"Shaking Shakespeare": A case study of a cross-curricular project in year 9 which integrated content and English

Sammanfattning: An increasing number of schools across Europe offer education which integrates the teaching of content with that of language, sometimes known as CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning), or the Swedish equivalent SPRINT (språk- och innehållsintegrerad inlärning och undervisning). In Sweden this type of learning often goes under the name of cross-curricular or interdisciplinary work. This dissertation is a case study of one such project that integrated content and English and that took place in year 9 at a secondary school in southern Sweden. The purpose of the investigation was to find out what the teachers' and pupils' perceptions were of the use and role of English in this particular cross-curricular project. Applying case study methodology, data was collected using triangulation through observations, a focus group interview with the teachers and a pupil questionnaire. The results show that all the involved teachers and a majority of the pupils were positive towards the integration of content and language, but not on a permanent basis. The teachers felt that the project gave the pupils the opportunity to work with the language and develop communication skills. The pupils said that they had learned more speaking skills compared to being taught English as a separate subject, closely followed by writing and reading skills. However, some felt that they had not learned any grammar, which showed a view of English as a skills subject. The study shows that project-based cross-curricular work could be a successful way to integrate content and language, provided projects are well-planned and clearly structured.