Extramural English : A study of Swedish upper secondary school students’ contacts with English outside of school and their attitudes towards English in relation to their English proficiency

Abstract: The aim of this paper was to look at a group of Swedish upper secondary school students’ extramural English activities in comparison to their final grades and their grades on the National Test in English level 5. The aim was also to see what role motivation could potentially play. The method was of a mixed nature with both questionnaires and interviews. The results show tendencies, in accordance with previous research, that there is a correlation between the students’ grades and their extramural English activities. The results also show that attitudes towards English are in correlation with both extramural English and the students’ grades.