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Out-of-Class English Language Learning Among Upper-Intermediate Level Students
Sustainable Multilingualism, 2020
Summary This article discusses a small scale research project that investigated how students learn and use English outside the classroom. It was conducted during the 2019–2020 academic year and completed by administering a questionnaire to 47 students enrolled in the B2-level English language course offered at Vytautas Magnus University in the fall semester of 2019. The data were collected through an online survey. The participants were asked to choose the ways which helped them to learn English outside of the classroom and to comment on them based on how useful they were in terms of learning English. The students were also asked to indicate the frequency of such out-of-classroom (OOC) activities, in other words, how often they engage in the chosen OOCs. The results showed that most of the activities that the research participants engaged in outside the classroom were related to popular culture and their free time activities that were fun and entertaining rather than consciously cho...
The use of English language outside the classroom
Journal of Language and Cultural Education, 2016
This article presents a study which aimed to explore in what ways Armenian EFL students use their English language knowledge outside the classroom. The study involved 38 EFL learners of different English proficiency levels, ages, and genders. Data were collected using surveys and in-depth interviews. Findings indicate that most of the Armenian EFL learners use English out of the class very often, especially with social media, listening to songs, watching movies and clips, as well as travelling and searching on the Internet. Based on the findings, specific recommendations are offered to bring the students’ interests into the classroom.
Abstract proceedings international scholars conference, 2019
The purposes of this study were to explore the factors that motivated and those that discouraged students from speaking English outside of the classroom at Asia-Pacific International University, Mauk Lek Campus. The university offers undergraduate programs in both English and Thai medium. The majority of Thai students who were enrolled in both programs notably lived in the University dormitories, which exposed them to students from 32 different countries, yet were still hesitant to speak English. Using the convenience sampling method, 197 students were selected to participate in this study. A descriptive quantitative method and a self-administered questionnaire were used to collect the data. The findings reveal that motivation for speaking English outside the classroom was mainly for instrumental motivational reasons (M=4.17, SD=0.59), followed by integrative motivational reasons (M=3.74, SD=0.67). Less clear reasons were intrinsic motivation (M=3.41, SD=0.75) and extrinsic motivation (M=3.32, SD=0.82) motivations. The study also reported that factors such as inadequate vocabulary to speak effectively, insufficient knowledge of English grammar, and inability to speak English fluently and continuously, were perceived as hindering them from speaking English outside the classroom. Lastly, the study found statistically significant differences at the 0.05 level in instrumental motivation, intrinsic motivation, and extrinsic motivation when compared with gender, faculty, class status, program of study, and period of learning. The recommendations for future research threefold: to study learning approaches to a variety of vocabularies which would enhance students" communication outside of the classroom; to study participants from other nationalities; and to use a larger sample using other types of sampling and data collection methods.
Understanding the out-of-class English learning choices of students in Taiwan
Asian TEFL, 2017
Research has established that successful foreign language students often seek out opportunities to supplement their language studies with out-of-class language practice. Little is known, however, about the forms of out-of-class English studies in which successful English learners in Taiwan engage with the reasons for these particular choices being especially unclear. To address this gap, this project considered the out-of-class English learning choices of 79 university English majors in Taiwan. Findings based upon ethnographic interviews with these individuals indicate that they believed out-of-class English practice to be important due to the limitations associated with their formal language study. Despite this impetus, their choices of settings and interlocutors for English practice were constrained by beliefs about language circulating in the society, in particular social censure associated with English use in public places and with other Taiwanese. As a result, they tended to practice English in online venues, within the confines of the home, with like-minded peers, and with those perceived as foreigners. These results extend our understanding of out-of-class English study by addressing it as a socially-situated phenomenon, foregrounding the sorts of constraints that even highly-motivated language learners may face in their efforts to build their language proficiency.
Investigating students’ ways to learn English outside of class: A researchers’ narrative.
Studies in Self-Access Learning Journal, 3(2), 2012. pp 196-203, 2012
This paper provides a summary of a multi-stage research project described through the narratives of the two authors. The research project investigated what students thought were effective (i.e., Good) and less effective (i.e., Bad) ways to learn English. The paper presents some of the main findings of the various components of the studies. One important finding relevant to educators working in self-access centres is that students responding to the open-ended portions of the study did not mention electronic, online or multimedia resources, or self-access learning centres (SALCs). Follow-up closed-response questionnaire findings indicated that students evaluated electronic resources and SALCs positively as good ways to learn outside of class. The authors suggest that a questionnaire-based list of ways to learn English out of class is an effective way to raise students' awareness of alternatives for learners. Subsequent diary studies showed how participants used ideas that were introduced mainly via the questionnaire for their outside class study.
Journal of Education in Black Sea Region
The present study aims at revealing the impact of engagement in out-of-class learning on foreign language students’ language proficiency. Accordingly, the relationship of private university EFL students’ involvement in English language activities outside the classroom with their language proficiency is investigated. The researcher designed a study based on descriptive quantitative research method utilizing a questionnaire comprising 25 items and administered it to the freshmen from English language teaching, biology education, physics education, and mathematics education departments at the education faculty of a private university in Erbil. 87 participants responded to the questionnaire. The statistical analysis of data was performed through SPSS 25 data editor. The results show that the most frequent activities in which English is practiced are entertaining activities like watching movies, videos, and surfing on the Internet, and that the level of the students’ involvement in Engli...