At the heart of democracy is being able to be a part of the society at large which requires sharing the dominant language. In recent years, we have lectured on language learning and specifically second language learning and multilingualism for teachers in Sweden, from Malmö in the south to Umeå in the north. While teachers at all levels need to have knowledge of second language acquisition and learning it becomes apparent in discussions that teachers often meet children who are not motivated to learn Swedish. As a result, the children have not acquired the language used in, for instance the preschool curriculum, nor do they have the necessary skills in Swedish to acquire new knowledge when they start school. 

This means that the research we present to our teacher students and to practicing teachers is relevant to language learning but cannot fully address the challenges faced by the profession. Further knowledge and research are needed on how to work with Swedish as a second language, such as in the preschool context where 25% of children have another language besides Swedish as their first language (SCB, 2021) and, crucially, their motivation to learn the language is low. Language proficiency in preschool predicts subsequent grades in school in for instance math and reading (Murphy et al., 2016; Pace et al., 2019). Therefore, knowledge about how to motivate children (and parents) is a prerequisite for making a linguistic intervention so that children's Swedish skills are sufficient to absorb the education in preschool and later knowledge acquisition in school which is important for being a part of the society at large. 

We will present previous studies of motivation for language learning (Lamb et al., 2021) and our preliminary data from questionnaires and interviews with personnel in preschools and adult learners of Swedish as a second language focusing on motivation to learn the language. Against this background, we will introduce our ideas of “language learning motivation interventions” (LLMI) in school settings. We will claim that it is crucial for teachers to have a better grasp of how to motivate learning Swedish. This understanding can result in the inclusion of children and students in school and the society on equal bases for learning and thus for democracy in their current setting but also in future settings. 

References

Lamb, M., Csizer, K., Henry, A., & Ryan, S. (2021). The Palgrave Handbook of Motivation for Language Learning. Springer Nature Switzerland AG. 

Murphy, K. A., Farquharson, K., Language, & Reading Research, C. (2016). Investigating profiles of lexical quality in preschool and their contribution to first grade reading. Reading and Writing, 29(9), 1745-1770. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-016-9651-y 

Pace, A., Alper, R., Burchinal, M. R., Golinkoff, R. M., & Hirsh-Pasek, K. (2019). Measuring success: Within and cross-domain predictors of academic and social trajectories in elementary school. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 46, 112-125. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2018.04.001 

Statistiska Central Byrån. (2021). Demografi: Antal personer med utländsk eller svensk bakgrund (fin indelning) efter region, ålder och kön (år 2002-2020).