Extramural English, Motivation and Identity : A study of Swedish young English language learners’ participation in English class

This phenomenographic study examines how imagining a future self as an English speaker and extramural English habits interact and affect the desire to learn English and engagement in the English classroom. The study was carried out in northern Sweden, and used a purposive sample of 23 pupils in the fifth and sixth grade of Swedish compulsory school. Mixed-methods data collection was used which included a questionnaire, an interview, and two linguistic portraits. Findings from this study indicate that in a Swedish compulsory school context young pupils are capable of imagining possible future English selves, and that these imagined future selves are dependent on the pupils’ dreams and aspirations or a view of English as a useful global language. Additionally, while these imagined future English selves are a reason for the pupils to learn English and indirectly affect their desire to learn English, they fail to explain the pupils’ engagement in English class with but a few exceptions.