Students’ voices about English language learning in school and beyond

Mariangel Carreño

doi:10.1515/eujal-2022-0008

Article

Students’ voices about English language learning in school and beyond

Mariangel Carreño

Published/Copyright: September 28, 2022

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From the journal European Journal of Applied Linguistics Volume 10 Issue 2

Abstract

The research was carried out in a public secondary school with 16 to 18-year-old students in a context usually considered as an EFL one. The main goals were to discover what students said about learning English in and beyond the school and what led them to use English autonomously outside the classroom. A qualitative methodology was used. First, a questionnaire was proposed to 122 students to find out the uses of English outside the school; then, I selected students who were considered good learners of English by their teachers and who had learnt English only in secondary school and autonomously outside school. Based on that criterion, I investigated nine learners using a Facebook survey, two focus groups and learning logs. The idea of good language learners (GLLs) of English described by the teachers focuses on the relationship the learner establishes with the L2 and the external perceptions of what they do with it. On the other hand, GLLs do not share common features that can be generalized; every learner establishes a unique relationship with the L2 and uses varied and changing strategies. What GLL do share is an agentive approach to learning the L2 and a positive appreciation of its cultural artefacts. Learners mainly accessed these artefacts through ICTs working as learning affordances.

Resumen

La investigación se llevó a cabo en una escuela secundaria en un contexto de enseñanza de inglés típicamente considerada como lengua extranjera con estudiantes de 16 a 18 años. Los objetivos principales del estudio eran conocer lo que los estudiantes opinaban sobre el aprendizaje de inglés en la escuela y fuera de ella, y las razones por las que usan el idioma de manera autónoma. Se usó una metodología cualitativa. Primero se propuso un cuestionario a 122 estudiantes para conocer los usos del inglés fuera del aula. A partir de esos datos y en base a las entrevistas con los docentes de Inglés, se realizaron estudios de casos (nueve) utilizando encuestas de Facebook, grupos focales y diarios de aprendizaje. Del análisis surge que la concepción de buen aprendiz de segundas lenguas (BAL2) que tienen los profesores se basa en la relación que el aprendiz establece con la otra lengua y cómo son percibidos esos usos por otros. Por otro lado, los BAL2 no tienen características personales que puedan ser generalizadas y usan estrategias variadas y cambiantes. Lo que sí comparten los BAL2 es un enfoque agentivo hacia el inglés y una apreciación positiva de sus artefactos culturales a los que acceden principalmente a través de las Tecnologías de la Información y la Comunicación.

Zusammenfassung

Die Untersuchung wurde an einer öffentlichen Sekundarschule mit 16- bis 18-jährigen Schülern in einem Kontext durchgeführt, der normalerweise als EFL-Kontext gilt. Das Hauptziel bestand darin, herauszufinden, was die SchülerInnen über das Englischlernen innerhalb und außerhalb der Schule sagten und was sie dazu veranlasste, die englische Sprache außerhalb des Klassenzimmers selbstständig zu verwenden. Es wurde eine qualitative Methodik verwendet. Zunächst wurde 122 Schülern ein Fragebogen vorgelegt, um herauszufinden, wie sie die englische Sprache außerhalb der Schule verwenden; dann wählte ich Schüler aus, die von ihren Lehrern als gute Englischlerner angesehen wurden und die Englisch nur in der Sekundarschule und selbstständig außerhalb der Schule gelernt hatten. Auf der Grundlage dieses Kriteriums untersuchte ich neun Lernende mithilfe einer Facebook-Umfrage, zweier Fokusgruppen und Lernprotokollen. Die von den Lehrern beschriebene Vorstellung von guten Englischlernern (GLLs) konzentriert sich auf die Beziehung, die der Lernende zur L2 aufbaut, und auf die Außenwahrnehmung dessen, was er mit ihr macht. Andererseits haben GLLs keine gemeinsamen Merkmale, die verallgemeinert werden können; jeder Lernende baut eine einzigartige Beziehung zur L2 auf und verwendet unterschiedliche und wechselnde Strategien. Was GLL gemeinsam haben, ist eine aktive Herangehensweise an das Lernen der L2 und eine positive Wertschätzung ihrer kulturellen Artefakte. Der Zugang zu diesen Artefakten erfolgte hauptsächlich über IKT, die als Lernhilfen fungieren.

Keywords: L2 learning; agency in L2 learning; Good Language Learners; ICTs as learning affordances; L2 learning strategies

Palabras claves: aprendizaje de inglés como L2; Buen Aprendiz de Segundas Lenguas; agencia y aprendizaje de L2; TIC como propiciadores de aprendizaje; estrategias de aprendizaje de una L2

Schlüsselwörter: L2-Lernen; Agency beim L2-Lernen; Good Language Learners; ICTs als Lernhilfen; L2-Lernstrategien

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Published Online: 2022-09-28

Published in Print: 2022-10-04

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Articles in the same Issue

https://doi.org/10.1515/eujal-2022-0008

Keywords for this article

L2 learning; agency in L2 learning; Good Language Learners; ICTs as learning affordances; L2 learning strategies