Academic reading in crisis? Looking past the blame game in Swedish higher education

Other conference contribution, 2025

The use of English in Swedish higher education has increased significantly in recent years. This shift is particularly evident in the domain of assigned academic reading. In many disciplines, English texts are now as common as, or even more common than, Swedish texts, even in courses where Swedish is the official language of instruction. This widespread reliance on English should be considered in light of reports indicating that many university students in Sweden, especially at undergraduate level, struggle to read and comprehend their assigned reading in English. In this paper, we introduce new research evidence offering further insights into students’ academic reading. We present the results of a national survey with students conducted in January 2025 in collaboration with Språkrådet. The survey, which was based on a representative sample of 1,000 students, explored students’ general views on and engagement with academic reading in English and Swedish. Additionally, respondents were asked about how well their upper secondary education had prepared them to read academic texts in these two main languages. Descriptive and inferential statistics are used to analyze and present the quantitative data, which include the variables age, gender, academic discipline, and level of study. Additionally, interview data collected from twelve first-year university students complement the survey findings and help to contextualize and explain the survey data. The interviews, analyzed using qualitative content analysis, explored students’ expectations about required reading at university, focusing on their reading practices and perceptions of who is responsible for preparing them for academic reading. In our discussion, we situate the findings within the ongoing debate about a “reading crisis” in Swedish higher education and highlight how research of this nature can add important nuance to the debate and provide an important foundation for continued research. The discussion also emphasizes the importance of shared responsibility(ies) among educators, policymakers, and institutions at all levels of education in ensuring equal opportunities for all students to be adequately prepared for academic reading in higher education.