Instructed EFL Learning in Austria, France, and Sweden: Hearing Teachers’ Voices

Abstract

Today, the Common European Framework of Reference (2009) and Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) underpins English Language Teaching (ELT) curricula throughout Europe. However, given cross-national differences such as ones related to educational policies and students’ engagement in extramural English (EE), one could expect ELT to vary across countries. We investigated Austrian, French, and Swedish teachers’ types of instruction as well as how and why they resort to the reported practices by conducting semi-structured interviews with twenty lower secondary teachers. Our results show that ELT in all countries seems to largely rely on CLT, but Austrian and French teachers appear to attribute a greater role to teaching form than do teachers from Sweden. Swedish teachers provide primarily meaning-focused, fluency-based teaching. Moreover, Austrian and French teachers reported applying rather predetermined grammar teaching, whereas ELT in Sweden seems to cater more to individual student needs. This cross-country comparison provides a detailed picture of how multiple factors such as curricula, EE, practical constraints (e.g., class size) and student needs influence pedagogical choices and extends our understanding of how grammar teaching practices are related to the teaching context.KeywordsEnglish language teachingAccuracy versus fluencyFocus-on-meaningFocus-on-formExtramural english