Ortaokul ve lise öğrencilerinin ders dışı ingilizce öğrenme ortam ve deneyimleri

Formal schools and private courses have been assuming the main responsibility of teaching foreign languages in Turkey so far. English, on the other hand, like in many other countries, is the most common language that is taught and learned as a foreign language (EFL) via these institutions throughout the country. Despite its prominence in the country, however, how effective English is learned through mainstream ways has always been negotiable due to reasons that have not found satisfactory answers, yet. On the other hand, we live in an age that allows us to go far beyond the walls of the classrooms when it comes to learning a foreign language, especially, thanks to the advancement in technology in recent years. Therefore, out-of-class language learning (OCLL) has a great role in a way that could make learning English a much easier and effortless activity, as well as a joyful engagement in addition to mainstream language learning routines. For this reason, the present study aimed to investigate how frequently students at secondary and high schools engaged in what type of out-of-class language learning activities (OCLLAs) in order to find a solution for a better language learning to take place. To do this, a questionnaire was administered on a total of 253 secondary and high school students to see what type OCLLAs they carry out in their free time. These questions aimed to see what listening, reading, writing, and speaking activities were carried out in English. The questionnaire also included a section about the frequency of using technological devices and social media platforms for the purpose of learning English. The survey was analyzed via SPSS program. T-test and ANOVA test was used to analyze the data while open-ended questions were analyzed via descriptive methods. The results showed that the most frequently preferred activities in English were listening to music and watching movies. The least frequently preferred activities were writing activities such as keeping diaries in English and reading newspapers in English, and talking to family members in English. As for the overall order of four basic skills in terms of frequency, listening is by far the most frequent skill followed by reading, speaking, and writing, respectively. The study also showed that playing video games in English is the second most preferred activity after listening and watching activities. The research, also, found that female students did more OCLLAs than male students on the whole. But, no significant difference was detected between secondary and high school students; they nearly carried out the same amount of out-of-class language learning activities. Furthermore, ANOVA test results showed that 10th and 9th grades engaged in OCLLAs the most frequently. On the other hand, the 12th, 6th and 5th grades, respectively, did the least amount of OCLLAs. As for students' comments on open-ended questions, the research revealed that they mostly wanted direct exposure to spoken language in real life settings.