ITL - International Journal of Applied Linguistics - Volume 177, Issue 1, 2026

This study examines the relationship between informal L2 learning (ISLL) and affective variables (L2 motivation, self-confidence, L2 speaking anxiety, and grit) among 81 Arts and Science students at the University of the Balearic Islands. Data were collected using a questionnaire. Results indicate low ISLL engagement, particularly in productive activities. Self-confidence demonstrated positive correlations with all forms of informal engagement and was the only significant predictor of overall language contact. L2 motivation was positively associated with self-confidence and overall engagement, while both variables showed negative correlations with L2 speaking anxiety. Grit correlated negatively with informal practices and predicted reduced overall contact. No significant differences emerged between degree programs. These findings highlight the complex influence of affective factors — particularly self-confidence and grit — on informal L2 learning behaviours.

Most previous studies focusing on extramural English (EE) and vocabulary acquisition are one-off studies measuring the relationship between EE and language performance measures at one time. This study contributes to EE research by adopting a longitudinal design to investigate learners’ EE, vocabulary knowledge at the level of meaning recall, and attitudes. We collected data from two cohorts of primary school children prior to formal English instruction (ages 10–11 and ages 11–12). At two measurement times, one year apart, we measured their vocabulary knowledge in a meaning recall test, their EE engagement, and their attitudes towards English. The results indicated that young learners’ vocabulary knowledge increased significantly over time, even if engagement with EE did not increase significantly. The participants in the two cohorts had positive attitudes towards English at both measurement times. Analyses showed that English vocabulary knowledge at Time 2 was predicted by English vocabulary knowledge at Time 1.

This study examines the relationship between engagement in extramural English (EE) activities and second language (L2) writing among 96 high school learners of English. Participants completed an EE questionnaire and a writing task. Their texts were analyzed using measures of syntactic and lexical complexity, accuracy, and fluency. Watching audiovisual content with English captions or without subtitles showed the strongest positive correlations with multiple writing metrics, including fluency, complexity, and grammatical and lexical accuracy. Listening to music and gaming were linked to fluency and lexical diversity, respectively. Reading, writing, speaking face-to-face, and listening to non-musical audio showed weaker but significant correlations. No significant relationships were found for watching with L1 subtitles or speaking online. Findings highlight the potential of audiovisual EE input to support L2 writing development.

Although cognitive and behavioral characteristics associated with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) can influence language learning, little is known about how learners with ADHD engage with extramural English (EE), i.e., English-mediated recreational activities. This study explored how twelve university students with ADHD reflected on their EE use during secondary school. Three themes emerged: reasons for EE use, including accessing communities and cultures beyond their own, pursuing narrative escapes, and enhancing English proficiency; activity preferences, with a favoring of audiovisual and multisensory activities over single-input formats; and EE-instruction interactions, with EE fostering feelings of mastery and instruction being perceived as comparatively inauthentic. Considering EE practices in instruction offers opportunities to address learners’ attentional differences and interest-based needs, with and without ADHD.

This study examines the effect of extramural activities in English on Spanish university students’ acquisition of the English phonemes /b/, /v/, /j/, and /dʒ/, using data collected via a questionnaire and a reading-aloud test administered to 58 students aged 18–20. The AI-powered software Phonexia and inferential statistics were used to analyse the data. Listening to music and watching videos were the most frequently practiced activities, while gaming was the least. Although the target sounds were largely accurately pronounced, some typical errors for Spanish learners were observed. No significant correlation was found between exposure to extramural activities and the pronunciation outcomes. The practical nature of pronunciation, the most frequently practiced extramural activities, and other variables are considered when interpreting the results.

Research shows that adolescents learn English as a foreign/second language (L2) extramurally, but few studies have explored the connection between extramural English (EE), speaking, and interactional competence (IC). This exploratory mixed-methods study investigates 21 10th-grade L2 English learners in Norway and Flanders who answered an EE questionnaire and participated in a video-recorded speaking test (National English Speaking Test, NEST). They were assessed on speaking and IC. Results showed a slight significant correlation between total EE and NEST scores (rs = .462, p = .047), a strong correlation between the factor “EE Social Interaction” and NEST scores (rs = .696, p < .001), but no correlations with the IC-score. However, close analyses (Conversation Analysis) of recorded interaction data indicated an EE — IC relation in terms of displayed competencies.