Skönlitteratur i skolämnet svenska som andraspråk

Lärar- och elevperspektiv på urval

Abstract

This article focuses the teachers’ views and beliefs of course literary texts and the selection of these, in the school subject Swedish as a second language in upper-secondary school. The aim is to illustrate and analyse the motivations behind teachers selection of the literary texts they use. In addition, students’ views on these selection criteria are also included in the aim. The main theoretical framework is Kathleen McCromick´s socio-cultural model of reading and literature teaching (1994)  as well as Rita Felski´s concepts of modes of textual engagements (2008).

The empirical materials consist of tape-recorded and semi-structured interviews with eight teachers and 15 students, independent of each other, from three upper secondary schools.

A thematic content analysis is used to find patterns and then themes to be applied in conjunction with the interpretation of the material. The results show that teachers find literature useful as it may provide knowledge of and various perspectives on life and society, even though second language pupils do not take part in the history of literature in their course. Furthermore, literature not only helps develop multilingual students’ knowledge of the Swedish language but also provides them with insights into Swedish culture, in some ways with an assimilating ambition with the aim to include the students in the Swedish culture and way of living. Literature that includes a high recognition aspect is often selected and the teachers mean that this can help the students to gain perspectives on their own lives, which the students most often appreciate. The teachers adjust their selection of literary texts after the expectations they have on the group of students, but they have in some ways a shortcoming perspective om the students’ language and literary repertoire. The students themselves show a positive approach to the schools’ selections and to the arguments the teachers give. However, the students call for more contemporary texts as well as global selections, as the selection of literature was found to be traditional and Western. Overall, the results make visible the needs to further discuss the conditions and terms under which different groups of students can be enriched or limited by the selection of literary texts in teaching Swedish as a second language.

Keywords: Motivation, pedagogy of literature, selection criteria, Swedish as a second language