Learning English by Surfing : Swedish upper secondary school students’ views on how they learn English by surfing the Internet – A case study based on a questionnaire

Abstract: The Internet has become a natural element in society and is constantly gaining ground in schools. The aim of this paper is to find out whether upper secondary school students in Sweden estimate that their Internet use affects their second language learning positively. The study was operationalized by means of a self-completion questionnaire which was distributed to 80 students from the same school. The results show that most of the informants estimated that they spend much time on the Internet in general, most often reading the news, and that they use Swedish and English to almost the same extent doing so.  The students' English use in school is estimated to be voluntary and controlled while the Internet is mostly used voluntarily for English homework. Besides engaging in information search both in school and at home, a considerable number of students estimate that translation is an activity exclusively for homework. Most students also find that they are receptive Internet users and that their general Internet use is in line with the comprehensive aims of the English subject listed in the curriculum.