Swedish or English : A Study of L1 and L2 Preference and  Speaking Proficiency among High-functioning Upper Secondary School Students within Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

Abstract: This study is both quantitative and qualitative in nature. In order to support or discard the hypothesis that high-functioning, autistic upper secondary school students speak more freely in English than in their native language Swedish, an experiment with a narrative format was conducted with students both within and without Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Measurements of lexical density, hesitations and long pauses in the narrative were applied to assess the quality of produced speech. A questionnaire survey for teachers of this age category of students was also carried out. The analyses of the results are primarily quantitative, but a portion of the questionnaire is also thematically analysed. The study shows that there is initial support for the hypothesis.