This section serves as an introduction to the qualitative findings of the study by presenting the eight teachers who were interviewed. Each teacher is described in a brief profile, which includes their personal taste in literature and general perception of
83 For item 15, 3 of the 92 responses were placed in this document; for item 16, 13 of the 53 responses were
literature’s role in subject English. This section is meant to help the reader get to know the teachers before delving into the thematically structured discussion of findings that follow in this chapter and in chapters 8-12. In order to distinguish between the different teachers, each of them has been given an alias and a brief description in the heading. The alias refers to an author of literature that s/he enjoys reading (except in one case, in which it refers to a historical period), and the aliases will be referred to throughout the discussion of the findings. Table 9 below provides an overview of the teachers’ backgrounds, and as such serves as an introduction to the teacher profiles.
Victoria – thorough and well-prepared
Victoria is a “lektor” in her thirties who grew up in another European country, and her mother tongue is neither English nor Norwegian. She has experience teaching both vocational students and general studies students. She appeared to have prepared thoroughly for both interviews and brought along notes for the questions and issues she had been asked to consider.
Victoria has a preference for modern novels as well as the classics – especially Victorian literature. She does not like fantasy or science fiction, but prefers realistic, complex works that deal with “difficult lives and problems and women and men” (I1, T, p. 2). Most of her reading of literature is in English, to stay updated in her job, but she also reads in her native language when she wants to read to relax. She does not read literature in Norwegian.
With regards to subject English in upper secondary school, Victoria thinks that there is not enough time for literature in the compulsory course since there are too many competence aims related to other subject areas (English as a global language, language learning, and communication). She prefers to work with literature in general studies classes, as they “are more open for literature and culture and society” (I1, T, p. 6), and she worries that the vocational students find working with literature a waste of time.
Table 9: Overview of the interview participants Alias Education in English84
Teaching experience in
upper secondary85 Teaches English in86 Novel read
Victoria Master’s degree (“lektor” program)
3 years Vg1 GS,87 Vg3 GS88
Vg1 GS, Vg1 VS
Only Ever Yours Margaret Master’s degree 10 years Vg1 GS, International Baccalaureate (IB)
Vg2 GS, IB Only Ever Yours
Robert One-year course 3 years (4 years) Vg1 VS (4 groups), Vg2 VS More Than This
Joanna Bachelor’s level 22 years (23 years) Vg1 GS, Vg2 GS
Vg1 GS, Vg3 GS More Than This
Neil Master’s degree (“lektor” program)
5 years Vg1 GS, Vg2 GS, Vg3 GS
Vg1 VS, Vg2 GS, Vg3 GS
Ship Breaker
Anne Master’s degree 11 years Vg1 VS (2 groups), Vg2 VS (3 groups) Ship Breaker
Sophie Master’s degree 15 years Vg3 GS
Vg3 GS The Diary of Pelly D
Charlotte One-year course 5 years (18 years) Vg1 GS, Vg1 VS The Diary of Pelly D
84 One-year course: corresponds to “årsstudium” or “grunnfag”; Bachelor’s level: corresponds to “fordypning” or “mellomfag”; Master’s degree: corresponds to “hovedfag”.
85 Some teachers have taught in other parts of the school system in addition to upper secondary. In these cases, the total amount of teaching experience is listed in parentheses.
86 When the interviews were conducted in different academic years, the classes listed in italics are those taught during the second interview.
87 GS refers to general studies, and VS refers to vocational studies.
Margaret – native speaker and IB teacher
Margaret is a “lektor” in her forties who grew up in an English-speaking country, and English is her native language. She teaches International Baccalaureate (IB) students in addition to general and vocational studies, and thinks that the way she works with English in IB has influenced how she teaches other classes.
Margaret describes her personal taste in literature as omnivorous, stating that she reads “all kinds of things. […] Everything from literary fiction to genre fiction from, you know, I like all of it” (I1, p. 2). She refers to her reading time as being her own, saying that “it’s very rare that I would pick up something because I’m considering it for a class” (I1, p. 3). She reads almost exclusively in English, and enjoys travel literature, philosophy, history, non-fiction, and graphic novels in addition to novels. One of her favorite works is Dante’s Inferno (ca. 1308-1321), which she will “revisit periodically” since it makes her feel like she is “in the presence of greatness” (I1, p. 21). She also enjoys reading Margaret Atwood’s books, and poets such as William Butler Yeats and John Keats.
With regards to subject English in upper secondary school, Margaret sees literature as being very important for language learning and students’ abilities to read and write texts. In addition, she finds literature important for helping students “gain a greater understanding of other people in other places” (I1, p. 3). She likes working within the Norwegian educational system because of the freedom the curriculum offers.
Robert – representing a vocational perspective
Robert is a native Norwegian “adjunkt” in his thirties. He has lived in an English- speaking country for a few years, and studied English both there and in Norway. The school in which he works has mainly vocational study programs, and Robert has taught exclusively vocational classes. He seems to care a great deal about his students, and volunteered for the project mainly because he wanted the perspective of vocational teachers to be included.
Robert describes his personal taste in literature as previously centered on fantasy literature, with Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson’s Wheel of Time series (1990- 2013) as a favorite. More recently, he enjoys a wide array of literature, including science fiction classics such as Douglas Adams’s The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (1979), classic and contemporary literary fiction, dystopias, and fictional and non- fictional tales of the great outdoors. The latter genre is mostly consumed in Norwegian, but the others he reads in both English and Norwegian.
With regards to literature’s role in subject English, Robert views literature as important for gaining an understanding of society, as well as providing more variety in the classroom. Furthermore, he thinks that there should be a clear difference between vocational and general studies English: “a person attending general studies who is moving on to, for instance, a college degree, should have more focus on literature […] I think there should be, perhaps, more focus on vocational English in the vocational studies, to a larger extent” (I1, T, p. 9).
Joanna – the student-centered humanitarian
Joanna is a native Norwegian “adjunkt” in her fifties who has 22 years of teaching experience, the longest of all the interview respondents. In the interview situation, she was confident and outgoing, and focused on her students’ learning and wellbeing. Throughout the two interviews she responded to almost all teaching-related questions with examples based on her own experience with an emphasis on her students.
Joanna describes her personal taste in literature as omnivorous; she “eats a lot of different types of literature” (I1, T, p. 3). She prefers to read literature in the language it has been written, and reads in English, Norwegian, Swedish, and Danish. Jojo Moyes is one of her favorite authors, but she feels the need to defend this choice because it is “simple literature” (I1, T, p. 4). She also enjoys books by other female authors such as Joanna Trollope, Mary Lawson, and Amelie Nothomb. Joanna is not particularly fond of fantasy or science fiction, but she does value classic dystopias like Orwell’s 1984 (1949) and William Golding’s Lord of the Flies (1954).
With regards to subject English in upper secondary school, Joanna sees literature as an integrated part of the subject. She does not teach literature as a separate component, but combines work with language, culture, and society with literary texts. She sees literature as especially important when helping students understand the social studies component of the subject, as well as when shaping students’ attitudes and opinions about the world we live in: “I feel that literature helps us in the right direction […] I think it’s very important that we discuss and […] try to be realistic and look at what kind of society we have, and what we want to have. So I try to link it to things that are happening around us” (I1, T, p. 17).
Neil – ambitious and talkative
Neil is a native Norwegian “lektor” in his thirties. He came across as enthusiastic, talkative, ambitious, and full of ideas; he is partly involved with the school management, and has also planned and initiated a project that included collaboration with English teachers and students in another country. He works in the same school as Charlotte.
Like Robert, Neil describes his personal taste in literature as centered on fantasy literature. One of his favorite authors is Terry Pratchett, and he has also read several of Neil Gaiman’s books, as well as George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series (1996, 1998, 2000, 2005, 2011). However, he finds most fantasy epics to be “too big, too long and too difficult for teaching” (I1, p. 6), and his reading has therefore broadened to include works that he considers using in the classroom. He prefers to read books in the language in which they were written since he gets “physical pain from translations” (I1, p. 7), and he reads mostly in English.
With regards to subject English in upper secondary school, Neil sees literature as closely linked to social studies when he teaches Vg2 International English and Vg3 Social Studies English, but when he teaches literature in Vg1 general studies, he focuses more on literary terms and vocabulary. He thinks that vocational students require different approaches than general studies students, and admits that “it’s harder
for me, because I don’t like to dumb down material. […] You can do the same thing, but in a very different way” (I2, p. 1).
Anne – the concerned vocational teacher
Anne is a native Norwegian “lektor” in her thirties. Like Robert, she teaches exclusively vocational students and wants this perspective to be included in the study. She expresses concerns that vocational students (and their teachers) are generally viewed as less important among English teachers: “The agenda is almost always adapted to Vg1, Vg2, Vg3 general studies, and when you talk to your colleagues, you sense that […] when you’re an English teacher, that’s general studies” (I2, T, p. 1). Anne started reading extensively when she was young, and her first favorite was Roald Dahl’s Matilda (1988). Today, she describes her personal taste in literature as centered on crime novels, and mentions the Norwegian authors Jo Nesbø, Anne Holt, Jussi Adler Olsen, and Hans Olav Lahlum. She may also read other types of literature, but struggles with her motivation for reading when other people decide what she should read, for instance when literature is part of academic studies. She reads in both English and Norwegian, and the Norwegian books tend to be audio books.
With regards to subject English in upper secondary school, Anne thinks that literary texts can offer useful insights into other cultures. However, the amount and types of texts she uses vary according to which student group she is working with: “I think it is easier to work with texts and fiction in classes with a lot of girls, because they have a different relationship to literature. […] While in boy classes, I think it can be difficult to work with text-based things […] because they don’t see the point of reading these kinds of texts” (I1, T, pp. 4-5).
Sophie – quick and efficient
Sophie is a native Norwegian “lektor” in her forties, who in addition to being a full- time teacher writes novels in her spare time. Sophie speaks fast and responds to
questions without taking detours, and as a result, the interviews with her were the shortest.
Sophie describes her personal taste in literature as varied, “from highly intellectual literature that experiments with form to pure, almost trivial literature” (I1, T, p. 2). She reads a lot of literature for teenagers and young adults and contemporary works in both English and Norwegian in order to stay updated in her teaching subjects. In the beginning of the summer vacation, she always enjoys reading “easy chicklit” (I1, T, p. 2) by authors such as Marion Keyes and Sophie Kinsella.
With regards to subject English in upper secondary school, Sophie sees literature as closely linked to social studies, history, and culture. She finds it easy to incorporate literature in the first two years of general studies (the compulsory course and International English), but says that it is difficult to find time for enough literature in Vg3 Social Studies English. She has never taught Vg3 English Literature and Culture, but views that as “the dream subject” (I1, T, p. 3).
Charlotte – the hesitant, all-round teacher
Charlotte is a native Norwegian “adjunkt” in her fifties who works in the same school as Neil. She has been a teacher for eighteen years, and five of those have been in upper secondary. She has previously taught in lower secondary school, primary school, kindergarten, and adult training programs. Furthermore, she has training and work experience in a profession, and has also served in the army. She is soft-spoken and expressed concerns that she would not have much to contribute in this project – concerns that were soon proven unfounded.
Charlotte says that she has always been interested in reading, and describes her personal taste in literature as varied. She has preferred different genres at different stages in her life, and in recent years, she has read a lot of children’s and YA literature because of her children’s reading interests – especially fantasy novels such as J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter (1997-2007) series and Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight series (2005, 2006, 2007, 2008). However, she also enjoys classic literature, and mentions Shakespeare
and Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre (1847) specifically. She reads in both English and Norwegian in her spare time.
In terms of subject English, Charlotte thinks that literature should be given a bigger place than it currently has: “Nowhere in the curriculum does it say that you should have read a book. Perhaps it used to say that […] and I think it is a shame that it is gone, because I see […] what it did to the students” (I1, T, p. 6). She sees literature as important for the development of language and learning about culture, but is especially concerned with literature as a means for the students to learn about themselves.