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Vocabulary experts recommend first language (L1) translation equivalents for establishing form-meaning mappings for new second language (L2) words, especially for lower proficiency learners. Empirical evidence to date speaks in favor of L1 translation equivalents over L2 meaning definitions, but most studies have investigated bi- rather than multilingual learners. In our study, we investigated instructed English vocabulary learning through an intervention study in six language-diverse secondary school English classrooms in Sweden (N = 74) involving three conditions for presentation of word meanings: (a) definitions in the L2 (English), (b) translation equivalents in the shared school and majority language (Swedish), and (c) translation equivalents in the shared school and majority language plus other prior languages among the learners (Swedish and other). Based on overall weighted mean effect sizes and mixed-effects modeling, the results showed that conditions that involved L1 translation equivalents yielded higher scores than did target language definitions in immediate posttests with a small effect size but no differences in delayed posttests.

Today, we globally observe a sharp increase in learners' engagement in extramural (out-of-class) English (EE; Sundqvist 2009). This undoubtedly affords new opportunities for, but also challenges to, English language teaching (ELT) and learning. To our knowledge, this study is the first to explore this topic from a cross-national perspective. Upper secondary English teachers (N = 534) from Austria, France ('dubbing countries'), Finland, and Sweden ('subtitling countries') answered a web-based survey on their students' EE practices and the estimated impact on teaching and learning. Results showed that overall EE use appears lower in the dubbing countries, especially France (p < 0.001). The teachers' estimated effect of EE on different areas of learning overall was also the weakest in France (p [less than or equal to] 0.01). Further, teachers in subtitling countries agreed more strongly with statements about adapting instruction to what is (not) learned extramurally (p < 0.001). As EE use is growing, individual learner needs within a class, such as emerging gaps in learner motivation and/or language knowledge and skills, will increasingly have to be catered to in ELT.

This study aims to present the validation of a test designed to assess young learners' general L2 English vocabulary knowledge, the Young Learner Vocabulary Assessment Test (YLVAT). YLVAT consists of 37 items selected from the K1-2 frequency levels of the Productive and Vocabulary Levels Tests. In the study, Swedish learners (N = 52, age 12) took YLVAT and filled out an evaluation; scores from the national test of English (reading and listening comprehension) were also collected. Four validity measurements were used: the spread of YLVAT scores, correlation with the national test--reading, correlation with the national test--listening, and evaluation responses. YLVAT results point to a sufficient spread of scores (M = 18.9, SD = 6.5). There were significant correlations between YLVAT and (1) reading (r = 0.597**), (2) listening (r = 0.541**), (3) perceived test difficulty (r[subscript s] = -0.538**), and (4) how fun it was to take the test (r[subscript s] = 0.683**). An ANOVA showed that learners who found YLVAT "easy" or "very easy" scored significantly (p = 0.000) higher (26.1) than those who found it "difficult" (18.3) or "very difficult" (12.9). Finally, teachers found YLVAT to correlate with their own assessment of learners' vocabulary.

The purposes of this study are to examine the relation between playing commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) games in the wild and L2 English vocabulary and to offer comparisons with non-gamers' vocabulary. Data were collected from two samples of teenage L2 English learners in Sweden, Sample A (N = 1,069) and Sample B (N = 16). Questionnaires and English grades were collected from A and B, productive and receptive vocabulary tests from A, and interviews and essays from B. A quantitative-dominant mixed-methods approach was adopted. Results showed a significant positive correlation between time played and test scores. They also showed that time played was related to types of games played. Multiple regression analysis including time played and types of games as predictor variables and L2 vocabulary as the outcome variable showed that the effect from type disappeared when it was entered into the model, whereas time remained significant. A close examination of 45 words (productive test) revealed significantly higher scores for gamers (compared with non-gamers) at all vocabulary frequency levels, and for particularly difficult words. Overall, findings from Sample B regarding gaming habits and vocabulary (i.e., use of advanced or infrequent words in essays) reflected the results from Sample A, making it possible to conclude that playing COTS games matters for L2 learner vocabulary.

Motivational strategies are underresearched, and studies so far conducted have been in sociolinguistic contexts where English is not extensively encountered outside the classroom. Given also that little is known about strategies relating to the design and content of classroom activities, the purpose of this study is to identify and critically evaluate strategies focusing on activity design and content in classroom activities that, in a setting where students have extensive extramural English encounters, teachers have found to be effective in generating motivation. Using Dörnyei's (2001) taxonomy of motivational strategies as an analytical tool, 112 descriptions of motivational activities provided by a randomly drawn sample of secondary EFL teachers in Sweden (N = 252) were content-analyzed with a focus on design and content. Providing support for Dörnyei's proposals, the results reveal the prominence of activities that enable students to work with authentic materials (cultural artefacts produced for a purpose other than teaching) and in ways that can be experienced as authentic. Activities involving digital technologies which provide opportunities for creativity are also prominent. Use of authentic materials places high demands on teachers' pedagogical and linguistic skills. In contexts where students respond positively to such activities, teachers' language awareness skills become of significant importance.

The present paper looks at the issue of standardization in L2 oral testing. Whereas external examiners are frequently used globally, some countries opt for test-takers' own teachers as examiners instead. In the present study, Sweden is used as a case in point, with a focus on the mandatory, high-stakes, summative, ninth-grade national test in English (speaking part). The national test has the typical characteristics of standardized tests and its main objective is to contribute to equity in assessment and grading on a national level. However, using teachers as examiners raises problems for standardization. The aim of this study is to examine teachers'/examiners' practices and views regarding four aspects of the speaking test--test-taker grouping, recording practices, the actual test occasion, and examiner participation in students' test interactions--and to discuss findings in relation to issues concerning the normativity and practical feasibility of standardization, taking the perspectives of test-takers, teachers/examiners, and test constructors into account. In order to answer research questions linked to these four aspects of L2 oral testing, self-report survey data from a random sample of teachers (N = 204) and teacher interviews (N = 11) were collected and quantitative data were analyzed using inferential statistics. Survey findings revealed that despite thorough instructions, teacher practices and views vary greatly across all aspects, which was further confirmed by interview data. Three background variables--teacher certification, work experience, gender--were investigated to see whether they could provide explanations. Whereas certification and gender did not contribute significantly to explaining the findings, work experience bore some relevance, but effect sizes were generally small. The study concludes that using teachers as examiners is a well-functioning procedure in terms of assessment for learning, but raises doubts regarding assessment of learning and standardization; a solution for test authorities could be to frame the test as non-standardized.

Globalisation and migration have brought greater diversity to English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) classrooms. In their daily practice, language teachers gain first-hand experience and develop strategies for managing such diversity. The present study focuses on experienced EFL teachers, positioned as "knowledge generators" (Cummins, 2021, p. 313), aiming to map, document, and understand their language practices in multilingual classrooms from the perspectives of translanguaging pedagogy (García & Wei, 2014, p. 20) and teacher beliefs (Borg, 2006; Uljens, 1997). Drawing on classroom observation and semi-structured interview data from four secondary-school EFL teachers in Sweden, the study addressed three research questions concerning (1) the extent and purposes of the use of different named languages in the classroom, (2) teacher strategies for encouraging student use of English in class, and (3) the beliefs underpinning teachers' observed language practices. Findings revealed that English was the default and desired classroom language for all four teachers. They also used Swedish to provide translation equivalents, translations of task instructions, to explain grammar, and to communicate with students individually. Regarding strategies to encourage students to speak English in class, teachers reported always speaking English in class themselves, carefully selecting engaging teaching materials, and sometimes topicalising student utterances in Swedish by encouraging the class to develop a translation into English jointly. Teachers' beliefs underpinning these practices were (a) student comprehension is paramount, (b) the need to use any resource necessary for securing student comprehension, particularly students' first languages (L1s), and (c) the importance of Swedish-English bilingualism in Swedish society. The article closes by suggesting implications for lower secondary school EFL language practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]