Skip to main content

Lund University Publications

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

Changing English in a Changing World : The Case of English as a School Subject in Sweden

Källkvist, Marie LU orcid ; Henry, Alastair LU ; Bergström, Jenny and Nylander, Elin LU orcid (2026) In NJES Nordic Journal of English Studies 25(1). p.1-8
Abstract

School subjects are reflections of society (Sundberg 2021), and in Sweden interest in learning English emerged in the seventeenth century, a consequence of growing mobility on the European continent (Bratt 1977). It was not until 1807 that English was first introduced as a school subject, however. Initially, English was available only at the upper-secondary level. It was an elective subject, and students had to find their own teacher (Bratt 1977). Societal change led to further educational reforms and widening school participation, and English gradually enjoyed higher educational status. Major milestones are to be found in 1946, when English replaced German as the first foreign language learnt in schools, and again in 1955 with the... (More)

School subjects are reflections of society (Sundberg 2021), and in Sweden interest in learning English emerged in the seventeenth century, a consequence of growing mobility on the European continent (Bratt 1977). It was not until 1807 that English was first introduced as a school subject, however. Initially, English was available only at the upper-secondary level. It was an elective subject, and students had to find their own teacher (Bratt 1977). Societal change led to further educational reforms and widening school participation, and English gradually enjoyed higher educational status. Major milestones are to be found in 1946, when English replaced German as the first foreign language learnt in schools, and again in 1955 with the introduction of a national curriculum where English became a compulsory subject for all students from school year 5 (age 12) upwards. Since then, the starting age has been successively lowered. Currently, it varies between the ages of seven and nine, depending on local policy. At present, English is the only mandatory foreign language in compulsory education. It means that all students in Sweden study English for a minimum of seven years, from ages 9–16. Since a vast majority of young people continue their education at the upper secondary level, English is often studied for an additional period, ranging from one to three years. At the upper secondary level, English is a compulsory subject in the first and second years, depending on the national program on which students are enrolled. It means that for most students, English is studied for between nine and thirteen years.

(Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
NJES Nordic Journal of English Studies
volume
25
issue
1
pages
8 pages
publisher
Göteborgs universitet, Nordic Association of English Studies
external identifiers
  • scopus:105040933308
ISSN
1502-7694
DOI
10.35360/njes.v25i1.63670
language
English
LU publication?
yes
additional info
Publisher Copyright: Copyright (c) 2026 Marie Källkvist, Alastair Henry, Jenny Bergström, Elin Nylander. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.en
id
1b5e10d5-ae8f-4612-83a3-dd25476aeb24
date added to LUP
2026-09-15 11:07:11
date last changed
2026-09-15 11:08:25
@misc{1b5e10d5-ae8f-4612-83a3-dd25476aeb24,
  abstract     = {{<p>School subjects are reflections of society (Sundberg 2021), and in Sweden interest in learning English emerged in the seventeenth century, a consequence of growing mobility on the European continent (Bratt 1977). It was not until 1807 that English was first introduced as a school subject, however. Initially, English was available only at the upper-secondary level. It was an elective subject, and students had to find their own teacher (Bratt 1977). Societal change led to further educational reforms and widening school participation, and English gradually enjoyed higher educational status. Major milestones are to be found in 1946, when English replaced German as the first foreign language learnt in schools, and again in 1955 with the introduction of a national curriculum where English became a compulsory subject for all students from school year 5 (age 12) upwards. Since then, the starting age has been successively lowered. Currently, it varies between the ages of seven and nine, depending on local policy. At present, English is the only mandatory foreign language in compulsory education. It means that all students in Sweden study English for a minimum of seven years, from ages 9–16. Since a vast majority of young people continue their education at the upper secondary level, English is often studied for an additional period, ranging from one to three years. At the upper secondary level, English is a compulsory subject in the first and second years, depending on the national program on which students are enrolled. It means that for most students, English is studied for between nine and thirteen years.</p>}},
  author       = {{Källkvist, Marie and Henry, Alastair and Bergström, Jenny and Nylander, Elin}},
  issn         = {{1502-7694}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{1}},
  pages        = {{1--8}},
  publisher    = {{Göteborgs universitet, Nordic Association of English Studies}},
  series       = {{NJES Nordic Journal of English Studies}},
  title        = {{Changing English in a Changing World : The Case of English as a School Subject in Sweden}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.35360/njes.v25i1.63670}},
  doi          = {{10.35360/njes.v25i1.63670}},
  volume       = {{25}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}