TY - JOUR
T1 - Target languages, types of activities, engagement, and effectiveness of extramural language learning
AU - Zhang, Ruofei
AU - Zou, Di
AU - Cheng, Gary
AU - Xie, Haoran
AU - Wang, Fu Lee
AU - Au, Oliver Tat Sheung
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
Copyright: © 2021 Zhang et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
PY - 2021/6
Y1 - 2021/6
N2 - Since Sundqvist introduced the term “extramural English” in 2009, empirical research on extramural language learning has continued to expand. However, the expanding empirical research has yet yielded incommensurate review studies. To present a timely picture of the field of extramural language learning, this study conducts a review of 33 relevant articles retrieved from Scopus and Web of Science databases. The results showed the five types of target languages frequently investigated in this field (i.e., English, German, French, Chinese, and Japanese) and seven main types of extramural learning activities (i.e., playing digital games, watching videos, reading, listening to audios, having technology-enhanced socialisation, having face-to-face socialisation, and writing compositions). People’s engagement in extramural language learning was overall high, especially listening to audios and playing digital games, mediated by the relationship between the difficulty of the activities and people’s target language proficiency levels, gender, and the interactive environment. Extramural language learning was overall effective for language development and enhancing affective states in language learning. The effectiveness may be influenced by the involvement of language inputs and outputs and the amount of engagement time. Implications for practitioners were suggested concerning encouraging digital gameplay, emphasising formal language instruction, and creating positive interactive environments for extramural language learning.
AB - Since Sundqvist introduced the term “extramural English” in 2009, empirical research on extramural language learning has continued to expand. However, the expanding empirical research has yet yielded incommensurate review studies. To present a timely picture of the field of extramural language learning, this study conducts a review of 33 relevant articles retrieved from Scopus and Web of Science databases. The results showed the five types of target languages frequently investigated in this field (i.e., English, German, French, Chinese, and Japanese) and seven main types of extramural learning activities (i.e., playing digital games, watching videos, reading, listening to audios, having technology-enhanced socialisation, having face-to-face socialisation, and writing compositions). People’s engagement in extramural language learning was overall high, especially listening to audios and playing digital games, mediated by the relationship between the difficulty of the activities and people’s target language proficiency levels, gender, and the interactive environment. Extramural language learning was overall effective for language development and enhancing affective states in language learning. The effectiveness may be influenced by the involvement of language inputs and outputs and the amount of engagement time. Implications for practitioners were suggested concerning encouraging digital gameplay, emphasising formal language instruction, and creating positive interactive environments for extramural language learning.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85108911493&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1371/journal.pone.0253431
DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0253431
M3 - Article
C2 - 34181684
AN - SCOPUS:85108911493
VL - 16
JO - PLoS ONE
JF - PLoS ONE
IS - 6 June
M1 - e0253431
ER -