NEWS What we do with English in our spare time is linked to how we perform on the English reading comprehension part of the Swedish Scholastic Aptitude Test. In her thesis, Teodora Neagu shows that different activities are linked to different results.
Teodora Neagu, a doctoral student at the Department of Applied Educational Science, has investigated how different ways of using English in one's free time are associated with performance on the Swedish Scholastic Aptitude Test (SweSAT).
Image Hans KarlssonIt seems to matter not only how much English people encounter in everyday life, but also how they engage with the language
English is an established part of everyday life in Sweden. Many people encounter the language through, for example, films, TV series, books, social media, games and digital communication. Teodora Neagu has investigated how such leisure activities are related to the results of the English reading comprehension part of the Swedish Scholastic Aptitude Test.
The results show that the type of activity is related to the test results. Reading, listening to and watching content in English was linked to higher scores on the test, while social interaction in English and listening to music were linked to lower scores.
" It seems to matter not only how much English people encounter in everyday life, but also how they engage with the language," says Teodora Neagu, Department of Applied Educational Sciences.
According to Teodora Neagu, the fact that social interaction in English was linked to lower results on the reading comprehension part may be due to the fact that such communication trains other language skills than those measured in the test. Correspondingly, the language in music texts differs from the longer and more complex texts that the participants encounter in the reading comprehension part of the Scholastic Aptitude Test.
"The results should not be interpreted as meaning that it is negative to communicate in English or listen to music. Rather, they indicate that different activities train different types of language skills," says Teodora Neagu.
However, the study showed no clear correlation between gaming and results on the English reading comprehension section.
The thesis also shows that men on average performed better on the English reading comprehension questions, while women on average performed better on the Swedish-language parts of the test. Differences in how men and women use English in their spare time could partly explain these patterns, but not completely.
The results contribute to a broader understanding of the factors that can affect the results of tests used in higher education samples.
"In a society where English is ever-present, linguistic experiences outside of school can also be relevant to how test results should be understood and interpreted," says Teodora Neagu.
Teodora Neagu, Department of Applied Educational Sciences defends her dissertation with the Swedish title: Measuring Extramural English Engagement and its Relationship with Verbal Performance in a College Admissions Test
Faculty opponent: Associate Professor John Löwenadler, Department of Education and Special Education, University of Gothenburg
Where: Hörsal NAT.D320
When: Friday 6 november 2026, 10.00-12.00
