standing interest in repair practices, much is yet to be learned about participants’ selections of components of the repair operation, and their systematic variation across contexts and languages (Hayashi et al., 2013b; Kitzinger, 2013). The present paper targets the initiation of self-repair through examination of a particular discu...

Motivational strategies are underresearched, and studies so far conducted have been in sociolinguistic contexts where English is not extensively encountered outside the classroom. Given also that little is known about strategies relating to the design and content of classroom activities, the purpose of this study is to identify and critically evalu...

The present paper looks at the issue of standardization in L2 oral testing. Whereas external examiners are frequently used globally, some countries opt for test-takers’ own teachers as examiners instead. In the present study, Sweden is used as a case in point, with a focus on the mandatory, high-stakes, summative, ninth-grade national test in Engli...

There are several ways to learn an L2 and different opportunities and conditions for doing so. Learners differ with regard to, for example, aptitude for language learning, willingness to communicate, self-confidence, level of anxiety, and cognitive ability. They also differ with regard to the age at which they start learning the L2, where they live...

How are languages best learned? In this chapter, a historic overview of approaches to second language teaching and learning are presented. The overview is accompanied by an account of different teaching traditions that have prevailed in diverse parts of the world, as exemplified in official documents stating the role of English. The chapter also gi...

This chapter looks into Global English and extends the discussion of the role of extramural English in L2 English learning. Among other things, we discuss ‘The Kachruvian approach’ in relation to the fact that many young people today have access to English more or less on a daily basis. Other topics addressed are norms and language use in English l...

For assessment to be equitable, it is central that teachers/raters perceive and apply grade criteria similarly. However, in assessing L2 oral proficiency in paired tests, raters must grade test-takers individually on a joint interaction performance. With a conversation analytic approach, we examine closely one recording from a 9th-grade national te...

In this paper, we address language teachers’ continuing professional development (CPD) and engagement with research by demonstrating how research on English as a foreign language (EFL) speaking tests can be applied in professional training workshops on oral test interaction and assessment. Data were drawn from an ongoing research project targeting...

In this review article, empirical studies published from 2004 through 2014 on second-language (L2) oral proficiency testing are analyzed, with a specific focus on discourse and social interaction in such tests. Taking three common test setups, oral proficiency interviews (OPIs), paired peer tests, and group peer tests as an organizing principle for...

In this chapter, we open the window for L2 development. There is a focus on ways to teach in order to enhance students’ motivation for L2 English learning. Among other things, we make suggestions as to how teachers can draw on learners’ extramural English in teaching, and we will revisit the EE House as a possible means for doing so. The chapter al...

In this final chapter, we point to the benefits of actually putting this book into good use. Its contents should serve the purpose of empowering L2 English teachers around the world. There is a great need for motivated, empowered L2 English teachers; such teachers are likely to plan for successful classroom work that also reaches beyond the walls o...

There is plenty of anecdotal evidence of the effectiveness of language learning from activities done for another purpose. If asked, any parent or teacher can provide evidence of the surprising amount of words a child knows in an L2 just because he or she engages in reading, gaming, or film-watching in that language. However, while anecdotal evidenc...

Whereas the focus in Part I of the book was on research and theoretical aspects of L2 learning, in this chapter we turn to the more practical part of this volume. Here, we present how findings from research and theory can be used to inform teaching practice, because it is important that classroom work stands on solid ground. We go into practical, h...

In this introductory chapter, the concept of extramural English (EE) is introduced, and so is our model of L2 English learning. The concept was first proposed in 2009 (Sundqvist, 2009) and relates to English learned outside of school. Extramural English is clearly defined and thoroughly elaborated on, and we suggest it be used as an umbrella term f...

This book is unique in bringing together theory, research, and practice about English encountered outside the classroom – extramural English – and how it affects teaching and learning. The book investigates ways in which learners successfully develop their language skills through extramural English and provides tools for teachers to make use of fre...

This is an interview study of Eldin, a 14-year-old Bosnian boy living in Sweden since the age of six. The aim is to investigate how Eldin became a gamer and how he, strongly motivated, learned foreign/second (L2) English mainly through self-access gameplay. Using language learning motivation theories, Dörnyei’s (2005, 2009) L2 Motivational Self Sys...

The aim of the present study is to examine the relation between out-of-school digital gameplay and in-school L2 English vocabulary measures and grading outcomes. Data were originally collected from a sample of 80 teenage Swedish L2 English learners and comprise a questionnaire, language diaries, vocabulary tests, assessed essays, and grades. Using...

0.1] Abstract—We discuss the spread of fans and fandoms within Sweden. With a specific focus on fan fiction and video games, we describe Swedish fan activities in relation to the fact that Sweden is a connected country—that is, a highly technologically developed society. We also describe fan activities in relation to the fact that the level of Engl...

The present article explores challenges facing English language classrooms in Sweden and elsewhere due to new informal out-of-school language learning settings created by the current media landscape. The article also discusses the empowerment of teachers and teachers’ perceived ability to bridge the gap between the English used in school and the En...

In interactions where participants share at least two languages, code-switching (CS) is, in many contexts, a mundane and natural activity. Contrary to the common misconception that CS is an outcome of low proficiency in one or the other language, the alternation between languages has been shown to require good command of both (Poplack, 1980). Over...

This paper presents findings from a study investigating young English language learners (YELLs) in Sweden in 4th grade (N576, aged 10–11). Data were collected with the help of a questionnaire and a one-week language diary. The main purpose was to examine the learners’ L2 English language-related activities outside of school in general, and their us...

The main aim of the present paper is to introduce a model for digital game categorization suitable for use in English language learning studies: the Scale of Social Interaction (SSI) Model (original idea published as Sundqvist, 2013). The SSI Model proposes a classification of commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) digital games into three categories: sin...

Presumably most students strive to do well in school and on national tests. However, even in standardized tests, students’ and examiners’ expectations on what it means to ‘do well’ may diverge in ways that are consequential to performance and assessment. In this paper, we examine how students and teachers in an L2 English peer–peer speaking nationa...

The present article explores challenges facing EFL classrooms in Sweden due to new informal out-of-school language learning settings created by the current media landscape. A recent Swedish national evaluation identifies that a problematic situation in secondary school EFL classrooms has emerged. EFL teachers find it difficult to bridge the gap (cf...

Den här artikeln rapporterar resultat från en pilotstudie inom ramen för projektet Testing Talk (http://www.kau.se/testing-talk). Ett av projektets övergripande syften är att belysa komplexiteten i att bedöma muntlig engelska, ett annat att undersöka hur lärare går till väga när de förbereder och genomför muntliga prov. Fokus ligger specifikt på de...

Why are some words harder to learn than others? In a long-term CASLR (computer-assisted second language research) study, a vocabulary flashcard program that employs spaced repetition for explicit vocabulary training was used in order to arrive at data on the difficulty of individual words. The vocabulary content of a beginner's Welsh course was per...

Today, playing digital games is an important part of many young people's everyday lives. Claims have been made that certain games, in particular massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) provide L2 English learners with a linguistically rich and cognitively challenging virtual environment that may be conducive to L2 learning, as lea...

This article argues that playing World of Warcraft (WoW) and Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) have a number of similar features. We base our argument on findings from three studies. The first (Sylvén 2004/2010) is about CLIL and non-CLIL students at upper secondary level and aims to investigate what effect, if any, CLIL has on the in...

Learning languages is a social activity — and so is playing computer games. Many parents would probably object to the latter part of the statement, having experiences of their teenager not joining the rest of the family for dinner due to a quest, a dungeon, or a raid in World of Warcraft. But while being kept from family by a computer game may seem...

In many countries around the globe, English is the first foreign language children learn in school. In Sweden, the teaching of English generally starts in third grade, that is, when the pupils are around 9 years old. By then, they usually already know some English as many of them have encountered the language in their spare time, for example throug...