Cover not available
Article published In:
Revista Española de Lingüística Aplicada/Spanish Journal of Applied Linguistics
Vol. 33:1 (2020) ► pp.171–201

Boys like games and girls like movies

Age and gender differences in out-of-school contact with English

| University of Barcelona
In many contexts learners are enriching their limited contact with the foreign language in the classroom with unlimited contact outside the classroom thanks to the easy and immediate availability of the Internet and digital media. This study aimed to document the characteristics of the contact with English that a large sample of Catalan-Spanish learners have outside the classroom, to explore possible age- and gender-related differences, and to examine the association between out-of-school contact and classroom grades. The responses to a survey showed the type of activities in which young and old adolescents and young adults engage. The analyses showed differences between the three age groups, as well as large differences in the choices of males and females. The analysis of the association between respondents’ English-classroom grades and the different activities showed that reading had the highest positive correlation, followed by watching audiovisual material with L2 subtitles.
Keywords: out of school exposure, input, incidental leaerning, gender, age, EFL
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Background
    • 2.1Before school instruction
    • 2.2School learners
    • 2.3Young adults
  • 3.The current study
    • 3.1Method
      • 3.1.1Participants
      • 3.1.2The survey
    • 3.2Analyses and results
    • 3.3Discussion
    • 3.4Conclusions and limitations
  • Acknowledgements
  • References
Published online: 21 August 2020
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/resla.18042.mun
References (41)
References
Arnold, N. (2009). Online extensive reading for advanced foreign language learners: An evaluation study. Foreign Language Annals, 42(2), 340–366. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Barbee, M. (2013). Extracurricular L2 input in a Japanese EFL cotext: Exposure, attitudes, and motivation. Second Language Studies, 32(1), 1–58. Department of Second Language Studies. University of Hawai’i.Google Scholar
Bruton, A., García López, M., & Esquiliche Mesa, R. (2011). Incidental vocabulary learning: An impracticable term? TESOL Quarterly, 451, 759–768. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Collins, L., & Muñoz, C. (2016). The Foreign Language Classroom: Current Perspectives and Future Considerations. The Modern Language Journal, 100, S1, 133–147. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
De Wilde, V., & Eyckmans, J. (2017). Game on! Young learners’ incidental language learning of English prior to instruction. Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching, 7(4), 673–694. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Enever, J. (Ed.) (2011). ELLiE: Early language learning in Europe. London, UK: British Council.Google Scholar
European Commission. (2017). Eurostats: Internet Use by Individuals [tin00028]. Retrieved 30 May 2018, from [URL]
European Commission. Standard Eurobarometer 88, November 2017. Media use in the European Union. Retrieved 25 June, 2018 from [URL]
Field, A. (2013). Discovering statistics using IBM SPSS statistics. London: Sage.Google Scholar
Gilliland, B. (2015). Listening logs for extensive listening practice. In D. Nunan & J. C. Richards (eds.), Language Learning Beyond the Classroom (pp. 13–22). New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Hannibal Jensen, S. H. (2017). Gaming as an English language learning resource among young children in Denmark. CALICO Journal, 34(1), 1–19. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Holec, H. (1981). Autonomy and foreign language learning. Oxford: Pergamon.Google Scholar
Hulstijn, J. H. (2003). Incidental and intentional learning. In C. J. Doughty & M. H. Long (Eds.), The handbook of second language acquisition (pp. 349–381). Oxford, UK: Blackwell. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Koolstra, C. M., & Beentjes, J. W. J. (1999). Children’s vocabulary acquisition in a foreign language through watching subtitled television programs at home. Educational Technology Research & Development, 47(1), 51–60. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Kuppens, A. H. (2010). Incidental foreign language acquisition from media exposure. Learning, Media and Technology, 35(1), 65–85. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Kusyk, M., & Sockett, G. (2012). From informal resource usage to incidental language acquisition: Language uptake from online television viewing in English. Asp, 621, 45–65. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Lai, C. (2015). Perceiving and traversing in-class and out-of-class learning: Accounts from foreign language learners in Hong Kong. Innovation in Language Learning and Teaching, 9(3), 265–284. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Lamb, M. (2007). The impact of school on EFL learning motivation: An Indonesian case study. TESOL Quarterly, 41(4), 757–780. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Lefever, S. (2010, October). English skills of young learners in Iceland: “I started talking English when I was 4 years old. It just bang … just fall into me.” Paper presented at the Menntakvika Conference, Reijkjavik, Iceland.
Lindgren, E., & Muñoz, C. (2013). The influence of exposure, parents, and linguistic distance on young European learners’ foreign language comprehension. International Journal of Multilingualism, 10(1), 105–129. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Malone, J. (2018). Incidental vocabulary learning in SLA: effects of frequency, aural enhancement, and working memory. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 1–25. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Muñoz, C. (2008). Symmetries and asymmetries of age effects in naturalistic and instructed L2 learning. Applied Linguistics, 24(4), 578–596. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2011). Is input more significant than starting age in foreign language acquisition? International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching (IRAL), 491, 113–133.Google Scholar
(2012). The significance of intensive exposure as a turning point in learners’ histories. In C. Muñoz (Ed.), Intensive Exposure Experiences in Second Language Learning (pp. 141–160). Bristol: Multilingual Matters. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2014). Contrasting effects of starting age and input on the oral performance of foreign language learners. Applied Linguistics, 35(4), 463–482. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Muñoz, C., Cadierno, T., & Casas, I. (2018). Different starting points for early foreign language learning: A comparative study with Danish and Spanish young learners of English. Language Learning, 68(4), 1076–1109. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Nunan, D. (1991). Language teaching methodology: A textbook for teachers. Hemel Hempstead: Prentice Hall International.Google Scholar
Peters, E. (2018). The effect of out-of-school exposure to English language media on learners’ vocabulary knowledge. ITL – International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 169(1), 142–167. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Pickard, N. (1995). Out-of-class language learning strategies: Three case studies. Language Learning Journal, 12(1), 35–37. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Puimège, E., & Peters, E. (2018, March). Incidental L2 vocabulary learning from out-of-class exposure. Presentation at the American Association of Applied Linguistics (AAAL), Chicago.
Samimy, K. K. (2008). Achieving the advanced oral proficiency in Arabic: A case study. Foreign Language Annals, 41(3), 401–414. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Sayer, P., & Ban, R. (2014). Young EFL students’ engagements with English outside the classroom. ELT Journal, 68(3), 321–329. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Sockett, G., & Toffoli, D. (2012). Beyond learner autonomy: A dynamic systems view of the informal learning of English in virtual online communities. ReCALL, 24(2), 138–151. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Sundqvist, P. (2009). Extramural English matters: Out-of-school English and its impact on Swedish ninth graders’ oral proficiency and vocabulary. (Diss.), Karlstad University, Karlstad.Google Scholar
Sundqvist, P., & Sylvén, L. K. (2014). Language-related computer use: Focus on young L2 English learners in Sweden. ReCALL, 26(1), 3–20. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2016). Extramural English in Teaching and Learning. From Theory and Research to Practice. London: Palgrave Macmillan. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Sundqvist, P., & Wikström. (2015). Out-of-school digital gameplay and in school L2 English vocabulary outcomes. System, 511, 65–76. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Sylvén, L. K., & Sundqvist, P. (2012). Gaming as extramural English L2 learning and L2 proficiency among young learners. ReCALL, 24(3), 302–321. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Unsworth, S., Persson, L., Prins, T., & de Bot, K. (2015). An investigation of factors affecting early foreign language learning in the Netherlands. Applied Linguistics, 361, 527–548. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Webb, S., & Chang, A. C-S. (2015). How does prior word knowledge affect vocabulary learning progress in an extensive reading program? Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 37(4), 651–675. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Webb, S., & Rodgers, M. (2009). Vocabulary demands of television programs. Language Learning, 59(2), 335–366. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Cited by (18)

Cited by 18 other publications

Avello, Daniela & Carmen Muñoz
2024. The development of L1 and L2 reading skills from captioned video viewing in primary school EFL learners. In Audiovisual Input and Second Language Learning [Language Learning & Language Teaching, 61], ► pp. 25 ff. DOI logo
Csizér, Kata & Ágnes Albert
2024. Gender-Related Differences in the Effects of Motivation, Self-Efficacy, and Emotions on Autonomous Use of Technology in Second Language Learning. The Asia-Pacific Education Researcher 33:4 ► pp. 819 ff. DOI logo
Gesa, Ferran & Imma Miralpeix
2024. Extensive viewing and L2 vocabulary learning. ITL - International Journal of Applied Linguistics 175:2 ► pp. 187 ff. DOI logo
Karlak, Manuela
2024. Gender Differences in Motivated Behavior by Croatian Students of English and German in the Out-of-School Context. Društvene i humanističke studije (Online) 9:1(25) ► pp. 825 ff. DOI logo
Mannarelli, Paola & Raquel Serrano
2024. ‘Thank you for the music’: examining how songs can promote vocabulary learning in an EFL class. The Language Learning Journal 52:1 ► pp. 1 ff. DOI logo
Soto-Corominas, Adriana, Helena Roquet & Marta Segura
2024. The Effects of CLIL and Sources of Individual Differences on Receptive and Productive EFL Skills at the Onset of Primary School. Applied Linguistics 45:2 ► pp. 364 ff. DOI logo
Sundqvist, Pia
2024. Extramural English as an individual difference variable in L2 research: Methodology matters. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics ► pp. 1 ff. DOI logo
Ulfat, Nasrin
2024. Language learning and escapism: how five Norwegian adolescents escape reality through reading and/or gaming extramurally in L2 English. Innovation in Language Learning and Teaching ► pp. 1 ff. DOI logo
Pattemore, Anastasia & Carmen Muñoz
2023. The effects of binge-watching and spacing on learning L2 multi-word units from captioned TV series. The Language Learning Journal 51:4 ► pp. 401 ff. DOI logo
Pawlak, Mirosław, Mariusz Kruk, Kata Csizér & Joanna Zawodniak
2023. Investigating in-class and after-class boredom among advanced learners of English: intensity, interrelationships and learner profiles. Applied Linguistics Review DOI logo
Sockett, Geoffrey
2023. Input in the digital wild: Online informal and non-formal learning and their interactions with study abroad. Second Language Research 39:1 ► pp. 115 ff. DOI logo
Tragant, Elsa & Carmen Muñoz
2023. Levels of Success with English and Learning Conditions: Same Opportunities?. In Ten Years of English Learning at School, ► pp. 149 ff. DOI logo
Moreno Vila, F. Xavier
2022. Chapter 15. Research on educational sociolinguistics in the Catalan-speaking area. In Catalan Sociolinguistics [IVITRA Research in Linguistics and Literature, 32], ► pp. 207 ff. DOI logo
Suárez, Maria del Mar & Ferran Gesa
2022. Integrating Foreign Language Vocabulary Research into the Curriculum: Extensive Video Viewing in the University Classroom. In English Language Teaching [English Language Teaching: Theory, Research and Pedagogy, ], ► pp. 219 ff. DOI logo
Abendroth-Timmer, Dagmar & David Gerlach
2021. Fremdsprachenlernende und handlungsorientierte Lernprozesse. In Handlungsorientierung im Fremdsprachenunterricht, ► pp. 53 ff. DOI logo
Erk, Mirna
2021. Diversity in EELL: Matters of Context and Contact. In Facing Diversity in Child Foreign Language Education [Second Language Learning and Teaching, ], ► pp. 75 ff. DOI logo
Erk, Mirna & Višnja Pavičić Takač
2021. Teacher target language input and young learners’ aural comprehension of English. ExELL 9:1 ► pp. 1 ff. DOI logo
Zhang, Ruofei, Di Zou, Gary Cheng, Haoran Xie, Fu Lee Wang, Oliver Tat Sheung Au & Zhaoqing Pan
2021. Target languages, types of activities, engagement, and effectiveness of extramural language learning. PLOS ONE 16:6 ► pp. e0253431 ff. DOI logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 29 october 2024. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.