معرفی
Maria Nilsson is a Lecturer in Language Didactics at Stockholm University's Department of Subject Didactics, specializing in English language education for younger students (grades F-3 and 4-6). With a PhD in language didactics defended in 2020, she has established herself as a researcher in primary language education, foreign language anxiety, and classroom interaction dynamics.
Her research interests include:
- Ways to promote oral classroom interaction
- Teaching in knowledge-heterogeneous classrooms
- Literature didactics, particularly picturebook read-alouds
- Teacher education and VFU (school-based education)
- Collaboration between school and academia
- Foreign language anxiety and sense of agency among young learners
Numerous presentations at international conferences (Krakow, Oxford, Portland, Rio de Janeiro, Shanghai, Groningen, Copenhagen, Vienna, Kristiansand, Växjö, Bolzano, Vasa) demonstrate her active participation in the global language education research community. Her work consistently addresses the challenges of teaching English in primary schools, with particular attention to anxiety, learner engagement, and effective classroom practices.
Her recent publications (2019-2024) reveal a strong focus on:
- The potential of picturebooks to enhance engagement and language learning
- The challenges of teaching in heterogeneous language classrooms
- The complex relationship between foreign language anxiety and classroom participation
- How young learners perceive their agency in language learning contexts
Maria Nilsson has made significant contributions to understanding how to create engaging and effective language learning environments for young students. Her work bridges theory and practice, drawing from her extensive background as a primary school teacher (grades 4-9 in Swedish, English, and Spanish) before transitioning to academia.
She has previously held a post-doc position at Uppsala University working on interactive reading aloud of multimodal authentic literature and has taught in various teacher education contexts including Lärarlyftet, övningsskoleprojektet, and mentor training programs.
