Robert Walldén
Senior lecturer/Associate Professor

Presentation

• Professor in Swedish as a Second Language, 2024, Linnaeus University (Visiting Professor)
• Associate Professor in Swedish and Didactics, 2021, Malmö University
• PhD in Swedish and Didactics, 2019, Malmö University
• Master's Degree in Educational Work, 2014, University of Borås
• Teaching Degree (K–6), 2009, University of Borås

Presently, I am primarily engaged as Visiting Professor in Swedish as a Second Language at Linnaeus University.

PhD and Docent/Associate Professor in Swedish and Didactics at the Faculty of Education and Society. My research interests include disciplinary literacies, text practices and knowledge-building interaction in second-language education. My research often builds on systemic-functional linguistics, Bernstein's sociology of education and critical discourse analysis. An important aim is to shed light on possibilities for promoting students awareness of texts and language in way which creates possibilities for moving between content-area discourses and looking at them critically.

My teaching mostly involve Swedish as a second language for teachers and supervision of students' theses. I also supervise PhD students in the post-graduate study programme SLDI (Languages and Literature in Education). Previously, I have been Subject Coordinator for Swedish as a second language in the Secondary Teaching Program and course leader for indepenent theses in Swedish and VAL. In 2025, I was appointed as a Distinguished University Teacher.

Current research projects I am leading:

Educational background, language learning strategies and language development among adult second-language learners of Swedish (Crafoord, 2024–2026).

Conditions for reading and writing development? Collaboration between schools and libraries in socially disadvantaged areas. (National R&D Network for activities facing significant challenges, 2024–2025).

Subject-specific text practices in the teaching of Swedish as a second language in primary school (Crafoord, 2022–2024)

A language teaching perspective on langauge practicum and work-related language education for SFI students (practice-based research collaboration with a municipality financed by FINSAM, 2022–2023)

Literacy practices in the teaching of Swedish as a second language and social studies (project financed by employment as associate senior lecturer, 2019–2023)