This paper investigates how the English subject syllabus at primary level is constructed in relation to other language subjects in the Swedish 2011 (revised 2018) curriculum. Discourse analysis of language syllabi using the concept of voices as linguistic manifestations of ideologies is presented and discussed vis-à-vis space for plurilingualism and plurilingual competence.
English is a compulsory subject in the Swedish education system, introduced as a subject at some stage before Year 3. Yet, by the final year of primary education, English is just one of the multiple language subjects pupils can be studying, alongside Swedish/Swedish as a second language, Modern Languages and Mother Tongue. Despite this, the curricular space for the English subject to leverage and contribute to plurilingual competence has thus far received little attention. This study centres on the construction of the English subject for years 1-3 and 4-6 in the 2011 (revised 2018) curriculum, also in relation to other language syllabi, using the concept of voices as linguistic manifestations of ideologies. Salient, backgrounded, and absent voices in the English syllabus and those transcending language syllabi boundaries were of particular focus. Findings show that monoglossic ideologies in English language teaching are challenged as English is not positioned as a language belonging to specific nations or speakers. However, there exists no explicit space for plurilingual competence in assessment, where instead pupils' monolingual performances are assessed. Furthermore, there is no explicit mentioning of multilingual awareness-raising of languages in the learners' repertoire, thereby limiting explicit space for plurilingualism. Nevertheless, across the language syllabi, a functional view of language is salient, where communicative strategies, language form for functionally justified ends, and text genres form part of the core content. Therefore implicit spaces for teaching and learning in the English subject to leverage and contribute to plurilingual competence are created. The presentation concludes with a discussion of ideological and implementational space (Hornberger, 2005) for plurilingualism in the English subject.
Hornberger, N. H. (2005). Opening and Filling up Implementational and Ideological Spaces in Heritage Language Education. Modern Language Journal, 89 (4), 605–609.
