Innan och efter distans och fjärrundervisning i engelska : En kvalitativ studie om hur distans och fjärrundervisning inom engelska skiljer sig från vanlig undervisning i klassrummet utifrån de tre språkaspekterna interaktion, läsförståelse och skrift

When a pandemic affects all citizen in the world, the society and government of every single country reacts with different measures. The Swedish government did not follow the most common path, to put elementary schools in lockdown during March, year 2020. During the spring of year 2020, the author of this study did an internship at an elementary school, in Sweden. At this elementary school the author did this study to develop a small insight about how the teaching of English would be different, if the elementary pupils are supposed to learn a language by distance or remote teaching. The elementary school did not close during the spring of 2020. Therefore, all the experiences gathered for this study are based on a few teachers and pupils’ speculations, feelings and ideas gained during the period of this crisis. The author for this study did also learn about what physical and digital resources that is used and would be used by the teachers to educate English in the classroom and by distance and remote teaching. This is to gather concrete facts about what conditions this school give their teachers and pupils to actually manage a distance and remote teaching situation. The questions of issue in this paper is the following: What different physical and digital resources are four language teachers using to teach English in the classroom and would use in distance and remote teaching? How do four language teachers’ reason that it would be different from teaching English in the classroom and at distance and remote teaching, focused on the three linguistic aspects of interaction, reading comprehension and writing? What are the views of 11 pupils from grade four about their ability to work with physical and digital resources, based on the three linguistic aspects of interaction, listening comprehension and writing, within the school subject of English from home? This survey includes four English teachers that teach third, fourth, fifth and sixth grade, at the same elementary school. This survey also includes 11 pupils from the fourth grade. The qualitative method used in this study is interviews. The gathered material has been analysed by using theories about frame factors, affordance, extramural English and the sociocultural perspective. The results of this study give an insight on several matters about the phenomenon. At this school the third-grade teacher believe that it would not be possible to convert its usual analogue teaching methods of English, into distance and remote teaching. With pupils that are not used to learn English using only iPads and other digital resources, the third-grade teacher would be required to use different methods for teaching at a distance. The third-grade teacher would need to rely on pupils improving their English abilities of interaction, reading comprehension and writing in English with activities, outside the normal classroom situation. The fourth, fifth and sixth grade teachers in English at this school are positive though, about distance and remote teaching. The middle school teachers are confident that the pupils have all the psychical and digital resources they need to manage distance and remote teaching of English. The results also show that both the teachers and the pupils feel worried about the lack of scaffolding. They are worried about the possibility that the lack of support, direct communication and feedback will make it difficult for the less independent pupils. That the less independent pupils would not be able to improve their skills at interacting, comprehend texts and write in English at home, without the proper support from their social surroundings.