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The Effects of Swedish Grade 6 Students' Extramural English Engagement

Extramural English (EE) engagement is common amongst young English as a foreign language (EFL) learner in Sweden. However, the ESL students engage in EE activities to varying degrees and their English proficiency could be positively affected by the amount of time spent on EE activities. The present study therefore aims to increase knowledge about grade 6 students’ EE engagement and its possible correlate with the students’ English grades in a Swedish context. Additionally, the study explores which types of EE activities: receptive, productive, and interactive, the students engage most in, and if there is some correlation between type of EE activity engaged in and English grade. This was investigated through mixed-method research, conducting both a quantitative digital questionnaire with 30 participant sixth graders and two qualitative focus group interviews with a total of five sixth graders participating. The findings show that the grade 6 students with high English grades engage most in interactive EE activities, whereas low-grade English students mostly engage in receptive EE activities. Additionally, the qualitative results indicate that grade 6 students perceive benefits of learning English through EE engagement. However, the present study cannot prove any statistically significant correlation between number of hours spent on EE activities per week and English grades. The present study suggests that EFL teachers consider and incorporate the increasing EE engagement of their students in the didactic choices made for English language teaching (ELT). To comprehensively explore the effects that young ESL learners’ EE engagement has on their English acquisition and grades, further research should focus on longitudinal studies, representing a greater variety and number of students participating.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:hig-44289
Date January 2024
CreatorsArnold, Lisa
PublisherHögskolan i Gävle, Avdelningen för humaniora
Source SetsDiVA Archive at Upsalla University
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeStudent thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text
Formatapplication/pdf
Rightsinfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess

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