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This chapter traces the chronology of youth language in London from the arrival of the first post-Second World War migrants from Jamaica in 1948 to the early 2000s, by which time what is now known as Multicultural London English (MLE) had become a well-established, recognised variety. Referring to earlier work by Beaken, Hurford, Sebba, and Hewitt, we argue that MLE was preceded by two previous youth languages: London Jamaican and a ‘multiracial vernacular’. Both of these were contingent on users (ethnicity) and on context (expressing solidarity), and neither was a ‘vernacular’ in Labov’s sense. MLE emerged, we argue, in the early 1980s, when London’s inner city had become highly multilingual. Children were acquiring English in communities where the older London variety no longer dominated. The resulting variety, MLE, became for many speakers their vernacular. We also argue that the early Jamaicans formed a ‘founding’ population for youth culture and that this status is reflected in the present day through MLE’s slang. Other linguistic features of MLE, however, only resemble Caribbean Creole to the extent that they are also shared by other input varieties to the mix.

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Den nye læreplanen, LK20, for elever i norsk grunnskole, introduserer et større fokus på muntlige ferdigheter i engelsk, med spesiell vekt på å kunne kommunisere med språket. Tidligere forskning viser at elevene snakker for lite engelsk i klasserommet, og at lærerens tilnærming kan være med på å påvirke dette. Denne studien undersøker lærerstudenters tanker og holdninger til utvikling av elevenes muntlige ferdigheter i det norske engelsk-klasserommet. Hensikten er å få innsikt i lærerstudenters oppfatning om hvordan de som fremtidige lærere kan bidra til elevenes utvikling av muntlige ferdigheter i engelsk. I tillegg diskuteres deres valg av metoder i undervisning for læring av muntlige ferdigheter, både lærebøker og annet læringsmateriale. For å svare på forskningsspørsmålet ble syv lærerstudenter med fordypning i engelsk intervjuet. I tillegg ble en kvalitativ spørreundersøkelse sendt ut til resterende lærerstudenter i engelsk på samme universitet. Til sammen bestod datamaterialet av informasjon fra 23 ulike lærerstudenter. For å analysere datamaterialet ble en tematisk analyseprosess benyttet. Funnene viste at alle deltakerne oppmuntret til et større fokus på muntlige ferdigheter i engelsk-klasserommet og påpekte hvor viktig muntlige ferdigheter i engelsk er. I tillegg så de fleste lærerstudentene ut til å foretrekke autentiske og selvlagde oppgaver og aktiviteter. De fleste lærerstudentene mente dramaaktiviteter og lek er de mest effektive muntlige aktiviteter for læring, men andre deltakere foretrakk standard undervisningsformer med muntlig elev presentasjon på slutten av et tema. Deltakerne i både intervju og spørreundersøkelse uttrykte bekymring for mangel på tid og ressurser, og fryktet at de må bruke læreboken mer enn de ønsker som nyutdannede lærere. Tanker og holdninger er individuelle, og det er derfor viktig for både lærerstudenter og lærere å være bevisst på dette når de underviser. Lærere har en viktig rolle for elevens muntlige språkutvikling og deres tilrettelegging for elevens læring kan påvirke muntlig språkutvikling i både positiv og negativ retning. The new curriculum in English for Norwegian primary and secondary education introduces a focus on oral skills and specifically the ability to communicate in English. In addition, previous research shows that students rarely practice oral skills in the EFL classroom. Further, several lines of evidence show that the teachers’ approach to oral skills in the classroom can impact the students’ development. The aim of this study was to investigate pre-service teachers’, from the new five-year education program, beliefs towards the development of students’ oral skills in the Norwegian EFL classroom. The purpose is to gain insight into the pre-service teachers’ views and their expectations as future teachers and their thoughts on how to develop students’ oral skills in English. A qualitative method was adopted to gather data which was comprised by seven qualitative semi-structured interviews and a qualitative survey with sixteen respondents. A thematic analysis of the data material was conducted. The findings showed that all participants encouraged increased focus on oral skills in the EFL classroom and pointed out how important oral skills in English are. In addition, most pre-service teachers preferred authentic and self-made tasks and activities. While most pre-service teachers found drama activities and games being the most effective oral activities, others preferred the more standard oral student presentation at the end of a topic. The participants in the interviews and the survey expressed concern regarding the lack of time and resources and were worried they must use the textbook more than desired as new teachers. All beliefs are individual, and it is therefore important for both pre-service and in-service teachers to be aware of their own beliefs when teaching. Teachers are important in students’ learning of a new language; their beliefs can substantially impact students’ development in oral skills in both positive and negative regards.