Marcus Warnby
Deputy Head of Department
Department of Education and Special EducationSenior Lecturer
Department of Education and Special EducationAbout Marcus Warnby
I hold a PhD in Language Education and serve as Senior Lecturer and Deputy Head of Department at the Department of Education and Special Education, University of Gothenburg, where I have overall responsibility for education.
Research
My research concerns language and the role of language in participation, learning, assessment, and progression in education. I am interested in how linguistic resources, language choices, and language demands affect pupils’, students’, and teachers’ opportunities to participate in educational practices and engage with knowledge.
I study both language-related phenomena in their own right—such as academic vocabulary, reading comprehension, reading strategies, and language development—and the ways in which language functions as a central dimension of educational content, assessment, and organisation.
My studies include academic literacy, multilingualism, English-medium instruction (EMI), parallel language use, disciplinary language, and professional language in school and higher education contexts. A central part of my research also concerns educational assessment, test development, and validity. Methodologically, I combine quantitative and qualitative approaches, including statistical modelling, content analysis, interview studies, and policy and document analysis.
I am a co-applicant researcher and local coordinator at the University of Gothenburg within the Swedish Research Council-funded graduate school ASSESS III – Educational Measurement and Assessment. Within this framework, I contribute to research and doctoral supervision in areas such as assessment, validity, reliability, and educational equity.
https://www.gu.se/forskarskolan-assess/assess-iii
Collaboration and outreach
An important part of my work involves practice-based collaboration with schools and educational authorities. I participate in long-term school development initiatives in which pupils’ experiences of teaching and school life serve as a foundation for professional learning and systematic quality improvement.
This work combines the analysis of survey and interview data with support for school leaders, teachers, and lead teachers in areas such as instructional improvement, student participation, relational dimensions of learning, and educational leadership. The aim is both to support local school development and to contribute to research-based knowledge about how schools can create better conditions for learning, participation, and wellbeing.
Teaching
My teaching is primarily directed towards teacher education and school leadership programmes. I teach within areas such as educational assessment, educational leadership, governance and organisation of education, and learning- and health-promoting practices. A recurring theme in my teaching is how pedagogical actions, relationships, language, and institutional conditions interact in educational practice and influence pupils’ and students’ opportunities for learning and development.
Background
I began my career as an upper secondary school teacher in 1999, teaching Swedish, French, and Latin. From 2003 onwards, I combined school teaching with work in teacher education in Stockholm and Gothenburg, initially focusing on academic writing and Swedish language education. Since 2006, I have been employed at the University of Gothenburg. Between 2008 and 2012, I was responsible for the national French examinations within the Swedish National Assessment Programme, which further strengthened my interest in educational assessment. In 2012, I left academia to become a school principal. I completed the Swedish National Principal Training Programme in 2015 and worked as a principal until 2017. After returning to the University of Gothenburg, I served as Director of Studies for Special Education and later as Vice Head of Teacher Education. In 2018, I commenced doctoral studies at Stockholm University and completed my PhD in 2023 with the dissertation English Academic Vocabulary Knowledge among Swedish Upper Secondary School Students. Since 2023, I have worked full-time at the Department of Education and Special Education, primarily within teacher education and school leadership programmes, and since July 2024 I have also served as Deputy Head of Department and Director of Studies. My experiences from schools, teacher education, educational leadership, and research have gradually shaped a sustained interest in the role of language in education—from individuals’ linguistic resources and learning to broader questions of assessment, professional development, governance, and school improvement.
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9317-0233
Scopus ID: https://www.scopus.com/authid/detail.uri?authorId=57642702600
PUBLICATIONS
Articles:
Warnby, M. (2026). Higher- and lower-level processing in strategic reading: Reconceptualising the Survey of Reading Strategies (SORS). Cognitive Processing. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10339-026-01372-2
Pecorari, D., Malmström, H., & Warnby, M. (2025). A test of controlled productive knowledge of English academic vocabulary. Acta Didactica Norden, 19(1), Art. 11, 1–32. https://doi.org/10.5617/adno.11584
Malmström, H., Borght, M. V., & Warnby, M. (2025). Teaching approaches and language proficiency among teachers in English-medium education: exploring correlations and pedagogical implications. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1080/00313831.2025.2492854
Warnby, M. (2025). Relating academic reading with academic vocabulary and general English proficiency to assess standards of students’ university-preparedness – the case of IELTS and CEFR B2. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, 69(3), 506–523. https://doi.org/10.1080/00313831.2024.2318434 (Online first January 2024)
Malmström, H., Pecorari, D., & Warnby, M. (2025) Teachers’ receptive and productive vocabulary sizes in English-medium instruction. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 46(7), 1905–1923. https://doi.org/10.1080/01434632.2023.2260781 (Online first 2023)
Bylund, J., & Warnby, M. (2024). Didaktiska perspektiv på flerspråkighet i lärarutbildningen. Acta Didactica Norden, 18(2), Art. 10, 1-23. https://doi.org/10.5617/adno.11555
Warnby, M. (2024). Exploring student agency in narratives of English literacy events across school subjects. Education Sciences, 14(5): 447. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci14050447
Warnby, M. (2023). English academic vocabulary knowledge among Swedish upper secondary school students [Doctoral dissertation, Stockholm University]. Department of Teaching and Learning, Stockholm University. https://su.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:1730999/FULLTEXT01.pdf
Warnby, M., Malmström, H., & Yang Hansen, K. (2023). Linking scores from two written receptive English academic vocabulary tests – the VLT-Ac and the AVT. Language Testing, 40(3), 548–575. https://doi.org/10.1177/02655322221145643.
Warnby, M. (2023). Academic vocabulary knowledge among adolescents in university preparatory programmes. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 61(2023):101203, 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2022.101203
Warnby, M., Malmström, H., & Bardel, C. (2022). Ett svenskt akademiskt vokabulärtest – revidering, validering och förslag på vidareutveckling. Nordic Journal of Literacy Research, 8(1), 106–127. https://doi.org/10.23865/njlr.v8.3282
Warnby, M. (2022). Receptive academic vocabulary knowledge and extramural English involvement – is there a correlation? ITL - International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 173(1), 120–152. https://doi.org/10.1075/itl.21021.war
Warnby, M. (2006). Frågans värde i språkklassrummet. Lingua, 3/2006. LMS (Lärarna i Moderna språk). https://www.researchgate.net/publication/368655353_Fragans_varde_i_sprakklassrummet
Doctoral dissertation:
Warnby, M. (2023). English academic vocabulary knowledge among Swedish upper secondary school students [Doctoral dissertation, Stockholm University]. Department of Teaching and Learning, Stockholm University. https://su.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:1730999/FULLTEXT01.pdf
Book chapters:
Warnby, M. (2025). Akademisk engelska. I H. Malmström & L. K. Sylvén (Red.), Engelska som målspråk och undervisningsspråk (pp. 61–78). Gleerups.
Conference presentations, reports, and other:
Bylund, J. & Warnby, M. (2026, 4-6 mars). Conceptual Positioning as Responsibility in Teacher Education Curricula: The Case of Multilingualism. NERA, Aarhus, Denmark.
Warnby, M., & Bylund, J. & (2026, 4-6 mars). Coping with the invisible: Student transitions and agency in partial English-medium instruction. NERA, Aarhus, Denmark.
Karlsson, S., Malmström, H., & Warnby, M. (2025, 17 december). Studenter föredrar svenska framför engelska på universitetet. Forskning och Framsteg. https://fof.se/artikel/studenter-foredrar-svenska/
Malmström, H., Karlsson, S., & Warnby, M. (2025). Parallella fackspråk – studentperspektiv på språk i högre utbildning. Språkrådet, Institutet för språk och folkminnen. https://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:2020304/FULLTEXT01.pdf
Vander Borght, M., Malmström, H., & Warnby, M. (2024, June 17-19). Teaching approaches and language proficiency in English-medium instruction teaching. NU2024, Umeå, Sweden. https://research.chalmers.se/publication/542242
Warnby. M. (2024, June 17-19). Behovet av en medveten högskolepedagogik för att stötta läsningen av kurslitteratur på engelska (Conference paper presentation). NU2024 (nationell konferens för högskolepedagogisk utbildning och utveckling), Umeå, Sweden. https://gup.ub.gu.se/publications/show/338919
Vander Borght, M., Warnby, M., & Malmström, H. (2024, June 13-14). Low English proficiency impedes teachers’ hybridity in English-medium instruction. In Norwegian Forum for English for Academic Purposes, Oslo, Norway. https://research.chalmers.se/publication/542799
Vander Borght, M., Malmström, H., & Warnby, M. (2024, April 18-19). Correlating language proficiency and teaching approach in contexts of English-medium instruction. In ASLA 2024, Falun, Sweden. https://research.chalmers.se/publication/541033
Warnby, M. (2023, November 22–23). Academic vocabulary knowledge in pre-tertiary education: Unveiling disparities in knowledge despite shared curriculum [Conference presentation]. Multilingual Education in Sweden – Assets and Challenges, Stockholm, Sweden.(Book of Abstracts: https://www.su.se/polopoly_fs/1.676471.1700207649!/menu/standard/file/multilingual-education-in-sweden-book-of-abstracts-uppdaterad.pdf)
Eriksson, L., Warnby, M. & Busby (2023). Preparing students for academic reading in English: A comparative study of Swedish and Norwegian university-preparatory curricula (Conference paper presentation). International Symposium on Comparative Didactics (ISCOD), Örebro, Sweden, January 11-12, 2023 http://oru.diva-portal.org/smash/record.jsf?pid=diva2:1795966
Warnby, M. (2022, June 16–19). How does CEFR-B2 relate to IELTS band scores and academic vocabulary scores[Conference presentation]. The Paris Conference on Education, Paris, France. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/361408091_How_does_CEFR-B2_relate_to_IELTS_band_scores_and_academic_vocabulary_scores
Warnby, M. & Lemmouh, Z. (2021, October 1–3). What? of academic lexis in curriculum learning outcome – the case of Sweden [Conference presentation]. 3rd International Conference on Language Education and Research (LERC2021), Athens, Greece.
Warnby, M. (2021, August 15–20). Do leisure activities promote upper secondary students’ acquisition of academic vocabulary? [Conference presentation]. AILA 2021, Groningen, the Netherlands.
Warnby, M. (2019, August 28–31). Exploring the Swedish and English passive academic vocabulary of upper secondary students [Conference presentation]. EuroSLA29, Lund, Sweden. https://www.eurosla2019.se/wp-content/uploads/sites/42/2019/08/EuroSLA_Book_of_Abstracts.pdf
Warnby, M. (2019, July 1–3). Investigating upper secondary students' Swedish and English receptive academic vocabulary [Conference presentation]. Vocab@Leuven 2019, Leuven, Belgium. https://vocabatleuven.wordpress.com/
Warnby, M. (2019, June 17). Piloting, investigating and analyzing an academic Swedish word test [Conference presentation]. QRM 2019 - Quantitative Research Methods in Education Conference 2019, Gothenburg, Sweden. https://qrm.gu.se/english/conference/earlier/2019/programme
Warnby, M. (2010). Rapport om provmaterialet i franska åk 9/steg 2 vårterminen 2008/09. Skolverket.
Warnby, M (2009). Vad händer i den nationella provbanken i moderna språk? LMS-konferensen "Upplev språk", 21–22 mars 2009, Uppsala. (Poster presentation)
Holmé, A. & Warnby, M. (2008). Rapport om provmaterialet i franska steg 3 vårterminen 2007. Skolverket.
Lodeiro, J. & Warnby, M. (2008). Om nationellt bedömningsstöd för grundskolan och gymnasiet – nationellt provmaterial i moderna språk åk 9/steg 2. Lingua, 1/2008. LMS (Lärarna i Moderna språk).
Sundblad, B. & Warnby, M. (2006). Tröskelvärden och kvalitativ progression i lärarutbildningen (Paper presentation). Högskolverket: Den sjunde kvalitetskonferensen, Lärarhögskolan i Stockholm, 6-7/4 2006.