Out‐of‐classroom L2 vocabulary acquisition: The effects of digital activities and school vocabulary

Abstract

Extramural exposure, through activities such as watching TV, gaming, networking, and online reading, has become an important source of vocabulary acquisition in English as a foreign language, particularly when learners’ first language (L1) has many cognates with English. Our study examined extramural vocabulary acquisition of 10th‐grade L1 speakers of noncognate languages over one school year and explored the effects of digital activities and initial lexical knowledge of the participants on their vocabulary gains. Learners reported the amount of digital activity, took a vocabulary pretest, and kept vocabulary diaries where they recorded, on a weekly basis, the new words they encountered. At the end of the study, each student took a personalized test that included all the words recorded in their personal diary. The results indicate that (a) all learners gained some out‐of‐school word knowledge, (b) students with better initial vocabulary knowledge gained more words, and (c) the initial knowledge contributed to out‐of‐school learning more than the amount of digital activity.

Productive Word Knowledge Development and Its Relation to Informal Contact with English through Various Leisure Activities

“…However, the results of these studies regarding the influence of distinct kinds of extramural English activities on learners' vocabulary size have been somewhat inconsistent and contradictory (Kaatari et al, 2023). Some studies have observed a positive association between viewing non-subtitled TV programs and learners' vocabulary knowledge (Peters, 2018;Tam & Reynolds, 2022), whereas others have detected a stronger correlation between online reading and vocabulary size (Laufer & Vaisman, 2023). Other researchers (De Wilde et al, 2020), however, have found that digital gameplay and the use of social media significantly contribute more to vocabulary development than other types of extracurricular activities.…”

“…One main strand of research is concerned with the relationship between such activities and L2 vocabulary development, typically drawing on data collected through questionnaires and vocabulary size measures. Generally, a large body of studies has suggested a positive association between engagement in extracurricular activities and the L2 vocabulary learning of learners from various contexts (e.g., De Wilde & Eyckmans, 2017;Laufer & Vaisman, 2023;Lee, 2019;Rød & Calafato, 2023;Sundqvist & Wikström, 2015). However, the results of these studies regarding the influence of distinct kinds of extramural English activities on learners' vocabulary size have been somewhat inconsistent and contradictory (Kaatari et al, 2023).…”

“…According to Nation (2006), L2 learners should acquire a voluminous number of word families (at least 6,000-8,000), to read and speak comfortably in English. However, reaching this estimated threshold, is likely to require years of massive exposure to a wide range of diverse types of discourse (Laufer & Vaisman, 2023), and it is unlikely that L2 students can achieve these targets solely through formal traditional classrooms due to limited allocated time for English classes (Peters & Webb, 2018). This has prompted vocabulary researchers to examine the effects of engagement with English outside the class environment on enhancing vocabulary learning (De Wilde et al, 2020).…”

“…Given the change in learning conditions, a great deal of research attention has been devoted to learning that occurs informally outside formal learning settings. There is now a considerable amount of evidence attesting to the positive effects of engagement in pleasure activities outside school environments on vocabulary development (e.g., De Wilde & Eyckmans, 2017;Ebadi et al, 2023;Laufer & Vaisman, 2023;Lee, 2019;Warnby, 2022). The bulk of published literature has furnished evidence in favor of a positive relationship between receptive vocabulary uptake and engagement with out-of-class activities, yet little is known about the relationship between these activities and productive vocabulary knowledge, except for the findings of Bollansée et al (2021) and Sundqvist and Wikström (2015).…”

Impact of English Song in Vocabulary Learning : A Pre-Experimental Study at a Junior Islamic Boarding School

“…A number of researchers have conducted studies on learners' mastery of vocabulary issues all across the world. They discovered that many EFL learners still struggle to memorize vocabulary in school because they have less vocabulary learning techniques (Arndt & Woore, (2018); Feng & Webb, (2020); Laufer & Vaisman, (2023) ;Xia, (2018). Some students have difficulties remembering the definitions that has been given, which hinder the learning.…”