Perfil laboral y formativo del profesorado de español como lengua extranjera o segunda (ELE/EL2) en Suecia

Abstract

The first European Survey on Language Competences showed very low levels of proficiency in L2 Spanish among Swedish students in contrast to their high proficiency in English. The TAL (Teaching, Assessment, Learning) research project (2015-2018) emerged to investigate the reasons for this finding. This article studies the experiences and opinions of L2 Spanish teachers in Swedish schools from the perspective of their work and training. After surveying 114 Spanish language teachers, a shortage of qualified professionals was confirmed and we found an indifferent attitude towards language learning on the part of students and the surrounding society, compared to English. We also identified ways to improve the working conditions of Spanish language professionals in Sweden by reducing the number of students per class, eliminating job insecurity and the need to hold multiple jobs, and creating a specific training offer on the teaching of Spanish. The results are compared with those obtained globally on Spanish language professionals by Muñoz-Basols, Rodríguez-Lifante and Cruz-Moya (2017).