Examinando por Autor "Kennedy, Sara"

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    Ítem
    Links between out-of-class exposure and writing skills in a second language: learners' self-reports and raters' evaluation
    (Universidad Andrés Bello, 2014) Molina Molina, Brenda; Kennedy, Sara; Facultad de Humanidades y Educación
    The purpose of this study was to explore out-of-class exposure reported by second language (L2) learners and possible links between their exposure and their L2 writing skills. Also explored if there were any links between learners’ perceptions of their English skills, English importance and the usefulness of specific activities. Sixty-four secondary school students from an English as a foreign language (EFL) setting in Chile and English as a second language (ESL) in Quebec participated. Data were gathered through questionnaires and writing prompts. Eleven participants in the EFL context were also interviewed to collect more information about their responses. Quantitative data analyses showed that: (a) between one and three hours were spent in out-of-class English activities; (b) self-perceptions of language skills varied from weak to native-like depending on the context; (c) no positive correlations were found between frequent activities and writing skills; (c) strongly positive correlations were found between perceptions of usefulness of certain activities; and finally, (d) no positive correlations were found between perceptions of English importance in daily life and in general. Findings suggest that certain out-of-class activities should be promoted in EFL and ESL contexts. Finally, some pedagogical suggestions for promoting out-of-class activities and increasing students’ L2 exposure are provided.