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EXTRAMURAL ENGLISH ACTIVITIES AND INDIVIDUAL LEARNER DIFFERENCES could highly contribute to L2 vocabulary development (Fajt-Vekäsi 2022a, 2022b, Hitosugi et al. 2014, Neville 2010, Sundqvist—Sylvén 2012). Furthermore, gaming-related technical vocabulary was also mentioned by some of the participants. Ihey pointed out that they learned game-specific abbreviations, such as “bots” for “robots,” from video games. It is clear from the participants’ accounts that video games provide an opportunity for them to learn certain content-related vocabulary. 4.5.9 Using English for talking to other people with different L1s Another emerging topic was talking to people with different L1s than the participants in English. Sandra emphasized the importance of talking to people this way, practicing the given L2, which can ultimately improve fluency. She explained it as follows: Talking to tourists in Budapest helped me pass oral exams. It was awkward at first, but it was nice to step outside my comfort zone. I see my friends and myself struggle but, in the long run, it helps you understand both natives and non-natives, and they cannot teach you that in school. This resonates well with the literature on the role of intercultural orientation in L2 learning. As Clément and Kruidenier (1983) and Root (1999) point out, the knowledge of an L2, in this case, the English language, may enable an L2 learner to make new connections and friends, which is a clear motivating factor for L2 learning. Lina mentioned that she would like to talk to natives more to see what level of English she is at. In her words: “I am curious how much of what I say they would understand and the other way around. That would be a good indication of what level I am really on.” Similarly, Christian also would like to speak to native speakers and later would like to travel abroad alone to see to what extent he can communicate with local people in different countries using the English language. He explained: “I would like to travel abroad alone. I think that’s the real test of your language skills.” Such L2 interactions are important L2 learning resources and opportunities and may motivate learners to invest more effort into learning English (Crystal 2003, De Wilde et al. 2019, Djigunovic 2018, Sauer-Ellis 2019, Sayer-Ban 2014, Sundqvist-Sylvén 2014, Sylven-Sundqvist 2012). Similar to Christian, Luna also talked about intercultural interactions and mentioned her classmates who have acquaintances in Canada with whom they keep in touch in English. In her words: “[It helps] keep in touch with foreigners, I have a classmate who has friends in Canada because when she lived there, they spoke in English.” s 84 e
