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EXTRAMURAL ENGLISH ACTIVITIES AND INDIVIDUAL LEARNER DIFFERENCES
scope of the present research project, it is defined, based on Ellis (2009) and
Schmidt (1994), as a kind of learning which occurs as a by-product of engaging
in another activity, in this case, a particular EE activity, and involves at least
a certain degree of consciousness. On the other hand, intentional learning is
also possible when engaging in EE activities, as learners may knowingly decide
to engage in such activities to acguire English. Explicit learning, however, is
less likely to occur in this context as it often involves teacher-led instruction,
and EE activities are initiated by the learners, not their teachers.
2.3 EE ACTIVITIES AND SECOND LANGUAGE LEARNING MOTIVATION
It is important to highlight again that teenagers (and even adults) engage in
EE activities for the purpose of being entertained or for the sake of pursuing
a pastime activity; therefore, even though it is not excluded, when engaging in
EE activities, learners place less emphasis on learning English than deriving
satisfaction from these activities (Sundqvist, 2009). They spend hours watch¬
ing their favorite TV series, such as Game of Thrones, or playing their favorite
video games, such as World of Warcraft, where incidentally or intentionally,
in a naturalistic environment, they learn English.
As explained earlier, Henry (2013) points out that, as opposed to a classroom
setting, extramural English activities provide more authentic and more inter¬
esting English content than the English encountered in a classroom, which
Henry (2013) refers to as the authenticity gap. Learners will find the English
encountered outside the classroom (cf. extramural English) more interesting
and relatable than the English used inside a classroom, and, as previously
underlined, this kind of engagement does not primarily happen for the purpose
of language learning. As a consequence, learners may feel more motivated to
learn English due to heavy engagement in extramural English activities, as
they realize their understanding of a series or video game, or the news, etc.,
especially, when there is no translation of them into the L1 of the learners.
Learners’ degree of enjoyment is highly dependent on their L2 competence,
which may ultimately result in their being more motivated to learn English,
i.e., the more proficient they are, the more motivated they may be to learn
English. Moreover, as explained previously, extensive exposure to L2 is a key
factor in incidental (and even intentional) learning, and EE activities create
and cater to this naturalistic learning environment.
The positive effect of EE activities on motivation has been demonstrated by
an extensive body of research in the case of, for instance, reading (Al-Homoud¬
Schmitt 2009, Feld-Knapp-Perge 2019, Kim-Hwang 2006), video games
(Dickey 2011, Gee 2007, Molins-Ruano et al. 2014, Schrader et al. 2010, Van
* 30°