Swedish Language Research
The subject of Swedish conducts research in several areas, of which a large portion relates to different points of view on literacy – writing and reading – from a learning perspective. This includes projects on the topic of reading multimodal texts in Years 7–9, digital literacy instruction in teacher education, and the writing development of students in higher education. Another ongoing study deals with the subject-specific language in mathematics.
Project interest also extends to writing from bygone eras and includes topics like medieval handwritings from Vadstena Abbey and diary entries from the 19th century.
Several projects have captured aspects that are specific to Värmland. The subject of one project is regional soldier names, another studies the dialect in a school in western Värmland. Word use is also the focal point of a project about the Swedish r-word.
In addition, there is significant interest in grammar and grammar education. Some studies explore the development of Swedish grammar and what sets Swedish apart from other languages, others concern the best ways to teach grammar in schools.
Research groups
Some researchers are affiliated with the Centre for Literature and Language Education (CSL), where subject-specific education research on language and literature is conducted. Find out more here.
Seminar series
The subject gathers for the higher seminar on the Swedish language, which is held 4–6 times per semester. Contact Andreas Nord, head of subject, for the programme.
Current projects
Skolan som dialektal språklig mötesplats: En studie av dialektbruk på en skola i Värmland. [School as an interface for dialect and language. A study of the use of dialect at a school in Värmland.] Denny Jansson.
Lärarstudenters undervisning om och i digitalt skrivande på mellanstadiet. [Teacher education students’ instruction about and in digital writing, Years 4-6.] Annelie Johansson.
Elevers läsförståelse i ett föränderligt textlandskap. [Reading comprehension among students in a changing text landscape.] Marie Wejrum.
Soldatnamn i Värmland. [Soldier names in Värmland.] Roland Andersson.
Det svenska r-ordet: Användningar av och förhandlingar om termerna ras och rasism i samtida svensk internet- och sociala medier-baserad kommunikation. [The Swedish r-word: Uses and negotiations of the terms race and racism in contemporary Swedish online and social media discourse.] Judy Ribeck (with Tobias Hübinette and Peter Wikström, Karlstad University). https://www.kau.se/en/kufo/research-projects/swedish-r-word
Conceptualising mathematical language. Judy Ribeck Nyström (with Anneli Dyrvold, Uppsala University).
Att bygga professionell identitet genom skrivande. [Constructing a professional identity through writing.] Andreas Nord (with Siv-Britt Björktomta, CESAR, Department of Sociology, Uppsala University).
Det kommunala tjänsteutlåtandet – en okänd men central förvaltningsgenre. [The municipal officer’s statement – a little known but key genre of public administration.] Andreas Nord (with Karin Helgesson, University of Gothenburg).
Terminologiarbetets möten. [Interactions in terminology work.] Andreas Nord (with Ylva Byrman, University of Gothenburg; and Marie Sörlin, Uppsala University).
Linking Instruction and Student Achievement – Professional Learning Observations of Teaching (LISA-PLOT). Marie Wejrum (with Michael Tengberg, Anette Forssten Seisser, IPS Karlstad University; Monica Evermark, RUC; and Marie Pilfalk, Broholm School) https://www.kau.se/ruc-regionalt-utvecklingscentrum/pagaende-professionssatsningar/lisa-plot-2020-2021