English Medium Education : Experiences from a school in the greater Stockholm area

• Main Author: Normark, Pål
• Format: Others
• Language: English
• Published: Södertörns högskola, Institutionen för kultur och lärande 2013
• Subjects: School equality; English medium; Content and Language Integrated Learning; second language learning; learning dimensions; intercultural education; school climate
• Online Access: http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:sh:diva-19470

The purpose of this phenomenological study is to explore experiences of English medium schools in Sweden through the narratives of participants (students and parents), and the educational philosophy of one independent school organisation. The theoretical perspective of Knud Illeris’ learning dimensions has been applied as an analytical tool to investigate the content, incentive and social/societal dimensions. As previous research on English medium education in Sweden have mainly investigated the content and incentive dimensions of learning, this study has a stronger focus on the social and societal dimension. A phenomenological approach extracted the experiences from participants in English medium schooling as written or oral narratives. The perspective of an English medium school organisation was explored through their educational philosophy as described in their Ethos. One of the main results of this study is that the positive influence of English is mentioned in all learning dimensions. English is not only described as an important learning content and incentive to learn, but also as an essential part of the school culture and an access to a global society. Another result is the importance of the unique school atmosphere that has been created through consistent rules of conduct and high expectations of academic achievement. The cultural diversity in the school and how this is described as a motivational factor and an opportunity to share and learn other perspectives is the final main result of the study.