.The Whole language program is in Sweden generally referred to as ?Kiwimetoden? - ?the Kiwi program? (author?s direct translation) partly due to the fact that the Whole language program originates from New Zealand. Whole language is basically a literacy program and approaches literacy from a holistic point of view. Children learning to read and write should do so in the same natural way children learn to speak their native language which is in the context of authentic language as a whole. In Sweden the program is generally practiced together with a commercial and pre-organised material called ?kiwi? or ?Stjärnsvenska?.

The purpose of this study was to look into how learners of Swedish as a second language and some teachers of the subject think and reason about the choice between Swedish or Swedish as a Second Language and literature in Swedish at upper secondary schools. Similar studies have earlier been carried out at upper secondary schools in areas dominated by immigrants while the present study has been accomplished in a small municipality with comparatively few immigrants. The study is based upon qualitative interviews which have been analysed through the socio-cultural theory regarding those artifacts, communication and that mediating second learners of Swedish and their teachers and schools are using in their choices between Swedish or Swedish as a Second Language as well as selection of literature in literature teaching.  The study also shows how learners of Swedish as a second language perceive the choice between the two options of Swedish courses at advanced upper secondary school and how their teachers look upon their choice and the information given. Furthermore we will also get to know the learners of Swedish as a second language and their teachers? view on teaching Swedish literature at advanced upper secondary B-level in Swedish.

The purpose of my report was to find out how music can benefit the language development of children, whilst getting a glimpse of how the educators in preschools use music as a tool for the language development of children. During the course of the report I?ve used the sociocultural perspective theory as a foundation to stand on, this is most of all visible in my analysis and discussion of the result. In the result we can see that the educators possess insight in the importance of music in childrens development, and that they therefore give music a lot of room in their work. Songs where rhyme and language play are allowed are common elements at the preschool that attracts the children and makes them want to partake. Songs sung with movement is a commonly used combination which also serves to further lift the childrens language development when they, through movement, give meaning to the lyrics. It does however take a devoted educator to make music with the preschool children and to support them and making them want to do it.

The main purpose of this essay is to study how classroom interaction can take place in a class for Second Language Learners (SLL).1 I have applied a case study methodology on a linguistic method used by a Teacher in Swedish as Second Language working on a primary school situated in the Southern suburbs of Stockholm. The learning method is based on extensive reading of books which comprehend several learning techniques organized into a process that support the development of linguistic skills such as discussing in a group, writing, reading and thinking in a second language. The methodology applied is based on observations, on an interview with a Teacher in Swedish as Second Language and on a questionnaire answered by 11 students that participated on ?Boksamtal?.Based on a theoretical framework about socio cultural theories on learning and scaffolding,2 I attempt to integrate theory and practice to investigate how the Teacher succeed on applying effective methods for second language learning. Through the analyses of the data is also my intention to emphasize the advantages and disadvantages of such a method.

This study examined constructions of horses and means staff working with horses parallel to therapy in institutional care ascribes to horses. A narrative method was used and the theoretical framework was social constructionism. A question was asked to the narratives: How can practice in institutional care be understood through these stories? The result showed different pictures of institutional care. Horses seem to provide a multi-faceted therapeutic tool.

The purpose of this study is to describe some primary school teachers understanding of language development and approach of first and second language speakers with Arne Tragetons Writing to reading, for pupils in early ages.By using a qualitative method with interviews and participant observations and informal conversations, the basis for the survey was collected. Four teachers in three schools participated. The proportion of second-language pupils at each school was 35%, 17% and 0%. My theoretical starting point in the study was the hermeneutic research tradition, which has been used to interpret and understand the collected material. Theories of behaviorism, constructivism and socio-cultural perspective has been used in the analysis part of this study.

AbstractErlandsson, K-O. 2007. Återanvända fornlämningar. En studie av Ölands rösen. Re-used ancient monuments.

What is located on the bottom in the water outside of Birka? Remains of a water palisade or jetties and other constructions.Birka a Viking Age town that existed between AD 750 and 975 was located on the northwestern part of the small island of Björkö, in the Mälar archipelago of the Baltic Sea in Sweden. The Town was protected onshore by a hill fort and a town rampart. It is a widely spread assumption that Birka had a water palisade as a part of its defense. There are logs and other remnants on the bottom of the lake dating back to the Viking age.

We started out the study with a preconception of culture as something that creates difference between groups of people, which had been verified by our prior research. We also had a sense of culture as a polysemous term. Our assumption is also that there is an opinion within social work practice that Swedish social workers are faced with a cultural barrier when encountering immigrant clients.In this study our aim is to examine constructions of the terms cultural competence and culture. Constructions of the terms ethnicity and ethnic diversity are also observed, although the main reason for this is to show what relation these terms have to the terms cultural competence and culture, and how they may give each other meaning, according to the theory of social construction. In addition to constructions, we also aim to bring out discourses around the terms, upon which we will create a discussion about power and dominance informed by post-colonial theory and critical discourse analysis (CDA).

AbstractThe author Selma Lagerlöf was born in 1858 at Mårbacka, in Värmland and died in 1940. Fifty years after Selma´s death were her correspondence released and ten thousand of letters were found in the collection. But it was just the correspondence between Selma and Sofie Elkan who interested people because they wanted to know if Selma and Sofie have had a sexual relationship. Later, in time for Christmas 2008 the Swedish Television shows a film about Selma. "Selma Lagerlöf Society" was critical to the movie and thougt that the movie focused too much on Selma`s sexual orientation.

Hedemyr?s project has been about finding a meaningful position of utterance and a language for her practice. The general theme is performative art in public spaces.This text is a meta-narrative about this development and transformation process. It is also a proposal for choreographic practice as text, and thus a suggestion for what performative text could be.Her master project includes three intertwined parts. The foundation is an ongoing ?doing?.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of bilateral repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) on language ability in eight participants with aphasia. All participants underwent two periods of treatment and five periods of evaluation. During one treatment period high frequency stimulation was given to the left hemisphere and low frequency stimulation to the right and in one other period placebo stimulation was given. Boston Naming Test and Token Test were used to assess the effects of treatment on naming ability and language comprehension. Results showed that no significant effects were found on group level.

The aim of this study is to have a deeper understanding about the motivations and the obstacles of an immigrant?s language learning. I have studied the problem with focus on integration and language learning. The study is principally based on deep interviews with Turkish immigrants. I have studied the question by means of a socio-cultural perspective of learning; Mead?s conceptions I, Me and the generalised other; Scheff?s conception, the social bonds and Freire?s conception, dialog and Asplund?s conception social responsiveness.

AbstractThe Swedish society has always been monolingual, but has for the past decades transformed into a multicultural and multilingual society. The aim of this study is to investigate if and in that case how preschool teachers work with language development in bilingual and multicultural preschools. The concept of linguistic and cultural diversity includes several different components, not least the social interactions that are of great importance to every individual's development, learning and participation in the world. By understanding the importance of language, language development and the role of mother tongue in second language acquisition, we look into various researches done concerning the effects of the preschool teachers? opinions, methods used to language developmental primarily for children who are multilingual and how the physical environment is shaped to promote language in multicultural and multilingual preschools.The method used in this study is semi-structured interviews with preschool teacher working in multicultural or bilingual preschool settings.

Abstract The purpose of this essay is to compare in what way pedagogues in pre-school in comparison to pedagogues in school use music as an implement to stimulate children?s language development. The essay is built on qualitative written interviews on four pedagogues, two pre-school teachers and two class teachers, along with relevant literature concerning music in relation to language development.In the interviews it was shown that music is used in a greater extent by the pre-school teachers, compared to the class teachers. Activities containing elements of music is situated on a daily basis in preschool, where the two interviewed pre-school teacher?s works.