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A database of selected, reviewed, tested, assessed and validated e-learning based language teaching sources addressed to Higher education students for the learning of 18 different European languages.

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Sveriges Radio in simple language

Date of Publication

(ongoing)

Target Group

Students

Domain Area

Journalism & multimedia

Learning Scenario

Autonomous learning
Classroom Context

Target Language

Swedish

Language of Instruction

Swedish

CEFR level

B1

Type of Material

Audio
Video

Linguistic Features

Vocabulary
Grammar
Pragmatics
Prosody

Skills

Listening
Reading

Description

The website is a radio platform that introduces itself as providing news in a slower and simpler language, that is it’s spoken slowly and uses plain language.
On the main page, there are several pieces of news highlighted, and for each there is the option of listening to the news article and of reading the text. The texts are usually 3-4 bullet sentences with a link to another newspaper where one can have access to longer and more thorough texts, whereas the audio file may vary from less than a minute to a maximum of 6 minutes. All pieces of news are coupled with photos.
Besides these options, the user can also listen to podcasts and programmes in Swedish, though these will not be in plain language and can be fairly longer, average of 20-30 minutes.

Case study

This resource requires learners to have an intermediate level of Swedish, that is beyond a basic knowledge of the written and spoken language, because learners will have to read and/ or listen to authentic material, despite having been abridged and simplified. Besides being appropriate for beginners to intermediate learners, it may also be used with people with intellectual/ cognitive disabilities and simply lower literacy levels.
These materials can be used in class, as a warmer for discussing a specific topic, as a post activity after approaching a current affair or as homework. For instance, a recent piece of news is related to the death of Einár, a Swedish rapper that was shot at the age of 19. The available articles may be used to discuss current news in Sweden or the dangers of being an artist and similar cases of musicians being killed or dying in the course of their careers (by suicide, overdose and the like). It also allows to approach the downsides of fame and fortune.

Guidelines

If used in a classroom context.
The guidelines will be related to two pieces of news about Einár, one which is 6-minute long (https://sverigesradio.se/avsnitt/krimreportern-om-kidnappningen-av-einar) and another 4.5-minute long (https://sverigesradio.se/avsnitt/einar-nu-ar-jag-artist-tidigare-sags-jag-som-problembarn), along with the accompanying texts. The implementation procedure would be as follows:
Step 1. Students are presented 4 photos - Amy Winehouse, Whitney Houston, Robbie Williams and Einár - and asked what there is in common with all of these. Besides stating that they are all dead, students are expected to add that they were all artists, musicians and/ or actors that either died because they committed suicide, had an overdose or were killed. Information on all of them is expanded according to students’ level and interest.
Step 2. Students are asked to focus on Einár’s photo and describe him physically, so as to recap vocabulary on physical description. They are also asked about his personality.
Step 3. They listen to the audio file about him in 2019, where he talks about his fame with songs such as the neighbour’s cat. While listening, students will have to identify vocabulary about personality traits, Einár’s life and info on his fame.
Step 4. Then they share what they about Einár’s death. As before, they listen to the audio life based on the police report of his death and complement the previous info.
Step 5. Students are asked to write a short text - either a 50-word summary of the news on Einár or a text in plain language, mimicking the radio’s texts.
Step 6. On the following class, teacher will make a dictation using some of the new words found in these two audio files, working on them again if needed.
Further advice:
1. Students may need to listen to the audio files more than once, depending on their level of Swedish.
2. Teacher may also have to write down specific words and work on their pronunciation as a follow-up activity.
3. Students are encouraged to listen to the audio files again by themselves and read from other sources with longer and more complex texts.

Review

Category
Rate
Comprehensive approach
Capacity to match the needs of lecturers and students

5

Added value
The provided tangible improvements

5

Motivation enhancement
The capacity to motivate students to improve their language skills

5

Innovation
Effectiveness in introducing innovative, creative and previously unknown approaches to LSP learning

3

Transferability
Measurement of the transferable potential and possibility to be a source of further capitalisation/application for other language projects in different countries

5

Skills assessment and validation
Availability of appropriate tools for lecturers to monitor students’ progress and for students to assess own progress and to reflect on learning

3

Adaptability
Flexibility of the contents and possibilities for the LSP lecturers to adapt the contents to their and to students’ need

4

Usability
Assess the technical usability from the point of view of the lecturer and the student

5

Accessibility
Assess the accessibility from the point of view of the lecturer and the student

5

Comments:
Considering that pronunciation might be an issue in learning Swedish, these audio files can be very effective in helping students to learn new vocabulary in an authentic context, making use of current news and affairs. These can be the kickoff strategy for approaching different lexical areas and consolidating basic grammar structures, as well as for developing speaking skills.
Moreover, the resources available are also accessible from the perspective of people with intellectual/ cognitive impairments and used, for instance, with migrants still learning the language and getting used to the new culture.
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