Fredrika Nyström: Teaching and learning to speak a foreign language: An investigation about spoken Spanish in the Swedish foreign language classroom

Abstract

This thesis investigates speaking in Spanish as a modern language in Swedish lower secondary schools. While communicative competence is emphasised in current curricula, concerns have been raised about students’ achievement in modern languages, particularly in speaking. At the same time, there is limited knowledge about how oral skills are enacted in classroom practice. Against this background, the study explores how speaking Spanish is taught and learned from multiple perspectives.

The thesis addresses three overarching research questions: (1) What is foregrounded when teachers and students talk about speaking Spanish as a modern language in Swedish lower secondary school? (2) In which classroom contexts do students speak the target language? (3) How is students’ spoken language enacted in the classroom? These questions are examined in three empirical sub-studies based on data from 21 observed lessons in five Year 9 classes (ages 14–16) across five Swedish lower secondary schools, complemented by teacher and student interviews.

The overall findings are discussed through curriculum theory, drawing on John I. Goodlad’s model of curriculum domains (ideological, formal, perceived, operational and experienced curricula).

Paper I, based on qualitative content analysis of interviews, identifies four didactic dilemmas in teaching speaking: authenticity versus adaptation; individual versus group adjustment; whole-class versus small-group organisation; and use of Swedish versus Spanish. Students generally perceived small-group speaking activities as engaging, whereas whole-class speaking, especially when assessed, was described as anxiety-inducing.

Paper II, using a structured observation scheme, shows that students spoke Spanish primarily when explicitly prompted. Oral activities were typically scaffolded and often supported by written materials. Although form-focused and written activities occupied substantial lesson time, oral tasks occurred and enabled student spoken production.

Paper III, grounded in sociocultural theory, analyses 20 small-group interactions. Two main functional categories were identified: continuous functions and supporting functions (procedural and language-related). Both Spanish and Swedish were used strategically, with the majority language serving as a mediating tool for collaboration and problem-solving.

In sum, students speak Spanish when internal factors (emotional safety, linguistic resources) and external factors (task design, scaffolding, speaking time) enable it. The study nuances communicative language teaching in compulsory schooling, highlights the value of structured, meaning-oriented small-group tasks, and underscores the importance of teacher and student reflection in developing oral practice.