High performing students’ attitude towards motivation in English classes Göran Thornberg

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High performing students’ attitude towards motivation in

English classes

Göran Thornberg

Dept. of Language Education EN03H8

Degree project 15 hp, first cycle Language Education

Autumn 2012

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High performing students’ attitude

towards motivation in English

classes

Göran Thornberg

Abstract

This study aims towards high performing students’ perspective on motivation and how they

consistently obtain high grades in English classes. Different characteristics from Skolverket’s study that were common for high performing students along with Reeve’s self-determination theory was used as background research. Qualitative interviews were used to analyse the high performing

students’ perception of how they are challenged in English classes and how they motivate themselves. The results show that high performance in English classes is not so much an innate ability, which some are born with, but rather a question of motivation and character.

Keywords

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1. Introduction

The Swedish Schools Inspectorate (2011) found that Swedish students are well versed in the English language and that English could soon be viewed as a second language for Swedes. The Swedish schools inspectorate hypothesizes that it could be a result of the constant presence of English in the students’ everyday lives from an early age. Among the overall high quality of English knowledge that Swedish students possess, there are students who obtain high grades consistently. The study presented in this paper revolves around these students and aspires to determine where their motivation comes from. Therefore, the study is related to motivational psychology.

This study uses concepts from Reeve (2005) called extrinsic and intrinsic motivation. Extrinsic motivation is motivation which stems from external factors such as rewards, parents influencing the student to obtain high grades, or that a student wants high grades in order to attend a prestigious school in the future. Intrinsic motivation, on the other hand stems from within the person and does not rely on external factors such as extrinsic motivation. Pure intrinsic motivation, according to Reeve (2005), is when a person acts spontaneously and freely out of enjoyment for a task. Intrinsic motivation is, according to Reeve (2005), a healthier kind of motivation than extrinsic motivation because it is determined by the person and not by external factors. The two types of motivations are part of the Self-determination theory which is often used to define the motivation of athletes. Reeve has tried to determine where the top athlete’s motivation comes from to have the stamina to train supplementary exercises which are not explicitly related to the sport. For instance, a golf player who works out in the gym in order to improve their golf swings. Reeve has tried to interpret the athlete’s rationale behind the motivation to perform on the elite level. He also studied the rationale behind people who recycle cans and tried to answer if they perceive the motivation to stem from an enjoyment within themselves or if they are motivated by external factors such the feeling that it is a must, or if to recycle is part of their values.

1.1. Aim and research questions

The aim for this research is to obtain high achieving students’ perspective on what motivates them to reach good grades in English class, using motivational and emotional psychology concepts to decipher the individual interviews.

 What are high performing students’ perceptions of how they are challenged in English classes?

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2. Background

The Swedish schools inspectorate’s (2011) study of the quality of English teaching in Swedish schools showed that:

1) the environments are safe and make the students feel comfortable but not challenging enough; 2) too much Swedish is spoken during English lessons;

3) there are big differences between the 22 schools in the study regarding the quality of teaching; 4) the teaching is poorly adapted to suit the students’ different needs;

5) the students are not given enough opportunities to influence the English lesson; 6) extramural English is not being incorporated adequately into the classes; 7) computers are hardly being used as a teaching aid. (Author’s translation)

This research is focused on students’ perspective. There are always high performers who deserve the proper approach and to have their individual needs catered to. The teaching is supposed to be

conducted in a way that it provides an equal education for all students (Lpo 94, p. 4). An awareness of high performers’ learning and how they can improve their education can be beneficial for high

performers as well as the teacher because they can improve their education.

According to Skolverket (2012), an international study was conducted which showed that the results for high performers in Swedish classes have declined. The study revealed different characteristics of high performers which were termed as non-cognitive competences. The characteristics were for instance motivation, confidence and perseverance. The high performers showed a positive attitude towards studying and their own abilities to achieve good grades. Moreover, the high performers in the international studies showed that the high performers were often found to have parents with an

academic background and, thus, get support and encouragement from their parents which contribute to the high performers’ attitude towards school.

2.1. Theoretical background

2.1.1. High performer

The definition of high performer in this study is taken from Skolverket’s (2012) study which states that:

flera av kännetecknen för de högpresterande eleverna […], sammanfaller med vad som enligt forskning karakteriserar begåvade elever/elever som når höga nivåer i sitt lärande. De utgörs till stor del av s.k. icke-kognitiva kompetenser, exempelvis motivation, tro på egen förmåga och uthållighet. I grova drag handlar de om att eleverna intar ett aktivt och positivt förhållningssätt till studierna och till sin egen förmåga.” (p. 9).1

1_{Author’s translation: Several of the characteristics for the high performing students coincide with what,} according to studies, characterize gifted students/students who obtain high levels in their learning. They comprise of so called non-cognitive competences to a large extent, such as, motivation, confidence in

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Lindqvist (2007) used Bloom’s (1985) definition “gifted children” in her research. Wahlström (1995) used the definition “begåvade barn” which corresponds to Bloom’s definition. Eriksson (2005) examined students with high scores in Intelligence Quotient tests. They were all members of Mensa which is a society for people who have an exceptionally high IQ. Members of Mensa have attained a score on a standardized IQ tests within the upper 2 percent of the general population. However, this is not a study of students who are noticeably more intelligent than their peers. This study is conducted with students who consistently get high grades on their assignments, essays and others tasks in English class.

According to Skolverket (2012), the high performers are characterized by certain traits; they are more motivated to learn and to be taught, compared to other students, the high performers have an ability to see how the content taught by teachers can be tangibly used in the future and also have a more positive outlook on the subject and thus show a greater interested in the subject than other students. High performers also have a more positive attitude towards school in general, but a lower sense of belongingness in school.

Skolverket (2012) also found that high performers have better confidence when it comes to their abilities to do well in a subject compared to students who are performing to a lesser extent. High performers use learning strategies to a greater extent as well as relate the new content to their previous knowledge.

Moreover, Skolverket (2012) found that high performers put a greater effort and perseverance in their work in school; they did not give up even if the content or the task was difficult. High performers also had a better relationship to their teacher and perceived that they had sufficient support from the teacher. High performers could see to a greater extent than other students that the teacher was using certain teaching strategies and that they understood what was expected of them and how their work would be assessed.

An odd discovery according to Skolverket (2012) was that high performers did not spend as much time on homework as the students who were not performing too well. A plausible explanation, according to Skolverket (2012), could be that homework often consisted of work that students had not finished during the lesson and therefore did at home to catch up.

According to Skolverket (2012), there is also a difference between high performers and other students in their domestic situation. Parents of high performing students have an academic background. They take their children to cultural events such as theatre and have more cultural possessions such as art at home. Parents of high performing students have, according to Skolverket’s (2012) study, also involved their children in activities which enrich their language development before they start school. The parents read, for instance, bedtime stories to their children. The high performing students also show higher language proficiency when they start school, thus, they better recognize words, can write some letters and read certain sentences. Skolverket (2012) also found that parents of high performing students are more supportive of their children’s work in school compared to other students’ parents. Parents of high performing students are also more prone to accompany their child to a bookstore and encourage reading.

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reading than other students. So, high performing students spend less of their time watching Television and using the Internet.

2.1.2. Extrinsic and intrinsic motivation

The research revolves around high performing students’ attitude towards motivation in English class and, therefore, a theory about two different types of motivation will be used to analyse their

motivation. There are other theories about motivation but this study focuses on one theory. The Self Determination theory according to Reeve (2005) maintains that motivation is determined by the person or by other factors. There are three different types of motivation: amotivation, extrinsic motivation and intrinsic motivation. They can be organized along a continuum of perceived locus of causality or the level of self-determination. Perceived locus of causality refers to perception of how much of the outcome was determined by the person itself or from external factors.

Self-determination theory

Amotivation Extrinsic motiovation Intrinsic motivation

External regulation Introjected regulation Identified regulation Integrated regulation

Figure 1. The continuum from amotivation to intrinsic motivation in the Self-determination theory. (Reeve 2005, p. 132)

According to Reeve (2005), amotivation is on the far left of this continuum, which means that intrinsic and extrinsic motivations are absent. Another explanation of amotivation, according to Reeve (2005), is that there is no motivation at all. An example of this would be a student who does not participate in the English class due to lack of motivation.

Extrinsic motivation is in the middle of this continuum. Reeve (2005) states that it can be grouped into four different categories of regulation depending on how much self-determination is involved, i.e. less self-determination means that it can be placed further to the left.

The first type of regulation, according to Reeve (2005), is external regulation which has no self-determination. The behavior is not driven from within the person but from a pursuit of a reward or to please another person. An example would be a person who gets good grades because it is the goal in itself.

Reeve (2005) calls the second type introjected regulation, which is somewhat self-determined. This type of motivation is driven from suppressing the emotion of guilt. An introjectedly motivated person acts upon the external environment in order to get rewards in the shape of emotions such as feeling proud of his or her actions. If the person does not act accordingly, he/she feels guilt. An example of this type of motivation would be students who perform well because they feel it is the right thing to do. Their friends might perform well and they want to please them in order to feel proud of

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The third type, namely identified regulation is mostly self-determined. A person accepts a behavior and identifies with it, for example, if a student thinks that extra lessons in English are good for their future career as an interpreter.

The fourth type is the most self-determined form of extrinsic motivation, and Reeve (2005) calls it integrated regulation. It means that a person’s own values and behavior are closely interrelated. It is a self-developmental process as it is motivating for the person. For instance, students who get good grades because they identify themselves as high performing students. Thoughts, personal views, values and emotions are involved in integrated regulation and are the types of extrinsic motivation which are most likely linked to positive results such as self-development and well-being.

A short term method for a teacher would be to get a student engaged in an uninteresting activity in order to give the student an extrinsic reward which is not sustainable for the long term. The student then becomes dependent on the extrinsic reward to uphold the behaviour, but will not continue with it once the rewards have stopped. For example, if everything a student does in class is graded. He/she will only perform well because of the expectations of a good grade. A better strategy for a teacher would be to get students to comprehend the positive effects they could have in the long term from doing the activities in class. Reeve (2005) states that “one way to promote identified regulation during an uninteresting activity is to offer a rationale – a verbal explanation of why putting forth effort during the otherwise uninteresting activity might actually be a useful and important thing to do.” (p. 135).

Intrinsic motivation is on the far right side of the continuum where self-determination is at its fullest. According to Reeve (2005), it “is a natural motivation that emerges spontaneously out of people’s psychological need for autonomy, competence and relatedness.” (p. 112). Autonomy means that a student feels free and in control over, for example, an activity and is competent in his/her abilities regarding it and, at the same time, is emotionally close to other students.

2.1.1. Curriculum and syllabus

The English syllabus from Skolverket (2011) has one paragraph that mentions teacher’s role as a promoter of the students’ individual growth in English class, and it states that “through teaching, students should also be given the opportunity to develop correctness in their use of language in speech and writing, and also the ability to express themselves with variation and complexity.” (p. 1). The teachers are supposed to let the students express themselves freely which means that the students should express themselves on different levels of efficiency and, thus, individualizing the teaching strategies.

According to the syllabus (1994), ”varje elev har rätt att i skolan få utvecklas, känna växandets glädje och få erfara den tillfredställelse som det ger att göra framsteg och övervinna svårigheter” (p. 7).2 It also states that ”Undervisningen ska anpassas till varje elevs förutsättningar och behov. Den skall med

2_{Author’s translation: Every student has, in the school, the right to feel the joy of growth and to be able}

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utgångspunkt i elevens bakgrund, tidigare erfarenheter, språk och kunskaper främja elevernas fortsatta lärande och kunskapsutveckling”. (ibid, p. 4)3

The Swedish Education Act (2010) maintains that:

Teaching should be adapted to each pupil’s circumstances and needs. It should promote the pupils’ further learning and acquisition of knowledge based on pupils’ backgrounds, earlier experience, language and

knowledge. Those students who easily achieve the criteria for knowledge are entitled to further guidance and stimulation. (p. 3, chapter 3)

The Swedish Education Act mentions that students’ background should be considered as vaired when the teacher adapts the teaching. Students’ backgrounds differ which makes it important for the teacher to communicate and build a relationship with the students to get information about their background. The backgrounds include their past experiences, learning styles, preferences and so forth. The Swedish Education Act has stated that the needs of high performers must be met and it has also been stated by the Council of Europe.

The Council of Europe (1994) issued recommendation 1248 on education for gifted children. The high performers should be able to develop themselves to their fullest potential. The high performers should be accommodated by the teacher in a discrete way to avoid labeling, meaning that the high performers should not stand out in the classroom but blend in with the rest of the class. Recommendation 1248 on education for gifted children states that:

iv. provision for specially gifted children in a given subject area should preferably be arranged within the ordinary school system, from pre-school education onwards. Flexible curricula, more chances of mobility, enriching supplementary material, audiovisual aids and project-oriented teaching styles are ways and techniques to foster the development of all children, whether highly gifted or not, and enable the identification of special needs at the earliest possible time;

v. the ordinary school system should be made flexible enough to enable the needs of high performers or talented students to be met;

vi. any special provision for highly gifted or talented students should be administered with discretion, to avoid the innate danger of labelling, with all its undesired consequences to society.

These various sources point to an individualized approach to teaching: the high performers’ needs should be met, without them being labeled and letting them develop themselves to their fullest potential.

3. Method

A qualitative method was used and Johansson and Svedner’s (2010) method of a structured interview was applied in data collection. (p. 34). The interview was partially qualitative in nature because the questions were open so that the interviewer could add follow-up questions. Also Patton’s interview guide approach mentioned in McKay (2006) was used in order to cover all of the topics for the study. It is easier to compile the data in this way because the same content is covered with all the informants.

3_{Author’s translation: The teaching should be adapted to every student’s needs and prerequisites. It}

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Moreover, Patton’s model for cross-case analysis was described in McKay (2006) who states that it “involves organizing the responses of several interviewees according to the topics raised in the interviews.” (p. 57). This approach was used to highlight certain categories which appeared in the interviews. Swedish was used in the interview because the informants were most comfortable with it. The advantage with conducting an interview as opposed to conducting surveys is to obtain elaborated answers from the students because the research revolves around their perspective. The informants are high performers in English class. It would be difficult to interview students who are performing on different levels, because they are not part of the same context. However, according to Johansson and Svedner (2010), the disadvantage with an interview is the varying backgrounds of the informants. The student’s past experiences and knowledge form his/her perception and, therefore, the informants were only asked about their individual experiences. This was done in order to ensure the informants’ comprehension of the questions asked.

3.1. Informants

Student 1 is an eighteen year old male student who attends an upper secondary school in a suburb of a big city. High grades are common in this school, and this factor motivates students to strive for good grades. He is in his last year of study and has had native English teachers since he was twelve years old in sixth grade. Student 1 is enrolled in the natural science programme. He is currently enrolled in English C.

Student 2 is a sixteen year old female student who attends a different upper secondary school in a suburb of a big city. High grades are not a prerequisite in this school and the atmosphere lets the students achieve whatever grade they aspire for. Student 2 has only had native Swedish teachers in English classes throughout all her years in school.

Student 3 is a seventeen year old female student who attends the same upper secondary school in a suburb of a big city as student 2. Student 3 has only had native Swedish teachers in English classes all throughout her years in school. Her grandmother and mother spoke English to her from a young age.

3.2. Material

The interviews were recorded, and the interview questions are included in Appendix 1. The interview questions were based on the research questions and aims. For instance the questions “How do you feel about doing well in English classes?” was crafted to find out what type of motivation the high

performer utilizes in English class. The question “is it easy to get good grades in English class?” was asked to find out whether the high performer has the perception of being challenged or not in English class.

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3.3. Procedure

The interviewer started out by chatting about everyday topics in order to set up a comfortable atmosphere. The background questions were written down. A mobile phone was used as a recording device, and it was positioned on a table which was placed between the interviewer and interviewee. The interviewer and interviewee were positioned at a forty five degrees angle from one another as not to create-a-too big of a barrier between them. The interview was carried out in Swedish so that there would no be language barrier either. The purpose was to build trust between them and to make the informants feel comfortable to express themselves. Every informant was asked the same questions, but the follow-up questions were modified depending on how the informant responded. For instance, if an informant enjoyed a certain activity, the informant was then asked follow-up questions about that particular activity.

Appendix 1 with interview questions was used as an aid so that the interviewer could remember the right order. Notes were only taken in order to remember important points which the interviewer wanted to elaborate on. The fact that the research would benefit from the informant telling the truth was stressed in the beginning of the interview. What Johansson and Svedner (2010) call ”mirroring” was often applied in order for the researcher to check the comprehension from the informant’s answer. Throughout the interview, it was important not to push values and opinions of the interviewer on to the student. In addition, the interviewer stressed the fact that the truth was more important than the

information to be appropriate.

3.4. Validity and reliability

According to McKay (2006), there is far less control and structure in qualitative research than in quantitative research. External validity is called credibility and internal validity is referred to as transferability. Credibility was ensured through presentation of the answers from the interview in an unbiased manner meaning that the answers were presented in the results in the way they were answered by the informants.

According to McKay (2006), a power relationship is an issue when a teacher is conducting an

interview because the inequitable relationship between the student and teacher might affect the content and also the language. The interviewer is not a teacher, however a teacher student; so this bias was taken into consideration and measures were utilized to minimize the bias. One way was to be sensitive to the students’ answers because according to McKay (2006) the students might be “having difficulty responding to a question because of a lack of language proficiency, nervousness, or cultural factors.” (p. 55). Another way, according to McKay (2006), was that the interviewer should consistently make sure to “provide feedback and reinforcement throughout the interview, offering students words of thank, and support.” (p. 55). Also, to minimize the power relationship, it was made clear the students were not going to be affected by their answers and that their teacher would not get any information about their answers from the interview. The interviews were recorded and transcribed in order to get the exact wording for the analysis.

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qualitative research is referred to as dependability, thus, only were the data from the interview categorized but the background information as well. Moreover, representative data were retrieved from the interview into the result section and the entire interview can be found in Appendix 3.

3.5. Ethical considerations

The research was conducted in agreement with The Swedish Council for Research in the Humanities and Social Sciences’ ethical rules and the guidelines on Information, Consent, Confidentiality and the Right of use of the data (2009, Vetenskapsrådet). Information was handed out to the informants beforehand because of the Convention on the Rights of the Child

(http://www.codex.vr.se/manniska1.shtml). The informants were told about the project and were told that they could stop the interview at any time. The documentation would be destroyed after its usage in the project. The informants were also told that they were anonymous and that the data would not be shown to anyone else outside of the institution.

3.6. Methods of analysis

The informants’ answers were interpreted and common themes in the informants’ answers were identified through the background question before the interview. The goals from the syllabus were also considered and compared to the informant’s answers in order to see if they correlated with each other. Moreover, the research questions were closely followed when comparing and contrasting the informant’s answers. The informants’ answers were compared in order to find categories which are presented in the results and then discussed in the discussion.

4. Results

4.1. Description of material and data analysis

In the following section the results of the student interviews are presented in six themes. The interviews were transcribed, and as they contain too much data is only the data which is suitable for the study and corresponds with the research questions presented. Extracts from the interviews are presented along with an analysis of the answers. The entire transcriptions are found in Appendix 3.

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Student 1: ”Att eleverna håller tal eller att vi har en debatt. Vi har pratat om det att Sverige är det land som inte har retorik som ett eget ämne. Det är också viktigt att läsa och förstå hur dialoger är

uppbyggda och det kan jag väldigt bra efter dem här åren.”4

Student 1 emphasizes how important he thinks it is to use the language in speech and to learn dialogues. He also mentions a debate in another part.

Student 1: ”Som nu till exempel när vi har debatt så påminner hon oss om att våga byta inriktning och bemöta det som den andra parten tar upp.”5

Student 2 brings up debates in her interview as well, though she is talking about argumentative speeches. She finds it more difficult yet also fun.

Student 2: ”Nu ska vi hålla argumenterande tal och sånt. Det är svårare tycker jag. Både i engelska och svenska. Jag är ingen tjej som gärna skriver debattartiklar på engelskalektionen bara sådär! Skriva krönikor är lättare… men… men det går ju ändå på något sätt kul.”6

Student 3 also talks about debates, and how they stimulate her.

Student 3: ”Alltså debatter kan jag tycka är kul… Alla kan på något sätt få utmana sig själva på sin egen nivå och utnyttja all sin kunskap… och plocka från det också… Alltså allmänbildningen!”7 A notable statement from student 3 is that she got to use her general knowledge in debates and that she thought it made it fun and challenging. Student 2 also mentions how debates challenge her, because she is more fond of writing chronicles.

4.1.2. Authentic use of the English language

The students mentioned that they wanted to feel that the content being taught in English class was of use to them and that it could be applied to their use of the English language.

Student 1: ”Ja, det har vart mycket såna uppgifter. Men även som i engelska A så hade vi frågesporter om de vanligaste fel man gör som svensk när man talar engelska. Exempelvis: I played good istället för I played well. Det är bra för då kan man applicera det och man känner att det är nyttigt att lära sig.”8

Student 2 also talks about in what ways she feels that her English language is improving during English class.

Student 2: Vi hade boksamtal i början. Vi hade boksamtal där vi fick berätta vad som hände och vad vi tyckte. T.ex. det här tycker jag och så… Det jag var ganska kul faktiskt. Det var… hur ska man säga…

4_{Author’s translation: It could be that we get to have more debates or let us have speech in front of the}

class. We have discussed the fact that Sweden is the only country where rhetoric is not considered a subject. It is also important to know and understand how dialogues are constructed and I have a very good understanding of that from my experience.

5_{Author’s translation: For instance, she reminds us to dare to take a risk and change our stance of policy}

in order to counter that which the other party brings up in a debate.

6_{Author’s translation: We are right now in the midst of conducting argumentative speeches and stuff. I}

find it more difficult. Both in Swedish and in English. I am not a girl who writes debating articles just like that! Writing chronicles are easier… But… It is somehow pretty fun!

7_{Author’s translation: I mean debates can be fun in my opinion. Everybody can in some way challenge}

themselves on their own level use all of their knowledge… And pick from it… I mean general knowledge!

8_{Author’s translation: We had a lot of these assignments but there have been other exercises such as quizzes}

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Det var roligt att få kunna prata och liksom för varje gång man får prata så blir min engelska bättre! Och man blir säkrare och så…9

Student 3 did not feel challenged in English class but talked about a way she challenges herself and therefore gets to feel that she is learning something useful for the future.

Student 3: ”för om det är till exempel ”ok, välj ut femton svåra ord i den här texten” och jag kan inte hitta några svåra ord… Då kanske jag istället läser någon mera avancerad text istället och lära mig ord därifrån och plocka upp… nya… för det är ju så att större ordförråd kan man ju alltid ha liksom…”10

A reoccurring theme among the students is that they want to feel that they can use the language authentically in the future. They might have an ambition to get in to a prestigious occupation or to a good school in order to further their education.

4.1.3. Relationship with the teacher

The high performing students said that they had teachers who understood the level they were on and acknowledged that.

Student 1: ”Det är viktigt att läraren kan lägga den på en bra nivå. Uppsatser är bra för att den kan man göra på olika nivåer. Har man en bra och motiverande lärare så tenderar man att göra en bättre insats liksom. Vet inte hur pass medvetet det är men…”11

Student 2 says that she understands her teacher’s intentions in the teaching.

Student 2: “Hon liksom uppmuntrar en att prata engelska. Dock så är det nog inte så många som fattar att hon gör så.”12

Student 3 talked about her former teacher in her first year in upper secondary school and why she had a good relationship with the teacher.

Student 3: “Men hon som vi hade förra året var bättre för hon fattade min situation och kunde utmana mig på andra sätt då för hon förstod vad jag hade för bakgrund. Öhm… för det höll ju motivationen uppe då för mig… för hon fattade att jag ville lära mig nya saker. Att jag ska vara glad för den nivån eller vad man ska säga…”13

9_{Author’s translation: We had bookcircles at the start. We had bookcircles where we got to talk about the}

plot and what we thought about it. Such as I like this and so on... It was pretty fun actually… It was… How should I say… It was fun to be able to talk and sort of every time feel as my English was becoming better!

10_{Author’s translation: For instance if it says: ”ok, pick out 15 difficult words in this text” and I cannot}

find any difficult words… Then I will probably read a more advanced text instead to learn new… Because you can always have a richer vocabulary.

11_{Author’s translation: It is important that the teacher can adapt the teaching to an appropriate level.}

Assignments such as essays are good because they can be written on different levels of proficiency. You tend to perform better if the teacher is motivating. I do not know how conscious it is though…

12_{Author’s translation: She sort of encourages you to speak English. But I do not think there are a lot of}

students who get that…

13_{Author’s translation: But the woman we had last year was better because she understood my situation}

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The students had various experiences with their teachers but it was similar in some ways. The teachers either acknowledged that the students were high performers, as stated by Student 1 and 3, and

challenged them from that notion or used activities which let the students perform on their individual level as stated by Student 1.

4.1.4. Non-cognitive competences

The high performing students showed competences which were non-cognitive. It means that they were not intellectually or cognitively superior to the other students in class. The students showed self-awareness in the way they spoke about themselves and their peers in English class. They also had positive outlook on school in general. Another non-cognitive competence is their confidence about finishing a task, though it can be difficult.

Student 1: ”I engelska B hade vi väldigt hårda krav på hur vi ska göra teser. Jag fick skriva om den 15 gånger. Men då var vår lärare förstående och sa att vi inte fått träna på att skriva thesis statements i svenska skolor och att vi fick komma förbi hennes kontor och fråga henne. Jag litade ju på att jag skulle fixa det men det var sjukt tråkigt att få nedslag varje gång. Tillsist fick jag rådet om att skriva uppsatsen först så kommer tesen sen.”14

Student 2 talks about debating and how it is a bit of challenge for her.

Student 2: “Det är ju en ok utmaning… Jag vet jag att jag kan klara av den!”15

Student 3 does not feel challenged in her English class and talks about how it differs from Math. She mentions how confident she is about performing well on tasks in English class.

Student 3: ”Engelskan är ju mer att man lämnar in uppgifter och så. Där har jag ju grammatiken. Den sitter ju! Man har det liksom och har lätt att plocka upp ord och så…”16

Student 1 talks about his English classes and how they have changed during the year, which shows self- awareness in him and how he can look at himself from the outside as an observer.

Student 1: ”Från 6-9 var det mest att vi lärde oss om hur de andra länderna firar sina högtider.

I engelska A och B fick rikare insikt i hur kulturen skiljer sig mellan de olika engelsktalande länderna. Jag har ju haft lärare från jättemånga olika länder och kände att jag inte kunde skilja på hans eller hennes kultur bara från att kolla på en person.”17

14_{Author’s translation: We had very hard demands on how we should write a thesis statement in English B. I}

had to rewrite it fifteen times. But our teacher understood that we had not practiced how to write thesis statements in Swedish schools and we got to come by her office and ask her about it. I trusted in my ability to succeed but it was very hard to get rejected each time. I was finally given the advice to start off by writing the essay and that the thesis will present itself.

15_{Author’s translation: It is an ok challenge… I know I can manage it!}

16_{Author’s translation: It is more a question of handing in assignments and such in English class. I have}

got the grammar. It is ingrained! You sort of have it and it is easy to pick up words and such…

17_{Author’s translation: We were mostly taught how the English speaking countries celebrate their holidays from}

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Student 2 also talks about her discipline in studying which also shows self- awareness.

Student 2: “Jag har ju inte svårt… Jag menar alltså att när många tycker det är jobbigt och så, då vet jag att jag har vart med om det förut och då har det blivit något av en vana, vilket kanske inte är så bra men… Man vet hur man går till väga för att få det gjort.”18

All of the students had a positive outlook on school and student 3 can be a representative of a typical response.

Student 3: “Så jag tycker att det är positiv atmosfär på det sättet…”19

The high performers all show non-cognitive competences and also persistence as Student 2 stated because she knows that she has overcome a difficult challenge before and knows that she can do it again. The high performers all trust that they can overcome challenges, and it is self-evident that they can do it again, because of their prior experience.

4.1.5. High performance in English classes as part of high performing students’ identity and values

All the high performing students said that high performance in English classes has been part of their identity for a long time and that they value the competence of being able to use it well and to get high grades consistently.

Student 1: ”Jag har alltid haft lätt för mig att få höga betyg. MVG i allt. Det är ju inte så att man glider igenom utan man måste ju också tänka till. Utnyttja det man har fått från tidigare.”20

Student 2: “Jag har ju haft det väldigt lätt för skolan och mina föräldrar har alltid hjälpt och stöttat mig igenom skolan.”21

Student 3 discussed how she has always been good at English.

Student 3: “Men det är ju också svårt för mig att utvecklas, för på något plan så har jag alltid pratat flytande… engelska och låtit... ja du förstår, typ haft det naturligt.”22

All the high performers identify themselves with a well versed practitioner of the English language which makes it self-evident that they should excel in English. It is a more natural part of them as stated

18_{Author’s translation: I don’t have if difficult… I mean when many feel it’s tough, then I know that I’ve}

done it before and then it has become somewhat of a habit, which might not be good but you know how to get it done.

19_{Author’s translation: So I find it a positive atmosphere in that regard…}

20_{Author’s translation: I have always had it easy to obtain high grades. MVG in everything. It is not like}

you can ease yourself through it, but you also have to stop and think about it. Utilize what you have learned and experiences from the past.

21_{Author’s translation: I’ve had it really easy in school and my parents have always helped and supported}

me through school.

22_{Author’s translation: But it’s also hard for me to evolve, because on some level I’ve always spoken}

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by Student 3. While other lower performing students might doubt their competence in an activity in class, the high performers perceive the activity as achievable, because it is part of their identity and values.

4.1.6. High performing students’ perceptions about the importance of high grades

The high performing students all have parents who have academic backgrounds and who support them in their strivings for high grades in English class. The parents expect the students to perform well in English class, but so do the students themselves. This makes it a situation where the parents are supporting their children rather than pushing them towards high performance in English class.

Student 1: ”Alla I min familj har haft höga betyg så det ska man ha!” 23

Student 1: ” Jag känner att höga betyg innebär valmöjligheter för mig i framtiden så därför är det viktigt.”24

Student 2: ” Mina föräldrar är väldigt måna om att jag ska ha höga betyg och ha höga resultat. Det är någonting som dem inte alltid förväntar sig i kanske alla ämnen men ibland gör dem ju det. För dem är vana att se vilket betyg jag har i dem olika ämnena. Fast jag har ju inte haft den där pressen från mina föräldrar som många andra har haft att dem känner att dem måste prestera bra för deras föräldrar. Mina föräldrar hjälper mig istället till att nå dit. För min mamma hatade skolan verkligen och är glad över att jag ens gillar skolan! Så det är mer min pappa som är lite mer pressig om man säger så… Fast fortfarande inte jätte… Som jag har hört att många kan känna…”25

Student 3: ” Ja… alltså det är väl lite av en självklarhet för mina föräldrar att jag ska ha höga betyg. För mig är det ju också viktigt… Så det är typ som att dem förväntar sig att jag ska ha höga betyg men jag förväntar mig att jag ska ha jättehöga betyg.”26

5. Discussion

What Skolverket (2012) called non-cognitive competences became apparent in the interview. The fact that the high performing students often mentioned that they would not give up until they solved the difficult task corresponded with Skolverket’s (2012) research. They trust themselves and their

23_{Author’s translation: Everybody in my family has had good grades so that is a given!}

24_{Author’s translation: I feel that good grades are important because it gives me opportunities in the future.} 25_{Author’s translation: My parents are very concern about that I obtain high grades and good results. It is}

something that perhaps they do not expect me to obtain in every subject but sometimes they do. They are used to see what grade I have in the various subjects. Although, I do not have the same pressure to perform well as many other students do, where they feel that they have to perform well, in order to please their parents. Instead, my parents help me to reach my goals. Because my mother hated school and is happy about the fact that I like school! So in other words, my father is the one who puts more pressure about obtaining high grades… However, he does not put as much pressure about high grades compared to what I heard about other students parents.

26_{Author’s translation: Yeah… Well it’s sort of prerequisite for my parents that I will get high grades. It’s}

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competence from prior experience to be able to replicate high performance.

The role of the parents to the high performing students also coincided with Skolverket’s (2012) study. However, what was interesting to find was that the students had the same view of high grades as their parents and thus, did not feel pressured from the parents to get high grades.

An interesting finding is that the high performing students use extrinsic motivation but it is a healthier type of motivation than pure external regulation. The high performing students use identified or interjected regulation which, according to Reeve (2005), is close to intrinsic motivation. It is part of who they are and part of their values. It could be argued that it is not possible to obtain pure intrinsic motivation due to the way the syllabus is constructed. The student is supposed to conduct

himself/herself in a way that the syllabus goals and criteria want the student to act. The function of grades is related to extrinsic motivation. In order to get a high grade, the student is supposed to do what is asked of them. However, it could be argued that the teacher’s role is to help shift the student’s motivation closer to intrinsic motivation because it is far more efficient for the student’s performance in the long term. On a bigger scale, it could be argued that our society is constructed around extrinsic motivation. An example would be an employee who works to get salary in order to pay the rent for an apartment and food. If the requirements for the job, which are set by a boss, are not met, the employee gets fired and is no longer able to pay for the apartment or food. That is an example of how apparent extrinsic motivation works in our society.

Another point which the teacher could strive for and let the students know is the difference in talent and skill. Skolverket (2012) found that it was the non-cognitive abilities that were higher in the high performing students such as perseverance and motivation. Thus, the teacher could cultivate the atmosphere in which high performance does not have to be viewed as a gift but rather a honed skill. This could be a result of the prior research such as Wahlström (1995) and Lindkvist (2007) have done on gifted children which gives high performance a wrong perception. It can be argued that the

perception is that only children with certain characteristics that are viewed as gifted can get high grades.

One aspect which the all the high performers liked was that they could use their prior experience and general knowledge, especially in debates. This corresponds with the syllabus (1994) that the teaching should be conducted in a way where every student can use their prior knowledge and background. Furthermore, the high performers said that debates made in a class more challenging.

A recurring theme among the students was that they wanted to feel that they could use the language authentically. This agrees with The Swedish schools inspectorate’s (2011) critique that too much Swedish is spoken during English classes. The high performers all wanted to be able to use the English language in the future and Student 1 also commented that the teaching was not appropriate for his peers to cope in an English speaking culture. The Swedish schools inspectorate (2011) also claimed that extramural English is not adequately incorporated in the teaching. This could possibly be a way to enhance the authenticity of English language teaching.

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students all said that the English classes should be more focused on speaking in English which corresponds to the Swedish Schools Inspectorate (2011) study. All the students thought that debate was challenging and it could be argued that it is an activity which lets the students perform on their individual level, thus individualizing the teaching according to the syllabi (1994). It could be a possible way for the teacher to map the student’s current strengths and weaknesses. The teacher could then know from that mapping how every student should improve. On the other hand, as stated before, it is also up to the students to take the given feedback and motivate themselves to better performance, but a good relationship with the teacher and appreciation of their current performance helps. However, it is also important that the teacher guides the lower performing students in a way that they do not overly identify with lower performance and that higher performance is obtainable through identified or integrated regulated motivation and persistence with a positive attitude. The high performing students have confidence from prior experiences where they excelled in activities in English, and therefore, confidence is something that could be further developed among the students who get lower grades. The teaching should show the students with lower grades where their strengths are and to slowly build their confidence so that they can perform better in the future.

Furthermore, it was good that the background of the students was well documented because they often referred to it in the interviews, and the categories in the results were solidified through that as well. They were well versed self-awareness, and thus, could see themselves from the outside and motivate their answers. This made it easy to make conclusions from their answers. A problem could arise in the method if the students did not answer as thoroughly as they did.

In conclusion, the result obtained in the study corresponds with previous research by Skolverket (2012) and The Swedish Schools inspectorate (2011). Skolverket’s (2012) characteristics of a high performer corresponded with the results from the interviews. Moreover, the notion of non-cognitive competences should give other students who get lower grades hope that higher performance is not necessarily a talent, but a skill which can be developed. Also, The Swedish Schools inspectorate’s (2011) finding that English is not spoken enough in the classroom agrees with the findings of this study. In addition to the aforementioned findings, the result on high performers’ motivation is revelatory because identified or interjected regulation is close to intrinsic motivation. It is still extrinsic motivation but it is a healthier type of motivation because it is determined from within the person and not from external factors.

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References

Bloom, S. Benjamin (1985) Developing Talent of Schoolchildren. New York: Ballentine

Eriksson, D (2005) Särbegåvade elever i den svenska skolan – ur deras eget perspektiv.Linköpings universitet.

Johansson, Bo; Svedner, Per Olov. (2010). Examensarbetet i lärarutbildningen. Uppsala: Kunskapsföretaget AB

Lindkvist, Kajsa. (2007). De särbegåvade eleverna; ryms de i visionen om en skola för alla? – En

studie om de särbegåvade elevernas skolvardag, ur ett elevperspektiv. Examensarbete. Lärarhögskolan i Stockholm, Institutionen för Individ, omvärld och lärande.

McKay, Sandra Lee (2006). Researching Second Language Classrooms. Mahwah, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Persson, R. S (1997) Annorlunda land – särbegåvningens psykologi. Falköping: Gummessons tryckeri AB

Recommendation 1248 (1994) on education for gifted children

http://assembly.coe.int/mainf.asp?Link=/documents/adoptedtext/ta94/erec1248.htm (Europarådet). (accessed 2012-11-14)

Reeve, J. (2005). Understanding Motivation and Emotion. 4th ed. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Skolinspektionen (2011). Engelska i grundskolans årskurser 6-9.Kvalitetsgranskning. Rapport

2011:7. Skolinspektionen.www.skolinspektionen.se

Skolverket (2012). Högpresterande elever, höga prestationer och undervisningen.

http://www.skolverket.se/publikationer?id=2929 (accessed 2012-12-07) Skolverket (2011) English syllabus.

http://www.skolverket.se/polopoly_fs/1.174543!/Menu/article/attachment/English%20120912.pdf

(accessed 2012-11-13)

Skolverket (1994). Läroplan för de frivilliga skolformerna Lpf 94. http://www.skolverket.se/ (accessed 2012-11-13)

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Appendix 1

Interview questions for high performing students: Type of motivation

What do you think about school in general? What makes you spend a lot of time studying? How do you feel generally about English class? Is it easy to get good grades in English class? Do you spend a lot of time studying?

How does the work in English class challenge you to work hard? What do you like about English classes?

What could be done better?

Culture and society

How is your relationship with your English teacher? How do you view your peers in class?

How do you feel about doing well in English classes?

In what way do you think that grades are important? If you feel that it is unimportant, why so? How do your parents react when you get a high grade?

Wishes for change (what kind of teaching do they want?)

Do you feel that you are being challenged?

What types of activities do you find challenging? Can you give me some examples?

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Appendix 2

Informationsblankett för intervjun

Jag heter Göran Thornberg och studerar på lärarprogrammet vid Stockholms universitet och

undersöker hur elever, som är väldigt duktiga i engelska, känner sig utmanade under

engelskalektionerna och hur de motiverar sig själva. Det är det jag skriver min C-uppsats om.

Intervjun tar mellan 20-30 minuters. Detta sker i linjerna med de forskningsetiska principerna.

Du har rätt att avbryta intervjun om du känner för det samt är helt anonym i studien. Intervjun

spelas in och kommer endast att användas i forskningssyfte på institutionen för språkdidaktik

och engelska institutionen och kommer därefter att tas bort. Det är helt konfidentiellt.

Jag har gott uppsåt med projektet och vill gärna veta vad som motiverar högpresterande elever

och därifrån få tips på hur man kan förbättra undervisningen, speciellt inför min roll som

lärare i framtiden.

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Appendix 3

The transcribed interviews with the three high performing students

Student 1

Interview questions for high performing students: Type of motivation

What makes you spend a lot of time studying?

Jag har ganska lätt för mig.

How do you feel generally about English class?

Vi har en bra lärare så det känns bra!

Is it easy to get good grades in English class?

Jag har alltid haft lätt för mig att få höga betyg. MVG i allt. Det är ju inte så att man glider igenom utan man måste ju också tänka till. Utnyttja det man har fått från tidigare. Vår lärare säger alltid att vi kan komma förbi om vi har några frågor för hon har i alla fall ingenting som är viktigare det.

Jag har inte kollat på ett enda kriteriepapper sedan 8:an.

Do you spend a lot of time studying?

Jag pluggar mest inför proven. Fast i engelska har vi ju inte så mycket prov för där skriver vi ju mest uppsatser, short stories och såna saker.

What do you like about English classes?

Vi hade samma lärare i engelska A som vi har i engelska C.

Engelska C är en kreativare kurs. Det som jag har lärt mig inför dessa kreativare skrivuppgifter är att det lättaste är att hitta strukturen och sen bara skriva efter den. Vår senaste uppgift var en short story fast med en twist. Det var riktigt kul!

I engelska A fick vi börja en short story i medias resum som var lika intressant och kul. Då skrev jag om ett prison break där fångarna börjar i en tunnel och är på rymmen.

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informella ord. Nu är det ju så att jag haft engelsktalande engelskalärare sedan 6:an.

What could be done better?

Framförallt i A-kursen, kunde man ha snackat mycket mer.

Att eleverna håller tal eller att vi har en debatt. Vi har pratat om det att Sverige är det land som inte har retorik som ett eget ämne. Det är också viktigt att läsa och förstå hur dialoger är uppbyggda och det kan jag väldigt bra efter dem här åren. Det är viktigt att verkligen få vrida och vända mycket på språket istället för att skriva så mycket. Att få en känsla för skillnaden mellan informellt och formellt språk och talspråk. Då blir det lättare tror jag att skriva. Ordet ”get” är ett ord man aldrig ska använda i en formellt skriven text.

(Här speglar jag och verifierar det han sagt). Ja det är viktigt att inte bara ha kroppspråket utan även att förstå textuppbyggnad och ha en känsla för det som jag inte tror att infödda svenskar har för det engelska språket.

Culture and society

How is your relationship with your English teacher?

Från 6-9 var det mest att vi lärde oss om hur de andra länderna firar sina högtider.

I engelska A och B fick rikare insikt i hur kulturen skiljer sig mellan de olika engelsktalande länderna. Jag har ju haft lärare från jättemånga olika länder och kände att jag inte kunde skilja på hans eller hennes kultur bara från att kolla på en person.

I engelska B hade vi väldigt hårda krav på hur vi ska göra teser. Jag fick skriva om den 15 gånger.

Men då var vår lärare förstående och sa att vi inte fått träna på att skriva thesis statements i svenska skolor och att vi fick komma förbi hennes kontor och fråga henne. Jag litade ju på att jag skulle fixa det men det var sjukt tråkigt att få nedslag varje gång. Tillsist fick jag rådet om att skriva uppsatsen först så kommer tesen sen.

How do you view your peers in class?

Om man ska driva ett land framåt så kan man ju inte sparka på dem som försöker driva saker framåt och åstadkomma något bra. På min skola är det ju snarare så att man är dålig om man inte lyckas…

How do you feel about doing well in English classes?

In what way do you think that grades are important? If you feel that it is unimportant, why so?

Alla I min familj har haft höga betyg så det ska man ha!

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Det är väl en viss form av tillfredställelse men på samma gång känner jag att det här är något som måste göras så det är bara att få det gjort.

Wishes for change (what kind of teaching do they want?)

Do you feel that you are being challenged?

Ja, men det är mer att jag känner att det är roligare uppgifter i engelskan än i svenskan. Vår engelskalärare vågar improvisera mer. Hon följer inte kriterierna slaviskt som andra lärare som ursprungligen är från Sverige. Som nu till exempel när vi har debatt så påminner hon oss om att våga byta inriktning och bemöta det som den andra parten tar upp.

Jag tycker det är stor skillnad på att ”glida igenom” skolan och att göra något man tycker är intressant. Jag menar att jag mår bättre om jag spenderar fem timmar på en uppsats som jag känner att det är roligt att skriva än att sitta 5 timmar med någonting som går trögt att skriva.

Det är viktigt att läraren kan lägga den på en bra nivå. Uppsatser är bra för att den kan man göra på olika nivåer. Har man en bra och motiverande lärare så tenderar man att göra en bättre insats liksom. Vet inte hur pass medvetet det är men…

Har ni mer öppna uppgifter där ni får visa vad ni kan på er egen nivå?

Ja, det har vart mycket såna uppgifter. Men även som i engelska A så hade vi frågesporter om de vanligaste fel man gör som svensk när man talar engelska. Exempelvis: I played good istället för I played well. Det är bra för då kan man applicera det och man känner att det är nyttigt att lära sig.

I engelska B så hade många svårare för grammatiken och då gjorde vi mer övningar i det och även grammatikprov och då sa dem att det var anledningen till det. Det kan man ju köpa.

Student 2

What do you think about school in general?

Det är en bra möjlighet att få gå i skolan. Det är inte alla som får gå i skolan. Jag gillar att gå i skolan. Nämen, det är inte som att jag är värsta pluggfreaket men jag gillar att gå i skolan. Det liksom.. jag har ju massa kompisar i skolan och så.. Det gynnar ju en.

What makes you spend a lot of time studying?

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går till väga för att få det gjort.

Ja språk över lag. Min pappa är ju väldigt duktig på språk. Han talar ju flera språk och pratar engelska väldigt bra och så här.. Dem har alltid pratar engelska med mig och vi har ju släktingar som bor i Australien.

How does the work in English class challenge you to work hard?

Vi har ju hållit på med att läsa och utvärdera böcker innan det vi gör nu och det har jag lätt för. Nu ska vi hålla argumenterande tal och sånt. Det är svårare tycker jag. Både i engelska och svenska. Jag är ingen tjej som gärna skriver debattartiklar på engelskalektionen bara sådär! Skriva krönikor är lättare… men… men det går ju ändå på något sätt kul.

Vi hade boksamtal i början. Vi hade boksamtal där vi fick berätta vad som hände och vad vi tyckte. T.ex. det här tycker jag och så… Det jag var ganska kul faktiskt. Det var… hur ska man säga… Det var roligt att få kunna prata och liksom för varje gång man får prata så blir min engelska bättre! Och man blir säkrare och så… Sen är det inte lika kul när man ligger före andra i gruppen och de inte är på samma nivå som en själv. Och det kan jag tycka kan vara ett litet problem ibland för det är inte så att jag är bättre än alla andra, utan alla har inte haft likadan utbildning i engelska så alla ligger inte på samma nivå som de borde ligga på. Och det är ju… det är ju lite tråkigt.

What could be done better?

En sak som jag har tänkt på sen nian, men nu är det bättre… Det är att lärarna slutar prata svenska… på lektionerna. För min förra engelskalärare i nian och som jag hade i tre år i grundskolan… Hon var… Hon var bra, men hon var nog bättre för dem som var lite sämre på engelska. För hon pratade först på engelska sen sa hon ”Alltså” och översatte allting till svenska. Inte förkortat eller någonting utan allting! Det skulle vara bättre om hon hade sagt att om vi har några frågor så kan vi komma till henne efter lektionen. Det så mycket tid från lektionen. Vi hade knappt någon tid att jobba på! Och då blir det så här att engelskan hamnar sist, när det borde komma först. För det är ju så internationellt och så användbart! För man fattar ju mer än man tror! Och många säger att dem inte fattar fast dem gör det! Det är bättre om hon t.ex. skriver upp svåra ord på tavlan om det är någon som undrar vad ett ord betyder.

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jag ”men vi har ju engelska nu och då pratar man ju det!” Så när vi har typ gruppgrejer så pratar dem också svenska fast jag pratar engelska… Det är lite tråkigt. Men hon är en bra lärare och hon kan skämta bort saker. Men samtidigt vara lite hård och säga att ”det här ska ni kunna!”. Det finns en balans där som hon har.

Jag har känt så just i språk att jag ligger lite före alla andra och det kan vara ett handikapp för mig. Jag kan inte nå den fulla potential i en klass som jag skulle kunna göra i en klass där alla låg på samma nivå, men samtidigt är det ju ibland kul att kunna hjälpa någon uppgift så här… Då får man ibland höra ”men tack så mycket” och det gynnar ju mig också att jag får se att jag kan hjälpa dem.

Ja men nu vet jag ju inte var jag ligger fast i nian så gick jag ut med riktigt bra betyg. Vilket jag var väldigt glad över, för det var något jag siktade efter och åstadkom… Fast det har inte känts som någon press som för många andra för det har alltid vart en självklarhet att ha bra betyg, för mig i alla fall. Och sen har jag ju försökt göra mitt bästa och lyckas kanske inte i alla ämnen men försöker i alla fall.

How do your parents react when you get a high grade?

Mina föräldrar är väldigt måna om att jag ska ha höga betyg och ha höga resultat. Det är någonting som dem inte alltid förväntar sig i kanske alla ämnen men ibland gör dem ju det. För dem är vana att se vilket betyg jag har i dem olika ämnena. Fast jag har ju inte haft den där pressen från mina föräldrar som många andra har haft att dem känner att dem måste prestera bra för deras föräldrar. Mina föräldrar hjälper mig istället till att nå dit. För min mamma hatade skolan verkligen och är glad över att jag ens gillar skolan! Så det är mer min pappa som är lite mer pressig om man säger så… Fast fortfarande inte jätte… Som jag har hört att många kan känna… Så just i språk har jag bra stöd… och det är bra, för jag gillar språk och jag gillar att resa… Alternativt i något varmt land kanske Ving eller fritidsresor… Öhm, nej men sen gillar jag ju att skriva också. Jag har väl en liten journalistdröm att jobba på någon tidning eller något. Då mer en livsstilstidning och inte så här en nyhetstidning.

Do you know what you want to do after upper secondary school?

Ja jag har ju några idéer… Jag skulle vilja jobba som reseledare eller typ skidinstruktör i alperna kanske… och då är det ju bra att kunna språk och speciellt engelska.

Wishes for change (what kind of teaching do they want?)

Do you feel that you are being challenged?

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var så mycket svårare… Så det blir ju liksom att jag låg där jag låg och hade mitt betyg säkrat.

Student 3

What do you think about school in general?

Jo… Jag tycker att det är bra skola. Det är öppet för om man vill vara kreativ. Men grejen är att jag bytte skola förra terminen. Jag bytte alltså från min skola till en annan och tillbaks för jag tyckte att det var för ”slackigt” för att vara ärlig. Alltså grejen är att det finns dem som är motiverade och sen finns det en hög andel som inte är det… Och det kändes som att det drog ner klassen… generellt väldigt mycket. Men alltså nu känner jag att det finns utrymme för att vara studiemotiverad om man vill men vill du inte det så finns det väldigt mycket utrymme för att göra det också. Så jag tycker att det är positiv atmosfär på det sättet…

How do you feel generally about English class?

Alltså jag vet inte… Jag tycker inte att den känns speciellt utmanande för att vara ärlig. Men det är ju också svårt för mig att utvecklas, för på något plan så har jag alltid pratat flytande… engelska och låtit... ja du förstår, typ haft det naturligt. Så därför har det alltid känts rätt så outmanande i skolan.

För mig är det så men kanske inte för alla andra.

Do you spend a lot of time studying?

Nej alltså om du jämför typ matte och engelska så är det ju stor skillnad. Matte pluggar jag ju för att fatta men engelskan gör jag ju bara. Engelskan är ju mer att man lämnar in uppgifter och så. Där har jag ju grammatiken. Den sitter ju! Man har det liksom och har lätt att plocka upp ord och så…

Mamma har ju alltid vart rätt på mig om att jag ska utveckla engelskan… Alltså när jag var väldigt liten och nu fortsätter jag istället, för om det är till exempel ”ok, välj ut femton svåra ord i den här texten” och jag kan inte hitta några svåra ord… Då kanske jag istället läser någon mera avancerad text istället och lära mig ord därifrån och plocka upp… nya… för det är ju så att större ordförråd kan man ju alltid ha liksom…

Alltså debatter kan jag tycka är kul… Alla kan på något sätt få utmana sig själva på sin egen nivå och utnyttja all sin kunskap… och plocka från det också… Alltså allmänbildningen!

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Alltså jag tror… rätt så här svåra… texter, alltså så här akademiska texter. Öh… och kunna bättre läsa dem och förstå vad dem innebär hundra procent. Öhm… För jag tror det är det jag behöver nu och det är ju lika bra att börja träna på det.

Men om jag kollar rent, alltså på dem i klassen så är det ju talet. För det är ju det du säljer din engelska på eller vad man ska säga… Alltså du kan ju ett enormt ordförråd och kunna grammatiken rakt

igenom, men om du inte lär dig dialekterna när du är yngre liksom… Då kommer du aldrig trovärdigt låta engelsk [brittisk] eller amerikansk eller australiensare eller ja, vad du vill låta som…

Inte så bra med henne som jag har nu… Hon är rätt så speciell… Men hon som vi hade förra året var bättre för hon fattade min situation och kunde utmana mig på andra sätt då för hon förstod vad jag hade för bakgrund. Öhm… för det höll ju motivationen uppe då för mig… för hon fattade att jag ville lära mig nya saker. Att jag ska vara glad för den nivån eller vad man ska säga…

Alltså jag kan uppfatta att det är flera som tycker det är riktigt jobbigt att snacka engelska i klassen. Jag vet inte vad det beror på… Jag tror inte vi har en stämning i klassen som är öppen för att man gör fel… Och det är ju inte så konstigt, för det är inte som att man pratar engelska från början, man kanske har haft en rätt krattig lärare och sedan så står man där och ska prata inför klassen… Den ångesten liksom om man skulle göra fel.

Ja absolut! Nämen jag har alltid sett det som grunden att ta sig någonstans. Öhm… sen så tror jag att jag ibland glömmer bort varför det är viktigt att ha höga betyg. Att det blir mer som ett fenomen! Alltså varför ska jag ha höga betyg? För mig är det så att jag vill ha en stämpel på att jag har lärt mig någonting. Att man istället för att tänka ”shit, vad jag ska lära mig av den här kursen!” istället tänker ”shit, vad jag ska ha höga betyg!” Att man på något sätt… Alltså det handlar ju inte om att man ska komma in på en högskola och få ett bra jobb, utan det är såhär ”fan va jag ska lära mig mycket på den här kursen och lära mig engelska och kunna klara av det här”.