Oldal 67 [67]
Chapter 4
STUDY ONE
——o—
This section provides an overview of the methods used for Study One. For
readers’ convenience, the first research question is repeated below.
RQ1 What extramural English activities do Hungarian secondary school EFL
learners engage in?
For the first study, semi-structured interviews were chosen as the method for
investigating Hungarian secondary school students’ EE interests because, as
Sundgvist and Sylvén (2016: 157) explain, semi-structured interviews are “the
best way to get to know one’s students and what they do and appreciate in their
extramural lives.” Furthermore, in order to explore and collect as much data
as possible about a previously unknown domain as well as obtain insights into
Hungarian secondary school students’ EE interests, the qualitative research
paradigm was chosen. The EE interests of secondary school students may be
an unknown field for researchers; therefore, a qualitative research design may
prove useful because it can provide rich data for a start and for further (quan¬
titative) investigation (Richards—Morse 2013). Also, qualitative interview
studies do not “limit the depth and breadth of the respondent’s story” (Dörnyei
2007: 120), allowing for the exploratory nature of the study at this stage.
4.1 PARTICIPANTS
Study One aimed to examine Hungarian secondary school students’ EE inter¬
ests. For the recruitment of the participants, purposive sampling was used
since the qualitative nature of this study was not concerned with the repre¬
sentativeness of the sample acquired but, rather, aimed to find individuals and
participants who could provide rich and varied data (Johnson—Christensen
2019). Therefore, my professional acquaintances working in secondary educa¬
tion in Hungary were asked to refer me to some of their potential secondary
school students who they thought were engaging heavily in EE activities.