The Americanised British English Classroom: A case study on the linguistic nature of the input in Swedish EFL teaching

Abstract

Input is everything a learner is exposed to within the target subject, yet it is a relatively scarcely researched area within EFL and SLA - especially the linguistic nature of the input that Swedish EFL learners have access to. This case study has therefore been aimed at investigating the input used by 18 English teachers in the greater Gothenburg area. Through an online questionnaire, the informants have provided data on the Englishes used in their respective classrooms, with a primary focus on American and British English. The results have been cross analysed with special focus on the relations between age groups, to test a hypothesis claiming that British English is more common with older teachers whilst American English is more common with younger teachers and even more so amongst students. Partially contrary to these hypotheses, British English appears to be presented even less than expected to the students of the informants, even though relations alter between different sources of input. Some variation can be found between informants of different ages. The linguistic nature of the input available to the students in this study is consequently primarily American, whereas a wider range of variety would have been more resourceful for them.