"90% of my English isn't learned in school" : A study on Swedish upper secondary students' extramural English and their motivation regarding the English language and the English school subject

Abstract: The aim of this study is to investigate the ways in which a number of Swedish upper secondary students encounter and use English outside of the language classroom – i.e. extramural English (Sundqvist, 2009) – and to what extent this correlates with their motivation regarding the English language and school subject. The study also interrogates whether the students would like their extramural English to be included more in their English education at school, and if so, in what way. A quantitative approach involving an online questionnaire was employed. The 39 informants all studied the upper secondary course English 5. The results show that most of the students are frequently exposed to English outside of school, and that the students’ motivation to learn the English language and to do well in the English school subject is generally intermediate and above. However, the majority of the most motivated students also reported a high exposure to and use of English outside of school. Some students expressed a desire for their extramural English to be used within the classroom – although many were indifferent towards more inclusion of such English in class than is already done – and how the students would like this to be done remains an open question.