The present mixed-methods study was an inductive investigation of 8-to-12-year-old English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) children’s English input received beyond the classroom (IBC) in Hong Kong. Individual interviews, with an inductive co-constructive approach, were conducted with the participating children’s parents/guardians (n = 173) to elicit their IBC. The children completed four proficiency tests (listening, reading, speaking, and writing), the scores of which were analysed with their IBC. Medium to large effects were found in correlations between various aspects of IBC and proficiency. Spoken IBC (i.e. exposure to spoken English) generally showed stronger associations with proficiency than written IBC (i.e. exposure to written English) did. Regression analyses demonstrated that both types of IBC were significant predictors, explaining 25% of the variance in proficiency. There were large to very large differences in proficiency between children receiving abundant IBC and little/no IBC. Intriguingly, only specific types of IBC were found to relate to differences in proficiency. The article ends with a discussion of these findings.
BensonP. (2011). Language learning and teaching beyond the classroom: An introduction to the field. In BensonP.ReindersH. (Eds.), Beyond the language classroom (pp. 7–16). Palgrave Macmillan.
2.
Cambridge University Press & Assessment. (2022). Cambridge assessment English. Cambridge Assessment English. Available at: https://www.cambridgeenglish.org (accessed November 2023).
3.
CameronL. (2001). Teaching languages to young learners. Cambridge University Press.
4.
Census and Statistics Department, The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. (2022). 2021 population census. Available at: https://www.census2021.gov.hk/en/main_tables.html (accessed November 2023).
5.
CohenL.ManionL.MorrisonK. (2018). Research methods in education. 8th edition.Routledge.
6.
CrystalD. (2012). English as a global language. 2nd edition.Cambridge University Press.
7.
De WildeV.BrysbaertM.EyckmansJ. (2020). Learning English through out-of-school exposure. Which levels of language proficiency are attained and which types of input are important?Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 23, 171–185.
8.
De WildeV.BrysbaertM.EyckmansJ. (2022). Formal versus informal L2 learning: How do individual differences and word-related variables influence French and English L2 vocabulary learning in Dutch-speaking children?Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 44, 87–111.
9.
De WolfS.SmitN.LowieW. (2017). Influences of early English language teaching on oral fluency. ELT Journal, 71, 341–353.
10.
EllisN.C. (2002). Frequency effects in language processing: A review with implications for theories of implicit and explicit language acquisition. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 24, 143–188.
11.
EllisR. (2008). The study of second language acquisition. 2nd edition.Oxford University Press.
12.
FieldA.P. (2018). Discovering statistics using IBM SPSS statistics. 5th edition.Sage.
13.
GassS.M.MackeyA. (2015). Input, interaction, and output in second language acquisition. In VanPattenB.WilliamsJ. (Eds.), Theories in second language acquisition: An introduction (pp. 180–206). 2nd edition.Routledge.
14.
KrashenS.D. (1982). Principles and practice in second language acquisition. Pergamon Press.
15.
LeonaN.L.van KoertM.J.Hvan der MolenM.W., et al. (2021). Explaining individual differences in young English language learners’ vocabulary knowledge: The role of extramural English exposure and motivation. System, 96, 102402.
16.
LichtmanK.VanPattenB. (2021). Was Krashen right? Forty years later. Foreign Language Annals, 54, 283–305.
17.
LindgrenE.MuñozC. (2013). The influence of exposure, parents, and linguistic distance on young European learners’ foreign language comprehension. International Journal of Multilingualism, 10, 105–129.
18.
LucasC.HoodP.CoyleD. (2021). Blossoming in English: Preschool children’s emergent literacy skills in English. Journal of Research in Childhood Education, 35, 477–502.
19.
NorouzianR.PlonskyL. (2018). Eta- and partial eta-squared in L2 research: A cautionary review and guide to more appropriate usage. Second Language Research, 34, 257–271.
20.
NunanD.RichardsJ.C. (2015). Language learning beyond the classroom. Routledge.
21.
PattersonA. (2021). Predicting second language listening functor comprehension probability with usage-based and embodiment approaches. International Journal of Bilingualism, 25, 772–788.
22.
PetersE. (2018). The effect of out-of-class exposure to English language media on learners’ vocabulary knowledge. ITL – International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 169, 142–168.
23.
PlonskyL.OswaldF.L. (2014). How big is ‘big’? Interpreting effect sizes in L2 research. Language Learning, 64, 878–912.
24.
PuimègeE.PetersE. (2019). Learners’ English vocabulary knowledge prior to formal instruction: The role of learner-related and word-related variables. Language Learning, 69, 943–977.
25.
RenandyaW.A. (2013). Extensive listening in the language classroom. In WidodoH.P.CirockiA. (Eds.), Innovation and creativity in ELT methodology (pp. 15–27). Nova Science.
26.
RoeverC.PhakitiA. (2017). Quantitative methods for second language research: A problem-solving approach. Routledge.
27.
SaitoK.HanzawaK. (2018). The role of input in second language oral ability development in foreign language classrooms: A longitudinal study. Language Teaching Research, 22, 398–417.
28.
Saville-TroikeM. (2012). Introducing second language acquisition. 2nd edition.Cambridge University Press.
29.
SigurjónsdóttirS.NowensteinI. (2021). Language acquisition in the digital age: L2 English input effects on children’s L1 Icelandic. Second Language Research, 37, 697–723.
30.
SundqvistP.SylvénL.K. (2016). Extramural English in teaching and learning: From theory and research to practice. Springer.
31.
SylvénL.K.SundqvistP. (2012). Gaming as extramural English L2 learning and L2 proficiency among young learners. ReCALL, 24, 302–321.
32.
ThordardottirE. (2019). Amount trumps timing in bilingual vocabulary acquisition: Effects of input in simultaneous and sequential school-age bilinguals. International Journal of Bilingualism, 23, 236–255.
33.
TsangA. (2020). Are learners ready for Englishes in the EFL classroom? A large-scale survey of learners’ views of teachers’ accents and non-standard accents. System, 94, 102298.
34.
TsangA. (2021). The roads not taken: Greater emphasis needed on ‘sounds’, ‘actual listening’, and ‘spoken input’. RELC Journal. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/00336882211040273
35.
TsangA. (2022). Effects of narrow listening on ESL learners’ pronunciation and fluency: An ‘MP3 flood’ programme turning mundane homework into an engaging hobby. Language Teaching Research, 26, 434–454.
36.
UnsworthS.PerssonL.PrinsT.De BotK. (2015). An investigation of factors affecting early foreign language learning in the Netherlands. Applied Linguistics, 36, 527–548.
37.
WebbS. (2015). Extensive viewing. In NunanD.RichardsJ.C. (Eds.), Language learning beyond the classroom (pp. 159–168). Routledge.
38.
WilsonS.M.BautistaA.McCarronA. (2018). Convergence of spoken and written language processing in the superior temporal sulcus. Neuroimage, 171, 62–74.
39.
YeungS.S.S.NgM.L.QiaoS.TsangA. (2020). Effects of explicit L2 vocabulary instruction on developing kindergarten children’s target and general vocabulary and phonological awareness. Reading and Writing, 33, 671–689.
