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THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
these findings, research in Belgium (Kuppens 2010) and Germany (Grau 2009)
drew the same conclusions. In Hungary, there is a scarcity of research on the
topic (cf. Jözsa-Imre 2013, Novak-Fönai 2020); however, these studies all found
that, similarly to students in other countries, Hungarian students also like to
pursue EE activities in their free time, and their most common EE activities
were reading, playing video games, watching films and television series, listen¬
ing to music and using social media.
Learners may engage in several EE activities depending on their interests.
English-language entertainment multimedia content, for instance, is popular
amongst EFL learners. An instance of this is watching television shows, which
provide auditory and visual stimuli to learners. Other media elements, includ¬
ing playing English-language video games both offline and online, listening to
English-language music, and using social media in English (e.g., Facebook,
Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Tumblr, WhatsApp) are also excellent examples
of popular EE activities which can contribute to English vocabulary develop¬
ment, reading, and listening comprehension, speaking skills and writing skills,
too (De Wilde et al. 2019, Lindgren—Munoz 2013, Puimege-Peters 2019, Syl¬
ven-Sundgvist 2012). Reading English-language books, magazines, newspapers
and blogs is also an example of popular EE activities (Besser-Chik 2014, De
Wilde-Eyckmans 2017, Sayer-Ban 2014, Sundqvist-Sylvén 2012, Sylven¬
Sundgvist 2014). In addition, students also use English when keeping in touch
with relatives and friends (Crystal 2003, De Wilde et al. 2019, Djigunovic 2018,
Sayer—Ban 2014, Sundqvist—Sylvén 2012, 2014). The next sections, therefore,
provide insights into some of the relevant previous research investigating the
benefits of specific types of EE in EFL learning.
2.5.1 Reading
Researchers claim that reading may prove an excellent resource for second
language acquisition (Day-Bamford 2002, Day et al. 1991, Krashen 2004, 2011,
Nation—Waring 2020). In the foreign language learning and teaching context,
there are two main types of reading: intensive and extensive. Intensive reading
entails reading to comprehend every single detail and word in a text (and intent
to acquire L2 from the text), whereas extensive reading entails reading for
pleasure with no intent to acquire L2 elements (and presumably less focus on
linguistic elements). The former is usually associated with formal, classroom¬
based instruction, whereas the latter may be considered an extramural activ¬
ity, therefore, the focus of this section is extensive reading and its benefits on
the L2 learning process.
Previous meta-analyses by Nakanishi (2015) and Jeon and Day (2016) found
that extensive reading positively effects L2 proficiency. Research on the
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