While online activity is increasing among young Swedish students, motivation to learn English in school is decreasing (Skolverket, 2011). While many studies confirm the positive effect that leisure gaming can have on language acquisition (Atma, Azmi & Hassan, 2020; Ferdig & Pytash, 2014; Li, 2020; Rudis & Poštić, 2017), how students’ motivation is affected is far less researched. In this paper, we aimed to investigate the effects on language learning motivation that extracurricular video games might have and what external factors surrounding gaming that modulate students’ motivation to learn English in school. We examined nine studies related to these topics and used multiple theories about motivation to analyze our findings. The results of our research review indicate that playing video games at home can be generally seen to increase students’ motivation to learn English in school. Studies also demonstrate that factors such as age, culture and student-beliefs could modulate the motivation affected by extra-curricular video gaming. Finally, research suggests that the greater the distance is between a student's current language proficiency and the desired proficiency, the greater the motivation appeared to be.

Abstract The aim of this study is to expound on the gender discrepancy that is present in the English subject in the Swedish school, where female students generally and consistently attain higher grades. We do so by investigating any gender differences in motivation to learn a second language (L2). Further, we apply a gender perspective as we research the motivating effect of incidental English as L2 learning through out-of-school activities, known as extramural English (EE) activities. The study provides a summary of five articles that examine the effect that gender has on motivation and four articles that explore how exposure to and use of EE act as a motivator for male and female students separately. The articles show that female students in general are more motivated to learn an L2. Moreover, a possible explanation for this gender difference is different self-constructs and societal expectations. These findings are relevant to the Swedish educational context since the curriculum for the compulsory school states that all teaching should be equivalent, meaning that all students’ different needs and prerequisites should be taken into account. This includes variations in motivation. On the matter of EE activities, there is a stronger connection between time spent on EE hobbies and school performance for male students, especially for those who play digital games with a communicative aspect; this may offer a solution for the aforementioned gender discrepancy in grades. Nevertheless, there needs to be further research on how to bring the benefits from EE activities into the English classroom.

English holds a significant status as a lingua franca in Sweden, offering regular contact opportunities for learners through media consumption and entertainment, starting at a young age. Exposure to English outside the walls of the formal language classroom has been extensively studied especially in conjunction with students’ motivation, vocabulary acquisition, and oral proficiency (cf. Sundqvist & Sylven, 2016). This study examines the impact of self-reported time spent on extramural English (EE) exposure on the complexity, accuracy, and fluency of written proficiency among lower-secondary students in Sweden. The research focuses on the quantitative measures of complexity and accuracy in argumentative essays (N=20) as well as quantitative measures of fluency in argumentative essays (N=53) taken from a sample of the corpus of Swedish learners of English (SLEC). The findings show that there are positive correlations between EE and complexity, as indicated by lexical diversity and lexical sophistication. Additionally, the normalized error ratio suggests that EE is associated with fewer errors in students' writing. Fluency, measured by written words per minute, aligns with students' self-reported EE contacts, with high-frequency EE users producing longer essays. While group-level findings indicate a positive influence of EE on written proficiency, individual-level analysis reveals a non-linear and complex relationship between contact with EE and written proficiency components. The study emphasizes the importance of integrating students' EE experiences into the formal language classroom to maximize the benefits of extramural English.

The present study concerns itself with incidental acquisition of vocabulary through the consumption of English language media in an extramural setting by Chinese L1 speakers. The design of the study carried the intent to mimic an incidental acquisition through reading scenario so as to give insight into to what extent extramural English could benefit a demographic whose exposure to English outside of the classroom is low. This qualitative study featured both a treatment group and a control group and implemented a pretest – treatment – posttest structure wherein study data was gathered through four multiple-choice vocabulary tests. Two multiple-choice tests provided contextual examples of the lexical items by means of an example sentence while the other two did not. Both pretest and posttest contained one of each multiple-choice test with the context-free test being administered first and the contextual test being administered immediately upon the completion of the former. The data thus gathered was analyzed statistically and inferentially with results showing that consumption of written English language media lead to appreciable vocabulary gains.

The purpose of this degree paper is to look at some adolescents’ use of English inconversations outside of school. Adolescents in today’s society come into contact with theEnglish language in various different ways and one of these can be through oral interactionwith others.By using a mixed-method approach consisting of a questionnaire and interviews thisqualitative study provides an insight into some adolescents’ extramural Englishinteractions. The goal is to find out why some students at a school in the south of Swedenchoose to speak English in settings where there is no apparent reason for them to do so. Theaim is also to see what the conversations look like and what attitudes the students havetowards English. It was found that the main reason is because the students think it is morefun to speak English than Swedish. They claimed that they can express themselves better inEnglish and that it sounds better to speak English. The conversations occur spontaneouslyand errors are corrected. Two groups of students were interviewed and their answersdiffered, because their attitudes towards English differed. The students, who engaged themost in extramural English conversations, were well aware of the usefulness of English.

This research paper aims to investigate if the incorporation of students’ extramural English (EE) activities, such as watching movies or playing computer games, into the English classroom affect their motivation. This research was inspired by The School Inspectorate’s (Skolinspektionen, 2011) conclusion that too many Swedish students find English lessons un-motivating as well as boring. Partly to blame for this problem is the lack of perceived authenticity in the English classroom when compared to the activities that the students are engaged in outside of school (EE). Since this gap between school English and out-of-school English is creating un-motivated students in the classroom, this paper aims to describe learner motivation towards the English language, and whether incorporating students EE activities can increase their motivation. This is done with the support of different theories of motivation as well as the current globalized landscape, with English being considered a global language. One teacher and 25 of her students were interviewed to hear their thoughts on whether the incorporation of extramural English activities into the classroom would increase motivation. The study came to the conclusion that students wanted to learn English in order to become participants in the globalized world. Also, both teacher and students wanted to incorporate extramural English activities into the classroom and stated that this would increase their motivation in school. However, they also explained that it had to be incorporated, or ‘schoolified’, in a way that increased the students’ knowledge and proficiency, and was in line with the curriculum and its knowledge requirements.

The aim of this study was to investigate Swedish upper secondary school students’ attitudes toward English in school as well as to identify in what ways and to what extent they interact with English outside of school. An online questionnaire was used to collect data. The participants were three groups consisting of a total of 31 students at a school in northern Sweden. Findings from this study indicate that although the attitudes differ significantly within and between the different groups, the consensus was that English is a moderately difficult subject where they learn as much as or less than they learn outside of school. Additionally, all groups were shown to spend a lot of time engaging in a variety of different English activities outside of school, among which listening to music, using social media and watching different kinds of online visual media were the most prevalent.

This study was carried out in two locations in the northernmost part of Sweden, in two different primary schools, one in a village in a rural area and one in a mid-sized city. A mix of methods was used, including interviews, questionnaires and logbooks. A total of 37 pupils in year 3 of the Swedish primary school system took part in the study. The purpose was to find out what extramural English (EE) activities pupils engage in, how much time they spend on these activities and to what extent it affects their confidence in their own English proficiency. The study comes to the conclusion that the pupils engage in a wide variety of EE activities, and that the time spent on these activities also varies greatly. Based on the interviews, there seems to be a positive correlation between engagements in EE activities and confidence using English as a foreign language.

This essay aims to investigate Swedish upper secondary school students’ extramural reading (ER) habits as well as if and how these habits affect students’ attitudes toward and motivation for reading in the L2 English classroom. The research questions addressed are: “What are Swedish upper secondary school students’ extramural reading habits?” and “Do students’ extramural reading habits affect their a) attitudes toward, and b) motivation for reading in the L2 English classroom? If yes, in what way?” As engagement in extramural English is suggested to both motivate and demotivate students to read in school, this essay can provide insights into how students’ extramural reading habits affect the reading they do in school. A questionnaire is used to collect data from 99 Swedish upper secondary school students from all three English courses. The questionnaire consists of closed-ended and open-ended questions about the students’ extramural reading habits, attitudes toward and motivation for reading in the L2 English classroom. Quantitative content analysis is used to analyse the data. The findings of this essay reveal that the reading habits of the participating students are varied. While some students read extramurally in English frequently and in a large quantity, others never read extramurally in English. The most commonly read text types are web texts and subtitles. Furthermore, the results show that some aspects of students’ attitudes toward reading in the L2 classroom are significantly affected by the students’ ER and that 77% of the students agree to some extent that their extramural reading provides them with more motivation to read in school. To conclude, pedagogical implications in relation to the findings of this essay are discussed.

This study explores the integration of extramural English in school teaching of English and use among students outside the classroom. With the growing exposure to English through digital media, a new concept of "prosumer" is being created, a role that students increasingly fulfill where they are active both as consumers and producers. It is at this stage that I become more interested in this field of study and begin to think about how the school world addresses and includes students' extramural English, and how students use the English they learn at school in their spare time. Is there a link between these two types of English?  By interviewing seven teachers and twelve students from year 6 in southern Sweden, this study investigates how extramural English is used in teaching. The results show an awareness among teachers about how students learn and interact with English language learning outside of school, but a lack of concrete methods of how this knowledge is integrated in the classroom. The students report that they use their “school taught English”  mainly in social media and online games, which promote and develop their communication skills, pronunciation, spelling and vocabulary. / Denna studie utforskar integrationen av extramural engelska i skolans engelskundervisning och dess användning bland elever utanför klassrummet. Med den växande exponeringen för engelska via digitala medier har det uppstått en ny roll som i litteraturen benämns som “prosumer”, en roll som eleverna uppfyller alltmer där de är aktiva både som konsumenter och producenter. I detta stadie väcks ett stort intresse hos mig och jag börjar fundera på om och i sådana fall hur skolans värld bemöter och inkluderar elevernas extramurala engelska, och om och hur eleverna i sin tur använder sig av den engelskan de lär sig i skolan på sin fritid. Finns det en länk mellan dessa två typer av engelska? Genom att intervjua sju lärare och tolv elever från årskurs 6 i södra Sverige, undersöker denna studie hur den extramurala engelskan tas tillvara i undervisningen. Resultaten visar en medvetenhet hos lärare om elevernas engelska språkinlärning utanför skolan, men en brist på konkreta metoder för hur denna kunskap integreras i klassrummet. Eleverna rapporterar att de använder sin skolengelska främst inom sociala medier och onlinespel, vilket främjar deras kommunikativa förmåga, uttal, stavning och ordförråd