This study explores how a sample of Swedish primary school teachers use picture books, and interactive, playful methods in contrast to textbook based traditional practices in their English teaching. It examines teachers’ perceptions of the role these materials and methods play in supporting student learning, as well as the factors influencing their instructional choices.      The study is based on semi-structured qualitative interviews with six teachers and is analyzed through the lens of Social Semiotic Multimodal Theory (SSMT), along with selected concepts from Lundberg’s (2007) research on English teaching in the early schoolyears, which reflects the aims of the Swedish curriculum regarding multimodal and student-centered instruction (Skolverket, 2022).      The findings show that teachers in early primary English education often face the challenge of accommodating students with widely varying language skills during short and infrequent lessons. While traditional tools such as workbooks are still used for structure and efficiency, teachers strive to integrate interactive and engaging methods – such as picture books, games, and drama – to foster students’ vocabulary development and communication competence. The study illustrates how teachers navigate practical constraints while seeking to create meaningful and inclusive language learning experiences.      Although the findings are not generalizable, they provide valuable insight into current English teaching practices in Sweden and point to the need for further research involving a larger sample of teachers or studies from a student perspective.