This study is conducted in a Swedish context, and it investigates English language teachers in grades 4-6 and their beliefs concerning vocabulary and pronunciation development in general and regarding the use of songs in the classroom. According to the English syllabus’s core content, the use of songs is compulsory in grades 1 to 6, but the focus is primarily on listening and reading in grades 4 to 6. However, Skolverket (2017) clarifies that songs' usage in English language classrooms can be advantageous regarding other communicative skills and can, therefore, have numerous fields of applications. Moreover, several researchers (Engh, 2013, et al.) emphasise that English language education through the usage of songs develop pupils’ language proficiency in general and vocabulary and pronunciation in particular. This study is focusing on English language teachers currently operating in grades 4 to 6. The study’s purpose is to see if teachers value vocabulary and pronunciation activities, if they teach through songs if they believe that songs enhance the pupils' pronunciation and vocabulary development and what factors teachers believe should lie behind the implementation of songs in the classroom. Also, this paper analyses beliefs regarding the beneficial aspects of utilising traditional teaching methods and contemporary teaching methods. This study's results indicate that teachers do not incorporate songs as much as research recommends, although they are aware of the benefits for language development that comes when teaching through songs. Despite this, teachers would like to learn how to include songs appropriately, and for this reason, they state that they need suitable and appropriate teaching material. This study’s researchers, therefore, recommend that English language teachers incorporate songs more in their teaching to benefit pupils’ vocabulary and pronunciation development. Furthermore, the results also highlight to what extent the teachers in this survey believe songs can support pupils' vocabulary and pronunciation development.
This study examines how democratic organization of operations within Swedish non-profit organizations (NPO) has been affected because of rapid digitalization following covid-19. The study is inductive in nature and aims to study the prerequisites regarding democratic participation during annual meetings. The empirical data that creates the foundation for this research is based on qualitative interviews and a quantitative survey. The selection group studied comprises persons that have acted as chairman during both digital and physical annual meetings, as well as board members and employees within NPO's that have arranged or participated in annual meetings during covid-19.
The study shows that there is a correlation between democratic prerequisites during digital annual meetings and the digital competence within the organization. Furthermore, preparations are shown to be more important regarding the democratic prerequisites than whether the annual meeting is conducted via physical or digital platforms. The results indicate that knowledge gained from the digitization of annual meetings during covid-19 could lead to better possibilities regarding participation and equal influence. Empirical data points out a possible future development where the organizations participating in the study will revert to using physical and hybrid meetings when conducting annual meetings. Hybrid meetings, where some participate physically and others digitally, are not to be recommended due to problems regarding equal participation and influence during the annual meeting.