Historia or History? : Teachers' experiences of English as a language of instruction

The purpose of this study was to examine teachers experience of teaching history in English. The study provides insights into the challenges and opportunities that teachers identify when the teaching is performed in English. The foundation of the study were interviews conducted with six teachers and special education teachers. The interviews were then processed to address the questions. The analysis of the interviews shows that education in English involves both challenges and opportunities. Opportunities include the fact that English allows the use of more advanced sources and a broader range of materials, the students are more motivated and for students with a strong language the use of English is an advantage. Challenges include, a lack of material, difficulties if the students don’t have sufficient language skills and the challenges faced by the academic language. The conclusions indicate that the teaching itself does not differ significantly from when it is conducted in Swedish. Instead, the difference lies in the materials used and a clearer focus on key words and concepts. A difference from previous studies is that the teachers and students only use English. Students who study in English are generally more motivated and achieve higher results than those taught in Swedish. Whether this is due to the language or because they were already more motivated beforehand cannot be determined.