Att lära sig svenska i Spanien : En kvalitativ studie om lärarnas resonemang kring elevers utveckling av det svenska språket vid en svensk utlandsskola

The aim of this paper is to investigate how teachers in Swedish schools abroad reason about their work developing the Swedish language as the students live in a non-Swedish speaking country although going to a Swedish school. Furthermore the study intends to examine the teachers' attitudes towards the impact the Swedish language has upon the school. Research questions: What thoughts do the teachers signify in reference to the language development of the students? How do the teachers reason about the role of the Swedish language in the school? In order to answer these questions, qualitative measures has been used in terms of observations and interviews. The study is based upon a social constructivist perspective with the idea that reality is socially constructed. I am inspired by Vygotskijs theories regarding children's language development which presents a socio-cultural perspective. The result shows that the Swedish language has a great influence in school and that the teachers' attitudes towards the Swedish language is of major importance in order to encourage the students' language development. Teachers and the principal highlight the emphasis of working with the Swedish language since the students live in a non-Swedish speaking country and therefore mainly come in contact with it in the school or at home. The teachers' work actively to develop the students language skills through reading Swedish literature, producing own texts and consistently speaking Swedish