English proficiency is a core skill for Swedish students today, as is visible in the curriculum for compulsory school where it is stated that school has a responsibility for ensuring that each student can “communicate in English, both in the spoken and written language” (Skolverket,2022, p. 13, our translation). To reach English language proficiency a substantial knowledge of vocabulary, both in terms of size and depth (Nation, 2022), is necessary. Vocabulary is, however, not prominent in the syllabus for English in Swedish compulsory school and studies have indicated that Swedish EFL teachers do not prioritize vocabulary instruction (Bergström et al., 2022). It has also been found that vocabulary learning is facilitated by systematicity and structure (Schmitt, 2019). The teaching material used in the classroom can be of support in reaching this structure in vocabulary learning, if it provides well-planned input. We have carried out a number of analyses of the vocabulary learning opportunities provided in Swedish EFL teaching materials for compulsory school. Taken together, the results indicate that thereis a lack of systematic approach to vocabulary in textbooks throughout compulsory school. Combined with the vague writings in the curriculum, this questions the support given to students in this respect. In this paper, we report on the compiled research findings and discuss the implications for equal opportunities in Swedish schools. We also present future directions for lexical analyses of teaching materials, informed by advances in linguistic research.  

References:

Bergström, D., Norberg, C., & Nordlund, M. (2022). “Words are picked up along the way” –Swedish EFL teachers’ conceptualizations of vocabulary knowledge and learning. Language Awareness, 31(4), 393–409. https://doi.org/10.1080/09658416.2021.1893326

Nation, I. S. P. (2022). Learning vocabulary in another language (3rd ed.). Cambridge University Press.

Schmitt, N. (2019). Understanding vocabulary acquisition, instruction, and assessment: Aresearch agenda. Language Teaching, 52(2), 261–274. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0261444819000053

Skolverket. (2022). Läroplan för grundskolan, förskoleklassen och fritidshemmet 2022 [Curriculum for the compulsory school, preschool class and the recreation centre 2022].Skolverket.