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EXTRAMURAL ENGLISH ACTIVITIES AND INDIVIDUAL LEARNER DIFFERENCES
findings of a research project that only uses the gualitative research paradigm.
Furthermore, the findings of a gualitative study are not suitable for compari¬
son with the findings of other gualitative, let alone guantitative studies.
Another reason for choosing the mixed-methods research paradigm was
thatit includes both gualitative and guantitative research methods. Ihe former,
suitable for the exploratory nature of this research project and based on the
"tabula rasa" approach, enables the researcher to map a previously unknown
domain, Hungarian secondary school EE interests. Ihis approach means that
the researcher aims to investigate a phenomenon without any (or as few as
possible) preconceptions allowing for a real investigative approach where data
emerges on its own, thus explaining the phenomenon (Richards—Morse 2013),
which can later enable the researcher to develop theories and generate hypoth¬
eses; thus, the data collected through qualitative methods can later serve as a
basis for further qualitative or quantitative research (Cohen et al. 2018).
Finally, another reason for mixing methods was to ensure data source and
method triangulation, which in social sciences means using more than one
data source and one method to gather data, such as interviews and question¬
naires. This guarantees a deeper understanding of the issue investigated.
According to Cohen et al. (2018: 265), triangulation is an “attempt to map out,
or explain more fully, the richness and complexity of human behaviour by
studying it from more than one standpoint.” This was achieved by combining
data sources: qualitative and quantitative methods were used to investigate
Hungarian secondary school students’ EE interests. This combination of qual¬
itative and quantitative methods also helps maximize the research’s internal
and external validity (in the qualitative paradigm, credibility, and transfer¬
ability, respectively) (Dôrnyei 2007).
The next sections outline possible methods to map Hungarian EFL learners’
EE interests. The two research methods introduced are subsequently examined
from the point of view of researchers as well as EFL teachers, providing an
account of both the advantages and disadvantages of using them to collect
data for research purposes and for mapping EFL interests for teaching pur¬
poses.
3.1 MAPPING LEARNERS’ EE INTERESTS
Exploring and, therefore, obtaining a better understanding of learners’ EE
interests can be beneficial for researchers and, more importantly, for practic¬
ing EFL teachers. First of all, from EFL teachers’ perspective, they will be able
to hold more interesting and motivating EFL lessons catering to the needs of
their students as EFL teachers will be able to include their students’ EE inter¬
ests in their teaching; as Sundqvist and Sylvén (2016: 154) point out: “students’
spare-time activities are no longer unknown territory, but rather something
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