The relationship between extramural English exposure and receptive vocabulary knowledge of young Swedish L2 learners of English

Abstract: Abstract This study examines if extramural English (EE) has a positive effect on L2 vocabulary acquisition of young Swedish L2 learners (N = 24) of English (age 8-10). It examines the correlation between the amount of time spent on EE and scores on the Picture Vocabulary Size Test (PVST), which measures receptive vocabulary knowledge. Since earlier research on older Swedish L2 learners of English indicates that there is a gender effect (males tend to do better than females because they have been shown to spend more time on EE), the second aim of this study was to examine the gender effect of younger Swedish L2 learners. The results show a significant strong relationship between the receptive vocabulary knowledge of young Swedish L2 learners of English and amount of time spent on EE. The more time spent on EE, the higher score on the PVST. However, there were no significant differences between males and females, but the results indicate that the type of EE activity could impact the L2 acquisition, since all the top ranked scorers mentioned EE activities that required them to be more productive (speaking English), and the bottom ranked scorers did not. To conclude, EE makes it possible for young Swedish L2 learners (both males and females) to make progress in English out of the school grounds, and it is likely a very important factor for Swedes´ high level of proficiency in English.