Extramural English in Teaching and Learning: From Theory and Research to Practice

“…have been framed as recreational language learning (Chik & Ho, 2017), autonomous language learning with technology (Lai, 2018), extramural English (Sundqvist & Sylvén, 2016), the digital wilds (Liu & Darvin, 2023; Sauro & Zourou, 2019), and informal digital learning of English (Dressman & Lee,…”

“Finally, although most IDLE-related studies have been conducted in the EFL context of Europe (Sockett & Toffoli, 2012; Sundqvist & Sylvén, 2016), East Asia (Lee & Dressman, 2018; Lai et al., 2015), and Latin America (Cole & Vanderplank, 2016), little attention has been paid to South-east Asian…”

“Studies on informal language learning through social media, videos, or popular music have shown how effective such informal learning can be (Sockett, 2014; Sundqvist & Sylvén, 2016).”

“Recent studies have shown how that can occur through repeated contact with a set of semiotic resources recycling similar language, as through watching videos of soap operas or situation comedies or listening repeatedly to favorite pop songs (Sockett, 2014; Sundqvist & Sylvén, 2016).”

“…English to speakers of other languages (TESOL) and computer-assisted language learning (CALL) has become interested in informal digital learning of English (IDLE) in various English as a foreign language (EFL) contexts1 (Chik & Ho, 2017; Lai, 2017; Sundqvist & Sylvén, 2016; Richards, 2015).”

“…to capture language learning in informal and digitalized settings, including autonomous language learning with technology (Lai, 2017), extramural English (Sundqvist & Sylvén, 2016); CALL in the digital wilds (Sauro & Zourou, 2019), and online informal learning of English (Toffoli & Sockett, 2015).”

“Compared to in-class or extracurricular digital settings, extramural digital environments manifest more authentic, student-initiated English-mediated activities (Sundqvist & Sylvén, 2016; Toffoli & Sockett, 2015).”

“They could also use a brief interview or an online survey to conduct a needs analysis of students’ popular IDLE activities (Lee, 2022; Sundqvist & Sylvén, 2016).”

“Question 4 is in response to the rapidly accumulating empirical evidence that much incidental language learning accrues from extramural digital practices for leisure (e.g., Kusik, 2017; Sockett, 2014; Sundqvist & Sylvén, 2016; Sylvén & Sundqvist, 2017).”

“With rapid affordances of technology, EFL professionals have recently begun to pay attention on how EFL teachers and students learn and practice English by using a variety of digital devices and technology resources (Sundqvist & Sylvén, 2016).”

“In the recent decade, researches on online learning of English beyond classroom by means of digital technology are being received enormous attention from English language teaching (ELT) scholars (Nugroho & Rahmawati, 2020; Sundqvist & Sylvén, 2016).”

“…learning ‘in the wild’ (Hellermann, Thorne, & Haley, 2019; Hutchins, 1995) and diverse cases of digitally mediated language use outside of classroom settings (Holden et al., 2015; Reinhardt, 2019; Sundqvist & Sylvén, 2016; Thorne, 2010; Thorne, Black, & Sykes, 2009; Thorne, Sauro, & Smith, 2015).”

“Recent studies have shown how online resources can contribute to L2 learning, including incidental vocabulary learning (Cole & Vanderplank, 2016; Sundqvist & Sylvén, 2016).”

“We can learn whether certain FLE factors contribute more than others to L2 WTC. Finally, the majority of IDLE research (Lee 2022; Sundqvist and Sylvén 2016) has focused on Asian university students and European secondary school students.”

“…with its historically strong focus on instructed settings, the issue has not attracted much interest apart from studies within Study Abroad (see below) and research on informal language learning in out-ofschool contexts (e.g. Dressman and Sadler, 2020; Sockett, 2014; Sundqvist and Sylvén, 2016).”

“Nonetheless, since our data came from a single school, a similar study in other Hong Kong or Asian schools could be conducted in the future to make broader generalisations.”

“Aligning with many other constructs focusing on language learning beyond the classroom, such as extramural English (Sundqvist & Sylvén, 2016), the digital wilds (Sauro & Zourou, 2019), and out-of-class English learning with technology (Lai, Zhu & Gong, 2015), IDLE refers to “ self-directed,…”

“Much of that research has focused on learners of English, for whom there are particularly rich resources available online (Kusyk, 2017; Sockett, 2014; Sundqvist & Sylvén, 2016).”

“These English resources and digital technologies are now regarded as the criteria for evaluating the L2 learning and experience of students in the ED context (Godwin-Jones, 2019a; Godwin-Jones, 2019b; Lee, 2019a; Lee, 2019b; Sundqvist & Sylvén, 2016).”

“One of the findings in recent studies on informal language learning has reinforced the idea that acquiring formulaic language is aided by frequent exposure to examples in context, for instance, through repeated viewing of television shows or movies (Sockett, 2014; Sundqvist & Sylvén, 2016).”

“Although similar new concepts, such as online informal learning of English (Sockett, 2014), extramural English (Sundqvist & Sylvén, 2016), and fully autonomous self-instructed learners (Cole & Vanderplank, 2016), are increasingly available in the literature, this CALL inquiry is still a relatively…”

“One group was used to search the research on extramural learning, identified in the relevant literature [2, 3, 5].”

“With the rapid development of technology nowadays, English language teaching (ELT) professionals have freshly started investigating the way EFL learners practice and learn English beyond a formal classroom by means of accessible digital devices and internet resources (Sundqvist & Sylvén, 2016).”

“In the last two decades, research has increasingly focused on the characteristics of learners’ out-of-school exposure and its influence on language learning (see Sundqvist & Sylvén, 2016).”

“Extramural English This is a key concept in this study, referring to learners ’ engagement with English beyond the classroom (Sundqvist and Sylvén 2016), such as through gaming or watching English-language media (Bräuer and Mazarakis 2024; Jabbari and Eslami 2019; Keller and Suzuki 2004).”

“In brief, while extramural L2 is unconnected to school and lies entirely with the individual, extracurricular L2 activities are associated with formal learning in school/institutions (for an in-depth discussion, see Sundqvist & Sylvén, 2016).”

“Most studies, however, take the latter stance and focus on IDLE as extra-mural IDLE (See Dressman et al., 2023; Lee, 2019a, 2019b, 2019c; Lee & Drajati, 2019; Lee & Dressman, 2018; Sundqvist, 2009; Sundqvist & Sylvén, 2016; Sylvén & Sundqvist, 2012; Toffoli et al., 2023).”

“…suggest that it may be important to explore a division between those students who participate in extramural activities and those who do not (e.g., Sundqvist & Sylvén, 2016), as other research has indicated a connection between extramural language activity and linguistic development…”

“Several studies have also reported the positive effects of IDLE on vocabulary acquisition (Sockett & Kusyk, 2015; Sundqvist & Sylvén, 2016), cognitive development (Lai et al., 2015), emotional aspects (Lee & Drajati, 2019; Lee & Dressman, 2018), reading comprehension (Cole & Vanderplank, 2016), and…”

“The research on LBC can be classi fi ed into two subareas: (a) LBC o ffl ine and online (e.g. informal language learning and Extramural English; Sundqvist and Sylvén 2016) and (b) LBC online (e.g. Online Informal Learning of English and IDLE; Sockett 2013; Lee, Xie, and Lee 2021).”

“An emerging trend in testing YLs focuses on incidental learning resulting from extramural activities, as many children know more than they are taught in school, mostly from exposure to media and gaming (Sundqvist & Sylvén, 2016).”

“…as the informal and typically voluntary use of English by learners in both online and offline environments beyond the traditional classroom setting (Sundqvist & Sylvén, 2016), these encounters have been shown to correlate, if not always strongly, with overall language proficiency, including…”

“In incidental learning, learners acquire vocabulary more naturally from the context or through interaction with others (Franciosi, Yagi, Tomoshige & Ye, 2016; Zheng et al ., 2015), which, in turn, makes vocabulary learning more motivating and interesting (Sundqvist & Sylvén, 2016).”

“Indeed, recent studies have pointed to the language gains made by recreational users of L2 media, largely disconnected from educational settings, and intent not on language learning but on socialization and entertainment (Sockett, 2014; Sundqvist & Sylvén, 2016).”

“EE encompasses both intentional and incidental informal learning of English through learner-initiated activities that can take place either online or in real life (Sundqvist, 2009; Sundqvist & Sylvén, 2016).”

“English learning is also supported by extensive extramural (i.e., learner initiated, out of school) exposure to the language (Sundqvist & Sylvén, 2016), with activities such as reading the news on the Internet and via Facebook, watching TV-series and films, listening to music and reading the…”

“Though several research studies on extramural language learning for leisure have been undertaken, they have primarily focused on the acquisition of a single language, frequently English (Da Silva, 2014; Sockett, 2014; Sundqvist & Sylvén, 2016).”

“…is a type of “out-of-school” language learning (Benson, 2011) that describes the myriad English-mediated activities L2 learners of English (often children and adolescents) engage in voluntarily out of school both with and without the conscious intent to learn English (Sundqvist & Sylveń, 2016).”

“During the last decade, an increasing number of studies have been published that demonstrate that such informal second language practices (ISLPs) are indeed widespread among L2 learners (e.g., Lee, 2019; Sockett, 2014; Sundqvist & Sylvén, 2016).”

“Many second language (L2) students do not get enough exposure to their L2 in everyday situations, resulting in limited vocabulary and topic knowledge (Sundqvist and Sylvén 2016).”

“However, different technological experiences hold differential potential for language learning (Lai et al., 2018; Sundqvist & Sylvén, 2016).”

“…concepts such as online informal learning of English (Jurkovič, 2019; Kusyk, 2017; Sockett & Toffoli, 2012), extramural English (Jensen, 2017; Sundqvist & Sylvén, 2016), fully autonomous self-instructed learners (Cole & Vanderplank, 2016), out-of-class autonomous language learning with…”

“Another approach was mentioned by Márta, who proposed a potential way to overcome the limited time they have for language learning in school, namely extramural English, for example, watching videos on the Internet, watching films/series, and playing video games (see Sundqvist & Sylvén, 2016).”

“Additionally, driven by digital tools, students will not only engage in English learning within formal classroom settings but will also pursue supplementary study outside of class (Sundqvist & Sylvén, 2016; Zhang & Liu, 2022).”

“This concept has been further defined as learners’ primarily voluntary engagement in English activities with the goal of entertainment, with learning happening primarily incidentally rather than intentionally (Sundqvist and Sylvén 2016).”

“…has found that modern EFL learners, including pre-service EFL teachers, are increasingly encountering linguistic, functional, and cultural diversity in a variety of IDLE contexts (Lee 2020; Lee, Lee, and Drajati 2019; Godwin-Jones 2021; Sockett 2014; Sundqvist and Sylvén 2016; Lee and Lee 2019).”

“We have documented student groups’ orientations to the scenes of a film they watched in an upper-secondary school English classroom in Sweden.”

“…concepts such as Informal Language Learning (Dressman & Sadler, 2020), Recreational Language Learning (Chik & Ho, 2017), and Extramural English (Sundqvist & Sylvén, 2016), while the latter has been examined through concepts such as CALL in the Digital Wilds (Sauro & Zourou, 2019), Online…”

“Many researchers, including Wagner (2015), Sockett (2014), Sundqvist and Sylvén (2016) adopt emic approaches including blogging to learn about informal practices, and such approaches also tend to increase learner levels of awareness of their practices (Sockett, 2014).”

“Furthermore, there is a rapid increase of diversity in classrooms as a result of migration and varying amounts of extramural exposure to English (Sundqvist & Sylvén, 2016).”

“Examples of these are JJ Briscoe, an American exchange student in Brazil; Mehdi The Jipdori, a French Algerian living in South Korea; Paolo from Tokyo, a Filipino-American living in Japan; SHUNchan, a Japanese teenager living in the United States; or from Sweden, Tina Sarafina, who vlogs about life in Tanzania (see Ta…”

“The aim of IaH is to create an internationalised curriculum for local students to obtain intercultural understanding and skills without leaving their home university (Sundqvist and Sylvén 2016).”

“Accessibility to unlimited resources, time, and learning spaces characterize the current situation of educational landscapes and enable the self-directed performance of informal learning experiences (Sundqvist & Sylvén, 2016).”

“The latter has been explicitly addressed in terms of language learning under the label of Extramural English (Sundqvist and Sylvén 2016).”

“…language learning outside of the traditional educational environment using a variety of electronic gadgets along with online materials (Sundqvist & Sylvén, 2016). emphasizes that learners assume accountability for acquiring knowledge and aptitudes by initiating and overseeing their…”

“Another, and arguably more plausible explanation for why Flemish pupils have such a high starting proficiency level of English in comparison to French, is the high amount of exposure to English (see De Wilde et al., 2019; Simon, Lima Jr, & De Cuypere, 2016; Sundqvist & Sylvén, 2016).”

“In line with these ideas, it follows that Sundqvist and Sylvén (2016) and other EE scholars (e.g., Liu et al. 2024) have advocated the bene fi ts of engagement in EE for learning, suggesting that EE activities can be a means of increasing learners ’ L2 vocabulary in particular (Peters et al. 2019;…”

“Unlike IDLE in extracurricular contexts, this type of activity is not initiated and overseen by a teacher (Reinders et al., 2022; Sundqvist & Sylv � en, 2016).”