Linguistically diverse students’ perceptions of difficulties with reading and understanding texts in civics

Abstract

This study explores various difficulties reported by Swedish as a second language students in grade nine, when they read textbook texts in civics. Accordingly, this study provides examples of difficulties with texts in civics, viewed from the students' perspective. The method used is a combination of think-alouds and interviews. A four-field model is constructed and presented as the conceptual framework and analytical tool. This model has been a way of visualizing the complexity of difficulties with texts in civics. Findings show that all four components, a) literacy abilities, b) disciplinary literacy abilities, c) prior knowledge, and d) content area knowledge, illustrated in the four-field model, can be identified when students explain their difficulties with reading comprehension of texts in civics. Findings also indicate that the students' different types of difficulties with texts in civics could be explained by an interplay between the four components.