Dergiler / The Literacy Trek / 2026 / Volume: 11 Issue: 1

Extramural English activities and their relationship with L2 English proficiency at a Turkish university context

Mehmet Sercan Uztosun(Norwegian University of Science and Technology)0000-0002-0122-0406
Sayfa
—
Yayın Tarihi
2025-06-30
DOI
—
🏛️Bu makalenin bibliyografik verileri ve tam metin bağlantısı DergiPark üzerinden sağlanmıştır.
DergiPark Kaydı ↗
✨

Yapay Zeka Hızlı Bakış & Çıkarımlar

AI Insight
⚡ TL;DR(1 Cümlede Hızlı Çıkarım)

Implications for language learning and directions for future research are discussed.

📌 3 Maddede Bu Makale

🎯
Amaç & Hipotez:Although Extramural English (EE) has been widely studied in various international contexts, research in Türkiye remains limited, particularly regarding the relationship between EE engagement and English language proficiency.
📊
Temel Bulgular & Veri:Data were collected from 59 English-major students (average age = 19.74) at a university in Istanbul.
💡
Sonuç & Katkı:Implications for language learning and directions for future research are discussed.
🔬Tür:Uygulamalı Anket & Alan Araştırması
📍Kapsam:Genişletilmiş Akademik Örneklem
⚙️Değişkenler:Informal language learning · Extramural English · L2 English proficiency

Abstract

Although Extramural English (EE) has been widely studied in various international contexts, research in Türkiye remains limited, particularly regarding the relationship between EE engagement and English language proficiency. This study aims to address this gap by profiling Turkish university students’ engagement in EE activities and examining whether the frequency of such engagement correlates with English proficiency. Data were collected from 59 English-major students (average age = 19.74) at a university in Istanbul. Participants reported their weekly engagement in six EE activities via a questionnaire and submitted scores from an English proficiency exam comprising reading/listening, speaking, and writing components. Descriptive statistics and Spearman’s rank-order correlations were used for analysis. Results showed that participants spent the most time on EE listening and EE watching activities. Four EE activities—listening, watching, spoken interaction, and writing—correlated positively with overall proficiency and reading/listening scores. EE reading/listening, and writing were also related to speaking scores, but no EE activity correlated with writing proficiency. EE gaming showed no significant relationships with any proficiency measure. While the popularity of EE activities in Türkiye aligns with international findings, the skill-specific correlations show a more complex picture. Implications for language learning and directions for future research are discussed.

🔖

Bu Makaleye Atıf Yap

Uztosun, M. S., Sundqvist, P. (2025). Extramural English activities and their relationship with L2 English proficiency at a Turkish university context. The Literacy Trek, Volume: 11 Issue: 1. https://ajindex.com/articles/1552898

📄 Tam Metin PDF Okuyucu

📄

PDF görüntüleyici hazırlanıyor...

Kaynakça (49)

  1. Arndt, H., & Woore, R. (2018). Vocabulary learning from watching YouTube videos and reading blog posts. Language learning and technology, 22(3). https://doi.org/10125/44660 Bardak, M. (2023). High school students' practice of Extramural English [Master's dissertation]. Uludag University.
  2. Brevik, L. M. (2019). Gamers, surfers, social media users: Unpacking the role of interest in English. Journal of computer assisted learning, 35(5), 595-606. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcal.12362
  3. Busby, N. (2021). Words from where? Predictors of L2 English vocabulary among Norwegian university students. ITL-International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 172(1), 58-84. https://doi.org/10.1075/itl.19018.bus
  4. Chik, A., & Ho, J. (2017). Learn a language for free: Recreational learning among adults. System, 69, 162-171. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2017.07.017
  5. Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D. (2023). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-methods approaches (6th ed.). Sage. Cohen, L., Manion, L., & Morrison, K. (2007). Research methods in education (6th ed.). Routledge.
  6. Coskun, A., & Mutlu, H. T. (2017). Investigating high school students' use of extramural English: A scale development study. Journal of the Human and Social Science Researches, 6(1), 571-590. De Wilde, V., Brysbaert, M., & Eyckmans, J. (2020). Learning English through out-of-school exposure. Which levels of language proficiency are attained and which types of input are important? Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 23(1), 171-185. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1366728918001062
  7. De Wilde, V., & Eyckmans, J. (2017). Game on! Young learners’ incidental language learning of English prior to instruction. Studies in second language learning and teaching, 7(4), 673-694. https://doi.org/10.14746/ssllt.2017.7.4.6
  8. Dewaele, J.-M., & MacIntyre, P. D. (2014). The two faces of Janus? Anxiety and enjoyment in the foreign language classroom. Studies in second language learning and teaching, 4(2), 237-274. https://doi.org/10.14746/ssllt.2014.4.2.5
  9. Dressman, M. (2020). Introduction. In M. Dressman & R. W. Sadler (Eds.), The handbook of informal language learning (pp. 1-12). Wiley/Blackwell. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119472384
  10. Engin, T. (2023). Exploring the influence of Extramural English activities on the academic success of university English preparatory level students [Master's dissertation]. Uludag University.
  11. Field, A. (2013). Discovering statistics using IBM SPSS statistics (4th ed.). Sage
  12. Guo, X., & Lee, J. S. (2023). A systematic review of informal digital learning of English: An ecological systems theory perspective. System, 117, 103097. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2023.103097
  13. Gürsoy, E., Korkmaz, S., & Damar, A. (2013). Foreign language teaching within 4+ 4+ 4 education system in Turkey: Language teachers’ voice. Eurasian Journal of Educational Research, 53(1), 59-74.
  14. Haznedar, B. (2012). Perspective on Preservice education of English language teachers in Turkish primary schools. In Y. Bayyurt & Y. Bektas-Cetinkaya (Eds.), Research perspective on teaching and learning English in Turkey (pp. 39-58). Peter Lang. https://doi.org/10.3726/978-3-653-02387-9
  15. Ipek, O. F., & Mutlu, H. (2022). English outside the classroom in the age of technology: A concurrent triangulation mixed method study. International Online Journal of Education and Teaching, 9(1), 104-122.
  16. Jensen, S. H. (2017). Gaming as an English language learning resource among young children in Denmark. CALICO Journal, 34(1), 1-19. https://doi.org/10.1558/cj.29519
  17. Krashen, S. (1982). Principles and practice in second language acquisition. Pergamon.
  18. Kusyk, M., Arndt, H. L., Schwarz, M., Yibokou, K. S., Dressman, M., Sockett, G., & Toffoli, D. (2025). A scoping review of studies in informal second language learning: Trends in research published between 2000 and 2020. System, 130, 103541. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2024.103541
  19. Kusyk, M., Sockett, G., & Toffoli, D. (2023). Introduction to language learning and leisure. Language Learning and Leisure, 1-18.
  20. Kaatari, H., Larsson, T., Wang, Y., Acikara-Eickhoff, S., & Sundqvist, P. (2023). Exploring the effects of target-language extramural activities on students’ written production. Journal of Second Language Writing, 62, 101062. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jslw.2023.101062
  21. Lantolf, J. P., & Thorne, S. L. (2006). Sociocultural theory and the genesis of second language development. Oxford University Press.
  22. Lázaro-Ibarrola, A. (2024). What factors contribute to the proficiency of young EFL learners in primary school? Assessing the role of CLIL intensity, extramural English, non-verbal intelligence and socioeconomic status. Language Teaching Research, 13621688241292277. https://doi.org/10.1177/13621688241292277
  23. Lee, J. S. (2019). EFL students’ views of willingness to communicate in the extramural digital context. Computer Assisted Language Learning, 32(7), 692-712. https://doi.org/10.1080/09588221.2018.1535509
  24. Lee, J. S., & Dressman, M. (2018). When IDLE hands make an English workshop: Informal digital learning of English and language proficiency. TESOL Quarterly, 52(2), 435-445. https://doi.org//10.1002/tesq.422
  25. Leona, N. L., van Koert, M. J., van der Molen, M. W., Rispens, J. E., Tijms, J., & Snellings, P. (2021). Explaining individual differences in young English language learners’ vocabulary knowledge: The role of Extramural English Exposure and motivation. System, 96, 102402. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2020.102402
  26. Long, M. H. (1981). Input, interaction, and second language acquisition. In H. Winitz (Ed.), Native language and foreign language acquisition (Vol. 379, pp. 259-278). Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences.
  27. Mayers, A. (2013). Introduction to statistics and SPSS in psychology. Pearson.
  28. Muñoz, C. (2020). Boys like games and girls like movies: Age and gender differences in out-of-school contact with English. Revista Española de Lingüística Aplicada/Spanish Journal of Applied Linguistics, 33(1), 172-202.
  29. Papi, M., & Hiver, P. (2024). Proactive language learning theory. Language Learning. https://doi.org/10.1111/lang.12644
  30. Peters, E. (2018). The effect of out-of-class exposure to English language media on learners’ vocabulary knowledge. ITL-International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 169(1), 142-168. https://doi.org/10.1075/itl.00010.pet
  31. Peters, E., Noreillie, A. S., Heylen, K., Bulté, B., & Desmet, P. (2019). The impact of instruction and out‐of‐school exposure to foreign language input on learners’ vocabulary knowledge in two languages. Language Learning, 69(3), 747-782. https://doi.org/10.1111/lang.12351
  32. Puimège, E., & Peters, E. (2019). Learners’ English vocabulary knowledge prior to formal instruction: The role of learner‐related and word‐related variables. Language Learning, 69(4), 943-977. https://doi.org/10.1111/lang.12364
  33. Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. American psychologist, 55, 68-78. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/0003-066X.55.1.68
  34. Sauro, S., & Zourou, K. (2019). What are the digital wilds? Language Learning & Technology, 23(1), 1-7. https://doi.org/10125/44666
  35. Sockett, G. (2013). Understanding the online informal learning of English as a complex dynamic system: An emic approach. ReCALL, 25(1), 48-62. https://doi.org/10.1017/S095834401200033X
  36. Sundqvist, P. (2009). Extramural English matters: Out-of-school English and its impact on Swedish ninth graders' oral proficiency and vocabulary. [PhD dissertation]. Karlstad University.
  37. Sundqvist, P. (2024). Extramural English as an individual difference variable in L2 research: Methodology matters. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0267190524000072
  38. Sundqvist, P., & Sylvén, L. K. (2016). Extramural English in teaching and learning: From theory and research to practice. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1093/elt/ccy051
  39. Sundqvist, P., & Uztosun, M. S. (2024). Extramural English in Scandinavia and Asia: Scale development, learner engagement, and perceived speaking ability. TESOL Quarterly, 58(4), 1638-1665. https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.3296
  40. Swain, M. (1995). Three functions of output in second language learning. In G. Cook & B. Siedlhofer (Eds.), Principles and Practice in Applied Linguistics: Studies in Honour of H. G. Widdowson (pp. 125-144). Oxford University Press.
  41. Sylvén, L. K., & Sundqvist, P. (2012). Gaming as extramural English L2 learning and L2 proficiency among young learners. ReCALL, 24(3), 302-321. https://doi.org/10.1017/S095834401200016X
  42. Tam, H. I., & Reynolds, B. L. (2023). The relationship between extramural English engagement and the vocabulary size of L1 Cantonese speakers in Macau. ITL-International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 174(1), 49-82. https://doi.org/10.1075/itl.21003.tam
  43. Toffoli, D., & Sockett, G. (2010). How non-specialist students of English practice informal learning using Web 2.0 tools. ASp. La revue du GERAS, (58), 125-144. https://doi.org/10.4000/asp.1851
  44. Tsang, A., & Lam, W.-K. (2024). De-foreignizing English outside class: Junior-secondary-level English-as-a-foreign-language learners’ extramural English engagements and listening and reading proficiency. RELC Journal, 1-20. https://doi.org/10.1177/00336882241229459
  45. Uztosun, M. S., & Kök, M. (2023). L2 skill-specific anxiety and communication apprehension: the role of extramural English in the Turkish context. Innovation in Language Learning and Teaching, 18(1), 17-31. https://doi.org/10.1080/17501229.2023.2217170
  46. Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. In M. Cole, V. John- Steiner, S. Scribner, & E. Souberman (Eds.). Harvard University Press.
  47. 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
  48. Wouters, M., Bollansée, L., Prophète, E., & Peters, E. (2024). The relationship between extramural English and learners’ listening comprehension, reading comprehension, motivation, and anxiety. Vigo International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 21, 165-193.
  49. Zhang, R., Zou, D., Cheng, G., Xie, H., Wang, F. L., & Au, O. T. S. (2021). Target languages, types of activities, engagement, and effectiveness of extramural language learning. PLoS ONE, 16(6), e0253431. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0253431