Vocabulary is of great importance for you to be able to communicate with others. But also to be able to understand what is being taught in school in various subjects and for themselves to be able to read and write. It is the background to why it is so important to quickly teach newcomers English.
In recent years there has been a very large number of refugees from countries such as Afghanistan, Eritrea, Syria, Iraq and Somalia. Many of them are children and teenagers who will go to school and take classes in different subjects and at the same time learn English.
” these young boys and girls have an almost inhuman task. They will learn a completely new language from scratch in order to cope with everyday life and at the same time, get so proficient in English that they can meet the school’s goals, ” says researcher Maria Lim Falk.
the Swedish language and multilingualism at Stockholm university. Along with working teachers as well as researchers and teachers at the university that she works with to develop a model to give newcomers the best possible conditions to learn Swedish much faster. The project is called short for “intensive Swedish” and are currently being tested in four schools in Stockholm county.
– The later a youth is coming to Sweden, the more urgent it is. The requirements are greatest on young people aged 16-19 years – linguistically and cognitively. They should reach the eligibility as quickly as possible, and must then obtain a very good knowledge of Swedish. According to the political scientist, this is the most critical group if you look at the employment rate ahead, Maria Lim Falk.
She says that the newcomers language development varies. Some learn quickly – often those with long schooling – while others do not even have a basic ability to read and write.
– the Project has a range of special bets, which are addressed to groups of pupils with different needs, but who ever looks at the things that can be viable and work for all.
160 000 people asylum in Sweden. Maria Lim Falk was fascinated by how many people got involved for those who many times fled from war and persecution. So she thought that her skills must be able to be used in a constructive way.
” I thought of how you would be able to change the teaching and the education system to be better able to reach children and young people who come here without knowing a word of Swedish.
The new arrivals who come to Sweden has a very diverse background. Some eight years have passed in school, others have never sat in a school desk. Some have a lack of ability to read and write in their mother tongue.
Several also carries dark memories and traumas after that maybe have escaped from war and oppression.
fail too many newly arrived children and young people in the school. They are unable to get access to further secondary education.
– There is no syllabus for the training of newcomers and the lack of specified guidelines for the objectives to be achieved. In our model, is therefore precisely clear goals and objectives an important part. Increased studiemedvetenhet, which include study skills, is also a particular special project in the project.
– the Goals must of course go to reach for the individual learner. The model is designed so that every teacher should be able to customize the amount of content and the objectives of different groups of pupils. We all need to be able to feel that it is moving forward, points out Maria Lim Falk.
In the project she leads the eight to ten lessons of Swedish as a second language by a total of approximately twenty-four hours in a week. Teaching takes place in parallel with the other subjects on the schedule, because the language develops throughout the school day and in all subjects.
– on lessons in biology, chemistry, physics, social studies and so on, improves the pupils ‘ linguistic skills.
It is too early to evaluate the project, but Maria Lim Falk is optimistic.
– Both teachers and students are satisfied. The clear objectives and regular follow-up to make school life flow more easily.
