No abstract

The globalization of English in Sweden is examined as it takes shape in educational policy and practice. Following in the tradition of a "new wave" of language policy and planning research that emphasizes connections between policy and how it is interpreted by local stakeholders, this investigation focuses on textual data from Swedish national curricular documents and observational data of preservice English language educators during teacher training. Discourse analysis was conducted in order to illuminate underlying policy discourses, on the one hand, and facilitate tracing intertextual connections to the voices of educators, on the other hand. Drawing upon current perspectives on linguistic globalization, major discursive tensions engendered in the processes of transculturation through which English as a global language is locally situated in Sweden are brought to light. The study illustrates how educational language policy serves as a discursive space for ongoing negotiation about the status of English in Sweden.

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

This paper investigates how and to what degree English is used in specific elite domains in Sweden through analysis of (1) language requirements to participate in undergraduate and graduate programs at competitive institutions; and (2) language qualifications and language use patterns in elite professions. We find that English is used pervasively, but not exclusively. The paper also explores to what extent these language use patterns in elite domains suggest that language shift toward English in Sweden might take place in the future. Although our data indicate that functional dominance of English is far from complete, we argue that the fact that English holds a prominent position in certain elite domains might be significant in influencing language ideology. Furthermore, whereas Sweden cannot presently be characterized as a nation undergoing language shift, the high status of English as the language of international communication and its significance as an important channel of communication in many elite domains are possibly important factors in shaping the climate for language use patterns of the coming decades.