The Introduction of English at the Junior Level of the Swedish Comprehensive Compulsory 9-year School : A study of perceived knowledge in relation to motivation conducted among 3rd grade students

Abstract: Abstract Titel: The Introduction of English at the Junior level of the Swedish 9-Year Comprehensive Compulsory School: A study of perceived knowledge in relation to motivation conducted among 3rdgrade students. Författare: Andersson, Rolf Engelska C, 2011 Antal sidor: 26 Abstract: This paper focuses on perceived knowledge of students at the junior level of the comprehensive compulsory 9-year school, as this has an impact on their motivation to study the language. The national curriculum of 2011 assumes that English is introduced at an early stage, during the junior level. The purpose of this paper is to examine how students who start English in the first grade, according to the recommendations of the curriculum, relate to the subject. The paper contains a bibliography section, where I present language research concerning foreign language introduction, language acquisition and motivation, followed by a presentation of a historical view on second language learning in Sweden, and then an investigation conducted by a questionnaire. The purpose of the investigation is to measure the students’ perceived knowledge of English, as this affects their motivation. The investigation is limited to two third grade classes in a junior level school in a rural, scarcely populated municipality in the south-west of Sweden. All in all 40 students took part in the study. The aim of the paper is to answer the following question: How do the pupils regard their own achievements in English? The students have a general ability to evaluate their personal achievements and knowledge subjectively. They seem quite confident about their listening and speaking skills. The most difficult language segment, writing, where the language skills and requirements are most clearly defined, is the language area where the students feel that their ability is weaker. All students, with one exception, agree that language studies are important for them. What the study also shows is the variety of languages that students wish to study, i.e. Chinese and Japanese together with Spanish, Greek and sign languages show how the 9-year-old students are aware of the world around them. The reason why this investigation has been conducted is to investigate the students’ perceived knowledge as this has an impact on their motivation to study the language. Nyckelord : Early English introduction, English at the junior level, perceived knowledge, motivation.