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| 2. |
- Bergström, Jenny, 1979-
(författare)
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English as a gatekeeper : power through discourses in a language introduction program
- 2024
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Ingår i: Apples - Journal of Applied Language Studies. - : University of Jyväskylä. - 1457-9863. ; 18:1, s. 21-44
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This paper investigates power structures in English-language education within Sweden's Language Introduction Program (LIP). In Swedish society, a high proficiency in English plays an important role in accessing further education and the job market. Inadequate proficiency in English can lead to inequality in education, and thus to inequality in society in a long-term perspective. The methodology of this study is based on linguistic ethnography using interview data from seven semi-structured individual interviews with principals, mentors, a student counselor, and a special-needs educator involved in LIP at a Swedish school. Foucauldian perspectives of power and Fairclough’s critical discourse analysis are used to examine power structures and language ideologies within the organization. The results show how LIP’s organizational structures disadvantage the international language of English. Furthermore, power structures of governmentality within the organization steer students towards vocational programs rather than of theoretical program
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| 3. |
- Bergström, Jenny, 1979-
(författare)
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Language education in the periphery of the Swedish school : the case of English at the language introduction program
- 2024
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Ingår i: ASLA 2024: Språk och kommunikation i en digitaliserad värld. ; , s. 118-119
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: This paper is based on a partial study within a research project about English education at The Language Introduction Program (LIP) in Sweden. LIP is a transit program for newly arrived immigrants at upper secondary school level, designed to secure a fast transit to further education or the job market (Swedish National Agency of Education, 2013). In Swedish society, English plays an important role in accessing higher education and the job market (Swedish National Agency of Education, 2022) and English is often ascribed status of a second language in Sweden (Gheitasi et al., 2022). Also, a mutual language competence in Swedish and English is often considered a norm in the English language classroom. However, the heterogeneity of LIP students’ prior knowledge of English unable this kind of assumption, and teachers at LIP must prepare for a classroom context where a joint knowledge of Swedish and English is not a reality. The professional assignment of English teachers at LIP differs from the rest of the teachers involved in the program since the English teachers are not involved in teaching Swedish (Cunningham, 2023). As a result, relevant in-service training for LIP English teachers’ is often neglected, something that might affect student progression long-term.Theoretical framework and methodology: Foucauldian (2002) perspectives are used to analyse power structures and Othering (Bhabha, 2004; Said, 2016), exploring language ideology (Kroskrity, 2000), and access to equal education within a multilingual context. The chosen method is linguistic ethnography with observations and interviews at two schools: Slope Hill High School and Meadow Hill High School (fictive names) for the duration of one school year. Observations in classrooms, at meetings, and of school environment were conducted. In addition, semi-structured interviews with students, teachers, principals, and other members of faculty were performed. Results: The results show that English is regarded a difficult subject by many LIP students and that the importance of English in Swedish society is seldom discussed with them, positioning English in the margins of the organisation. The extensive focus is on the national language of Swedish at LIP contribute to making English invisible to the organisation and its students. Furthermore, English teachers at LIP are given limited ability to co-operate and assist each other with assessment, planning, and evaluation of education. Moreover, LIP and its students were often positioned as different from the rest of the school resulting in lack of educational support for students and teachers. In this process, English became a gatekeeper and a factor of exclusion. Relevance to ASLA 2024: In a digital school context, lack of proficiency of English might leave students even further marginalized due to English proficiency being an important feature on for example the Internet. Inadequate proficiency in English could eventually lead to inequality in education, thus in a longer perspective of inequality in society.References: Bhabha, H. K. (2004). The location of culture (1. ed. in Routledge Classics with a new preface by the author ed.). London: Routledge.Cunningham, U. (2023). Språk och lärande i engelska. In Å. Wedin (Ed.), Språk, lärande och undervisning: om nyanlända ungdomar på Språkintroduktion (pp. 175-194). Lund: Studentlitteratur.Foucault, M. (2002). The essential works of Foucault, 1954-1984. : Vol. 3, Power. (Edit. Faubion, J. D.) London: Penguin.Gheitasi, P., Lindgren, E., & Enever, J. (2022). The dynamics of foreign language values in Sweden: a social history. CEPS journal, 12(1), 125-146. doi:10.26529/cepsj.758Kroskrity, P. V. (2000). Regimes of language: ideologies, polities and identities. Oxford: James Currey.Said, E. (2016). Orientalism (Nyutg. förord: Edda Manga ed.). (Edit Sjöström, H. O) Stockholm: Ordfront.Swedish Nationall Agency of Education. (2013). Introduktionsprogrammet Språkintroduktion. SkolverketSwedish National Agency of Education (2022). Reviderad kursplan Engelska grundskolan. Skolverket
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| 4. |
- Bergström, Jenny, 1979-
(författare)
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Language ideology and writing comprehension in a multilingual English language classroom
- 2022
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This presentation focuses on interview and observation data from English education at The Language Introduction Program (LIP) in Sweden. The study draws on Foucauldian (2002) perspectives involving power structures and equality, exploring language ideology (Kroskrity, 2000) and access to equal education within the multilingual classroom. LIP is a transit program for newly arrived immigrants in Sweden at upper-secondary school (Swedish National Agency of Education, 2013). The goal is to secure a fast transit for the student to further education or to the job market. In Swedish society English plays an important role in accessing higher education and job market (Swedish National Agency of Education, 2018) and insufficient knowledge of English might affect the access to these. Inadequate writing proficiency will eventually lead to inequality in education, thus in a longer perspective inequality in society. The chosen method is linguistic ethnography with observations and interviews and the duration of the field study is approximately one school year. Semi-structured interviews focusing on students, teachers, principals, special needs educators, educational interpreters, and student counsellors were conducted. The results indicate inequality regarding assessment and access to significant educational support for the students and teachers within English education at LIP. In addition, the organisation of LIP also limits the ability for teachers to cooperate and assist each other with assessment, planning, and evaluation of education. Furthermore, assessment and teaching of writing skills were closely connected to the teaching of grammatical rules and sentence analysis. As a result, very little time was dedicated to focus on the actual writing processes within the classroom.The presentation draws on preliminary results regarding educational discourses, power structures, and writing comprehension related to language ideologies in the multilingual classroom. The right to write is connected to the right to equal education and hopefully this presentation will provide an insight in writing comprehension education taking place at The Language Introduction Program.
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| 5. |
- Bergström, Jenny, 1979-
(författare)
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Language ideology in a multilingual English language classroom
- 2022
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- This paper will present preliminary findings regarding interview and observation data from English education at The Language Introduction Program (LIP) in Sweden. The study draws on Foucauldian (2002) perspectives involving power structures and equality. The PhD project explores existing structures linked to power, language ideology (Kroskrity, 2000) and access to equal education within the multilingual classroom. My presentation will consist of an analysis of six interviews. I will draw on preliminary results regarding English education at LIP, power structures, and interaction related to language ideologies. LIP is a transit program for newly arrived immigrants in Sweden at upper-secondary school. The goal is to secure a fast transit for the student to further education or to the job market. In Swedish society English plays an important role in accessing higher education and job market (Swedish Agency of Education, 2018) and insufficient knowledge of English might affect the access to these. The chosen method is linguistic ethnography with observations and interviews focusing on teachers and students. A previous pilot study indicates both power structures and inequalities in education within LIP. The results also show signs of lack of significant educational support for the students and teachers regarding English education.
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| 6. |
- Bergström, Jenny, 1979-
(författare)
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Language ideology in a multilingual English language classroom
- 2022
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Interview and observation data from English education at The Language Introduction Program in Sweden. The study draws on Foucauldian perspectives involving power structures and equality. The project investigates structures linked to power, language ideology and access to equal education within the multilingual classroom. The method is linguistic ethnography.
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| 7. |
- Bergström, Jenny, 1979-
(författare)
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PhD report : power, language ideology, and equal education in a multilingual language classroom
- 2022
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Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- My PhD project focuses on English education at the Language Introduction Program - LIP. LIP is an individual transit program for newly arrived immigrants designed to secure a fast transit to further education or the job market in Sweden. Drawing on Foucault’s perspective on power my project explores language ideologies and power structures within English education at LIP. Using a Foucauldian lens gives important perspectives on power, and its relation to institutions presenting an interesting framework for data analysis. In their role as institutions, schools exercise power and contribute or challenge the preservation of power structures. In addition to power structures and language ideology, multilingualism is also investigated in this PhD project. To fully integrate and be a member of Swedish society at all levels: education, job market, and social and political scene - a good knowledge of English is essential. A passing grade in English is mandatory for all higher education in Sweden. Additionally, knowledge of English is considered a norm in the job market. Many LIP students that I met described English as a subject that they struggled with, and the failing rate of the English courses were also very high. My PhD project is based on linguistic ethnography and for the duration of one school year I have conducted observations and interviews at two schools in Sweden - Slope Hill High School and Meadow Hill High School. Both schools are located in a medium-sized town in Sweden and both schools teach upper secondary school programs and LIP. 86 participants took part in this project, and 78 observations and 22 semi-structured interviews were carried out.
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| 8. |
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| 9. |
- Bergström, Jenny, 1979-
(författare)
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”That door is closed” : Struggle for accession and belonging in a school context focusing on power, migration, and future
- 2023
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- This presentation is based on a research project about English education for newly arrived students at The Language Introduction Program (LIP) in Sweden. The aim of the presentation is to show how English-language education at LIP is connected to power struggles (Foucault, 2022) and language ideologies (Kroskrity, 2000) that affect students’ access to equal education. The method is based on linguistic ethnography (Copland & Creese, 2015) with observations and interviews at two schools for the duration of one school year.The Swedish National Agency of Education (SNAE) (2013) describe LIP as an individual transit program with an emphasis on Swedish as a second language. LIP’s main goal is to enable a fast transit to further education or the job market. SNAE (2022a, 2022b) describe English as an important factor in accessing higher education, gaining employment, and participations in domains such as politics, education, and economy. Insufficient knowledge of English therefor risk precluding LIP students from participation in these domains and may in the long run lead to inequality in society. This presentation is based on observation and interview data in combination with photographs where access and belonging in a school context is portrayed. The result show how LIP students often verbalize aspirations for a future academic career, but because of difficulty attaining a passing grade in English, they are often steered towards vocational programs instead. Also, struggles of power linked to Foucault’s (2002) term governmentality can be observed in this process, where discourse related to migration, language proficiency, and education, surface. Metaphors describing languages as keys (Nuottaniemi, 2023) that open society’s doors are problematized, when English often is positioned as a form of gatekeeper instead of a door-opener to LIP students.
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| 10. |
- Ljung Egeland, Birgitta, et al.
(författare)
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Forskningsetiska frågor i flerspråkiga kontexter : Dilemman vid studier med vuxna och ungdomar med kort tidigare skolbakgrund
- 2023
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Ingår i: Språk i praktiken – i en föränderlig värld. - Uppsala : Stockholms universitet. - 1100-5629 .- 2004-108X. - 9789187884306 ; , s. 309-329
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Bokkapitel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Syftet med detta kapitel är att bidra till en dialog gällande forskningsetik utifrån såväl juridiska som humanistiska aspekter. Exempel hämtas från dilemman som uppstått i etnografiskt inriktade studier där deltagarna är andraspråksanvändare av svenska och där många har begränsad erfarenhet av formell utbildning och användning av skrift. Det kan vara svårt att ge forskningsinformation på ett sätt som elever med olika bakgrund förstår, särskilt vad gäller konsekvenserna av informationen, av att delta i forskningen och vad det betyder att vara anonym. En utgångspunkt för kapitlet tas i begrepp som rör etisk omtanke samt i begrepp som rör samtycke och som utvecklats inom forskning om och med barn: inlärtsamtycke och samtycke som pågående process. Samtliga begrepp behandlar på ett eller annat sätt den makt forskaren har i relation till deltagarna. Vidare diskuteras hur deltagares eventuella utsatthet eller sårbarhet behöver ses i relation till denaktuella kontexten snarare än utifrån på förhand definierade kategorier. Avslutningsvis belyses forskares ansvar för att hela tiden göra etiska överväganden i sin profession och att dessa innebär en ständig och systematisk reflektion och en mängd val. Vi ser ett samhällsintresse i att etnografisk forskninggenomförs i andraspråkssammanhang där deltagarna i olika avseenden kan betraktas som i en utsatt position. Detta ställer krav på utveckling av nu använda former för samtyckesförfarande.
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