ABSTRACT

This qualitative study investigates the perspective of three English teachers from three municipalities in Skane, Sweden regarding the use of fiction in grades 7-9 English classrooms to cultivate pupils’ cultural awareness. Through semi-structured interviews, the study explores the type of fiction these teachers use, the strategies they consider most effective, and the challenges they encounter in promoting cultural awareness. The study identifies the type of fiction commonly used, such as novels, short stories, plays, poetry, and the strategies employed, including open-ended questions, multimedia resources, role-playing, and comparative cultural analysis. These approaches are found to play a crucial role in developing critical thinking, empathy, and a deeper understanding of diverse cultures among students. However, the study also underscores several challenges teachers face, such as selecting culturally relevant materials, managing students’ responses to sensitive topics, and balancing the curriculum’s focus on both cultural learning and language development. The findings highlight the need for greater institutional support, including access to diverse resources and curricular flexibility, to enable teachers to more effectively integrate fiction into their teaching and fully realize its potential in fostering cultural understanding.