This study investigates how teaching in half-size classes compared to full classes impacts Swedish music teachers’ reported experiences regarding work environment, relations, well-being, and student outcomes. Based on a questionnaire with 541 teachers (Years 4–9), findings show teachers with half-sized classes report significantly better conditions across almost all aspects. However, no corresponding difference was found in student pass rates. Interpreted through frame factor theory, these results suggest that while smaller classes improve the educational environment, these qualitative benefits are not reflected in grades, raising implications for policy.

The present paper reports on an intervention study investigating the development of complexity, accuracy and fluency in written texts collected longitudinally, under controlled conditions, from two groups of adult immigrantsenrolled in Swedish for Immigrants (SFI). The students in the intervention group spent two days per week in a work placement, while the students in the control group had language classes each day. In addition, measures of complexity, accuracy and fluency are also related to the texts' general quality, which was assessed by five experienced teachers of Swedish as a second language, using the method of comparative judgement. Quantitative analyses reveal that general text quality correlate positively with complexity, fluency and accuracy to some extent. Ge neral text quality, complexity and fluency (but not accuracy) developed positively over time. W ork placement did not affect the development of generaltext quality but had a significant, positive effect on the development of fluency and complexity a s well as a significant, negative effect on the development of grammatical accuracy. Pedagogical and theoretical implications of those results are discussed.

Begreppet translanguaging (TL) refererade ursprungligen till en pedagogisk praktik som på ett strukturerat sätt involverar två språk (Williams, 1994). I takt med att begreppets innebörd vidgats avsevärt, särskilt under det senaste decenniet, har det också vunnit stort inflytande inom flerspråkighetsforskning, utbildningsvetenskap och relaterade fält. Enligt Mazak (2017) kan TL i dag referera till en ideologi, en teori, en pedagogik, en språkpraktik samt en transformativ process. Kritik som de senaste åren riktats mot TL-forskningen fokuserar dels på att det centrala begreppet definieras vagt, dels på att teoretiska antaganden – som att flerspråkiga individer inte lagrar språk som separata mentala system – inte förhåller sig till tidigare forskning om flerspråkighet; inte minst är det slående att TL-forskningen i hög utsträckning förbiser den omfattande litteraturen om kodväxling. Med denna kritik som utgångspunkt genomförs en systematisk litteraturöversikt av 152 vetenskapliga publikationer, kopplade till svenska lärosäten, med fokus på hur TL definieras och beskrivs. Analysen, som baseras på Mazaks fem betydelser, visar att TL oftast beskrivs som en språkpraktik eller som en pedagogisk praktik. Beskrivningar av TL som ’ideologi’, ’teori’ eller ’transformativ process’ är betydligt färre och mer indirekt formulerade. Ibland är definitionerna knapphändiga, andra gånger vaga. Litteratur om kodväxling refereras sällan, och det råder oenighet beträffande relationen mellan TL och kodväxling. Utifrån dessa resultat diskuteras begreppets vetenskapliga värde och dess möjliga framtida utveckling. Vi föreslår att det är i sin ursprungliga betydelse – som ’pedagogisk praktik’ snarare än som ’teori’ – som begreppet TL kan ha en transformativ potential.

The concept of translanguaging (TL) originally referred to a pedagogical practice that systematically involves two languages (Williams, 1994). As the meaning of the term has expanded, especially over the past decade, it has also gained considerable influence in multilingualism research, educational science, and related fields. According to Mazak (2017), TL may now refer to an ideology, a theory, a teaching practice, a language practice, and a transformative process. Recent criticism of TL research highlights that the central concept is vaguely defined and that theoretical assumptions – such as the idea that multilingual individuals do not store their languages as separate mental systems – do not adequately engage with previous research on multilingualism. Notably, TL research largely overlooks the extensive literature on codeswitching. Based on this criticism, a systematic review examines how TL is defined and described in 152 peer-reviewed academic publications from Swedish universities. The analysis, using Mazak’s five definitions, shows that TL is most often described as a linguistic or pedagogical practice. Descriptions of TL as an ideology, theory, or transformative process are fewer and more indirectly expressed. Definitions are sometimes brief, at other times vague. Literature on codeswitching is rarely cited, and there appears to be disagreement regarding the relationship between TL and codeswitching. These findings inform a discussion on the scientific value of the concept and its potential future development. It is suggested that the concept of TL holds transformative potential primarily in its original meaning – as a pedagogical practice rather than as a theory.

Från Introduktion: Det har gått 20 år sedan Bigelow och Tarone (2004) konstaterade att det mesta vi vet om vuxnas inlärning av ett andraspråk (L2) härrör från studier som involverar relativt välutbildade inlärare i akademiska kontexter. Detta förhållande tycks inte ha ändrats; L2-forskning involverar fortfarande främst universitetsstudenter (se t.ex. Godfroid & Andringa, 2023; Gujord m.fl., 2023). Denna snedrekrytering får negativa konsekvenser när detgäller så väl generaliserbarhet som applicerbarhet. Mot denna bakgrunduppmanar Godfroid och Andringa (2023) L2-forskare att undersöka omtidigare forskningsresultat, baserade på etablerade metoder inom fältet,kan replikeras med vuxna L2-inlärare med kort eller ingen skolbakgrund.Föreliggande studie hörsammar denna uppmaning genom att undersökarelationen mellan ordkunskap och användning av ordinlärningsstrategierhos vuxna inlärare av svenska med varierande skolbakgrund.