Research interests
My research is rooted in Applied English Linguistics. My field of research is ‘English didactics’ (English language education), in particular informal learning of English through Extramural English, that is, English outside of school. I coined the term 'Extramural English' in my dissertation and since then it is has become frequently used in the field. I have conducted several studies on the relation between Extramural English and various aspects of English proficiency, not least vocabulary. Over the years, I have gained expertise in gaming, and in particular in the relation between playing commerical-off-the-shelf games and English language learning, with a focus on young and adolescent learners. My other areas of research include the assessment of L2 oral proficiency and English Language Teaching (ELT), especially in multilingual classrooms. Most of my studies are quantitative, but over the years I have added qualitative methods to my toolbox so nowadays my studies tend to be mixed.
Dissertation in English linguistics (2009): Extramural English Matters: Out-of-School English and Its Impact on Swedish Ninth Graders' Oral Proficiency and Vocabulary
Books
Sundqvist, P., & Sylvén, L. K. (2016): Extramural English in Teaching and Learning: From Theory and Research to Practice. Palgrave Macmillan.
Henry, A., Sundqvist, P., & Thorsen, C. (2019): Motivational Practice: Insights from the Classroom. Studentlitteratur
Edited books (most recent)
Reinders, H., Lai, C., & Sundqvist, P. (Eds.). (2022). The Routledge Handbook of Language Learning and Teaching Beyond the Classroom. Routledge. View book launch
Sundqvist, P., Waldmann, C., Straszer, B., & Ljung Egeland, B. (Eds.). (2022). Språk i skola, på fritid och i arbetsliv: Aktuella arenor för svensk forskning inom tillämpad språkvetenskap [Language in school, leisure time, and working life: Current arenas for Swedish research in applied linguistics]. ASLA, Swedish Association of Applied Linguistics.
Keynotes (selection)
YOUNG L2 LEARNERS AND GAMES 2023, University of Warwick, UK. 1 April keynote: "Walk the line: Teaching L2 English and young learners' gaming inside and outside the classroom"
12th INTERNATIONAL EFL CONFERENCE 2022 Theme: Analyze the Present, Imagine the Future in ELT. 17 May keynote: "15 years of researching Extramural English: Lessons learned for ELT"
GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY ROUNDTABLE (GURT) 2021 Theme: Online Language Learning and Teaching. 5 March keynote: "Online gaming and game-changing: From learning to teaching" Video recording HERE
NATIONAL FORUM FOR ENGLISH STUDIES 2021 Theme: Rethinking English Studies. 22 April keynote: "English Only or English Mainly? Reconsidering language use and teaching practices after intervening in multilingual L2 English classrooms" Video recording HERE
ANNUAL CONFERENCE FOR ENGLISH TEACHERS' ASSOCIATION OF ISRAEL 2021 Theme: Lessons Lived and Learned. Special international Vocabulary Symposium on Extramural Language Learning. 7 July keynote: "Gaming and other online activities - and how to utilize them in English language teaching"
Invited talks and interviews (selection)
LINGUISTICS FRIDAY SPEAKER SERIES, "The pyramid is upside down: Age, instruction, and L2 English learning", Georgetown University, 4 November, 2022.
#YML-TALK, "Media influence and identity: Young Swedish L2 English learners and changed self-perceptions", University of Vienna, 13 October, 2022.
ELE WEBINAR, "Extramural English, media influence, and identity". The Education University of Hong Kong, 27 September, 2022.
CIRCLE (Current Inquiry and Research Conversations in Language) INTERVIEW "Language learning beyond the classroom". MOOC, Stockholm University, 22 September, 2021.
Guest editor
Special Issue, LANGUAGES, "Language Practices in English Classrooms - from Primary School to Higher Education" (Sundqvist, Sandlund, Källkvist, & Gyllstad).
Teaching
I am a qualified teacher from Sweden with 15 years of experience from teaching junior and senior high school. I returned to university and started my academic career in 2005. At the Department of Teacher Education and School Research at UiO, I mainly teach various English didactics courses in the masters’ program and the one-year program (PPU). Every now and then, I also teach various PhD courses offered by the department. Rough overview of teaching:
- 2005-present: Courses in English linguistics, English teaching methodology, and English didactics at BA and MA levels (regular programs and teacher-training programs), Karlstad University (2005-2018) and University of Oslo (2018-).
- 2010-present: Courses in Second Language Acquisition, Advanced Academic Writing, Quantitative methodology, and English didactics at MA and PhD levels (regular programs and teacher-training programs), Karlstad University (2010-2018) and University of Oslo (2018-).
- 2014-present: Occasional guest lectures on informal language learning and Extramural English (regular programs and teacher-training programs) at different European universities.
Supervision
- Doctoral candidates (PhD): Main supervisor for Nasrin Ulfat at the University of Oslo (2022-2025) and Alexandra Schurz at the University of Vienna (2018-2022). Co-supervisor for Signe Hannibal Jensen at the University of Southern Denmark (2015-2018), Andreas Bengtsson Stockholm University (2017-2023), Liliann Byman-Frisén Karlstad University (2020-2024), Elien Prophète KU Leuven (2021-2024), and Kathrine Staksrud, University of Oslo (2022-2027).
- Doctoral candidates (Licentiate's thesis): Co-supervisor for Paul Morris Mälardalen University (2016-2021) and Ann-Kristin Hamberg Karlstad University (2017-2021).
- MA students: Main supervisor for Jakob Halvorsen (2023-2024), Pia G. Andersen (2023-2024), Hamidreza Mohammadi (2023-2024), Christine F. Germundson (2022), Martin M. Herfjord (2022), James Fountain (2021), Ingrid Handeland (2020), Kristine N. Masvie (2020), Vilde Matilde Skram (2019), Kyrre Hellevang Tveiten (2019), the University of Oslo. Co-supervisor for Marte K. Husum (2023), Caroline K. Sveen (2023), and Shilan Ahmadian (2018), the University of Oslo.
Commissions of Trust
- Board member (2016--) and President of the Swedish Association of Applied Linguistics, ASLA (2022--)
- Steering group member, Informal Language Learning for Immigrants in the Nordics, project funded by the Nordic Council of Ministers (2022-2023)
- Expert Panel member, Flemish Research Council (FWO) Review College, Belgium, 2021-2024
- Editor-in-Chief, ASLA Studies in Applied Linguistics, 2020--
- Editorial Board member, CALICO Journal, 2015--
Professional experience
- Professor, English didactics: November 2022--, University of Oslo
- Associate professor, English didactics: August 2018-November 2022, University of Oslo
- Associate professor, English linguistics: September 2014-August 2021, Karlstad University
- Senior lecturer, English linguistics: January 2010-August 2014, Karlstad University
- Doctoral candidate: January 2005-December 2009, Karlstad University
- Teacher (English, Swedish, Spanish, History): July 1989-December 2004: Various secondary and upper secondary schools in Sweden