Despite having no official status in Sweden, English was the only foreign language to be specifically addressed in the policy reports that eventually led to the present official Language Act, as the increasing presence of English in certain domains was seen as potentially problematic. According to national policy, Swedish should maintain the role as the principle language in Sweden; and other languages should be prevented from dominating any one domain, such as education. In educational settings, the chosen medium of instruction may be both political and ideological, and this also applies to immersion programmes, such as CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning). In light of this, the present study aims to examine English-medium CLIL in the Swedish context in relation to the Language Act and its preceding reports.
In order to understand the roles of English and Swedish in CLIL programmes, research was conducted in two upper secondary schools, investigating how macro policies may become reality in the micro actions of the classroom. Methods included observations and interviews. The concept of translanguaging was key to the exploration of real language practice in the schools. The data was analysed to explore the functions of translanguaging in the lessons; and language policy and ideology were both considered.
The results indicate that translanguaging affords students the use of all linguistic resources and addresses previous concerns about Swedish domain loss. The process of translanguaging aligns with the official Language Act in upholding the position of Swedish as a principle language in CLIL classes, while also supporting students’ language development in English. The languages are not limited to certain roles (e.g. instruction or classroom management), but can each maintain the status of a language for learning. Thus, translanguaging may offer the means to move beyond real or perceived language hierarchy roles.