Supplementary Activities Augmenting the General English Program in Higher Education: Student Engagement and Teachers’ Perspectives
Main Article Content
Abstract
Given the diverse availability of affordances and learning opportunities in multiple settings, language learning is no longer confined to classroom boundaries. With teachers’ scaffolding and support, learners can develop autonomous learning strategies drawing on the resources within and beyond traditional classrooms. This study aims to explore teachers’ perspectives on the value of supplementary learning activities in augmenting the General English Program (GEP) at a university in Vietnam with a particular emphasis on learner engagement in these activities outside classroom settings. The data are based on the statistics of students’ attendance and performance in the supplementary activities currently implemented at the university and interviews with eight GEP teachers. Findings show that the students were partially cognizant of the learning opportunities implicated in supplementary activities and demonstrated relatively active engagement and performance. The teachers also acknowledged that these activities contributed positively to students’ holistic language development as a complement to the GEP. The study has significant implications for educational stakeholders in curriculum design and deployment of supplementary learning activities that facilitate learner engagement in language practice outside classrooms.
Keywords:
supplementary activities, out-of-class learning, learner engagement, higher education, general language program
References
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[3] A. Kirkpatrick, R. Sussex (eds.), English as an International Language in Asia: Implications for Language Education, Springer, 2012.
[4] Y. Yang, Y. Wen, Y. Song, A systematic Review of Technology-Enhanced Self-Regulated Language Learning, Educational Technology & Society, Vol. 26, No. 1, 2023, pp. 31-44.
[5] Q. Liu, C-C. Chao, CALL from an Ecological Perspective: How a Teacher Perceives Affordance and Fosters Learner Agency in a Technology-Mediated Language Classroom, ReCALL, Vol. 30, No. 1, 2018, pp. 68-87.
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[9] G. Sulis, Engagement in the Foreign Language Classroom: Micro and Macro Perspectives. System, Vol. 110, 2022.
[10] C-L. Lai, G-J. Hwang, Strategies for Enhancing Self-Regulation in Elearning: A Review of Selected Journal Publications from 2010 to 2020, Interactive Learning Environments, Vol. 31, No. 6, 2023, pp. 3757-3779.
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[12] W. Takahashi, T. Umino, Out-of-Class Extensive Reading in Japanese as a Second Language: Enhancing Learner Autonomy beyond the Classroom, Electronic Journal of Foreign Language Teaching, Vol. 17, No. 1, 2020, pp. 50-63.
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[14] E. Peters, The Effect of Out-of-Class Exposure to English Language Media on Learners’ Vocabulary Knowledge, International Journal of Applied Linguistics, Vol. 169, No. 1, 2018, pp. 142–68.
[15] C. Lai, W. Zhu, G. Gong, Understanding the Quality of Out-of-Class English Learning, TESOL Quarterly, Vol. 49, No. 2, 2015, pp. 278-308.
[16] C. Lai, Perceiving and Traversing In-Class and Out-of-Class Learning: Accounts from Foreign Language Learners in Hong Kong, Innovation in Language Learning and Teaching, Vol. 9, No. 3, 2015, pp. 265-284.
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[23] Z. Dörnyei, Individual Differences: Interplay of Learner Characteristics and Learning Environment, Language Learning, Vol. 59, No. 1, 2009, pp. 230-248.
[24] V. Nguyen, E. Stracke, Learning Experiences in And outside Class by Successful Vietnamese Tertiary Students Studying English as a Foreign Language, Innovation in Language Learning and Teaching, Vol. 15, No. 4, 2021, pp. 321-233.
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[29] Z. V. Zhang. Learner Engagement and Language Learning: A Narrative Inquiry of a Successful Language Learner, The Language Learning Journal, Vol. 50, No. 3, 2022, pp. 378-392.
[30] J. P. Huang, P. Benson, Autonomy, Agency and Identity in Foreign and Second Language Education, Chinese Journal of Applied Linguistics, Vol. 36, No. 1, 2013, pp. 7-28.
[31] C. H. Pham, Qualitative Data Analysis, in H. P. Bui (ed.), Applied Linguistics and Language Education Research Methods: Fundamentals and Innovations, IGI Global, 2024, pp. 55-69.
[32] V. Clarke, V. Braun, Thematic Analysis, The Journal of Positive Psychology, Vol. 12, No. 3, 2016, pp. 297-298.
[33] J. Choi, D. Nunan, Language Learning and Activation in and beyond the Classroom, Australian Journal of Applied Linguistics, Vol. 1, No. 2, 2018, pp. 49-63.
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