A possible path to progress: Out-of-school english language learners in Sweden

Abstract

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 through music, television, the internet, or other forms of media. In fact, there is a widespread belief that young people, teenagers in particular, learn much or even most of their English outside of school rather than in the language classroom. It is reasonable to assume that similar beliefs about teenagers’ out-of-school learning of English exist also in other countries where English dominates the media landscape. Due to the lack of research in the field, however, there is a need for evidence-based studies that examine the correctness of such assumptions (Higgins 2009; Sylvén 2004: 234).