Mid Sweden University

This research study investigates the multilingual classroom experiences of English language teachers in primary/junior high schools in Sweden. The main focus of this study is on translanguaging practices and teaching strategies that are applied by the English language teachers in a multilingual context. Previous research confirms the challenges of teaching bilingual students: the third language and teachers’ insufficient competence and education are an issue. Four teachers from primary and junior high school were interviewed in a relatively small town in the northern parts of Sweden. Classroom observations and interviews were conducted to amplify the data. The results of this study indicate that teachers find it challenging to adapt the classroom education to the needs of the multilingual students. Teachers reported that teaching a new language, while acquisition of Swedish as a second language is still an ongoing process, is an ambitious project. It was also evident that all teachers do not have enough knowledge about bilingualism in education, teaching strategies and translanguaging practices in particular. Furthermore, all interviewees were interested in learning more about the topic. Moreover, observations of the classroom situations revealed that bilingual teaching methods were used to some extent, notwithstanding the teachers not having theoretical competence in translanguaging.