”På samma villkor?” - Litteraturundervisningens varför och vad i gymnasieämnet svenska som andraspråk

Abstract

This article focuses on the role of literature in the school subject Swedish as a second language in upper-secondary school and the teachers’ views of course literary texts The aim is to illustrate and analyse the motivations behind teachers using fiction for reading and the texts they use. The empirical materials consist of tape-recorded interviews with seven teachers A thematic content analysis is used to find patterns and then themes to be applied in conjunction with the interpretation of the material. The results show that teachers find literature useful as it may provide knowledge of and various perspectives on life and society, even though second language pupils do not take part in the history of literature in their course. Furthermore, literature not only helps develop multilingual students’ knowledge of the Swedish language but also provides them with insights into Swedish culture. The selection of literature was found to be traditional and Western. The article argues that the two upper-secondary school subjects of Swedish should become one inclusive subject, in which the reading of various literary texts and the holding of meaningful literary discussions can enrich all students, regardless of background.