| dc.description.abstract | Young people today are surrounded by English. Extramural English, referring to the English used outside the English classroom, provides infinite opportunities to consume, produce and interact with English for all kinds of purposes. The aim of this study is to explore the possibilities and limitations of extramural English, in light of students’ reported extramural English practices, beliefs and experiences. The overarching research question of this thesis is: What are the possibilities and limitations of extramural English? In this study, I have analyzed data from an extramural English questionnaire and a week-long daily extramural English activity log in order to research what students use English for outside of school, their beliefs related to language learning in and out of school, and how they experience the presence of their extramural English use in school. The sample consists of students in two 10th grade classes from one lower secondary school in Norway. The data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and thematic content analysis. Three main findings emerged from the data analysis. The first main finding is related to the participants’ EE practices. They spent on average 4 hours and 24 minutes daily on extramural English activities that were mainly input-based and related to entertainment, such as using social media, watching videos, movies and TV series, and listening to music. The second main finding identified student beliefs about learning English. They reported that learning English is important and that extramural English practices have contributed to English learning to a larger extent than schoolwork. The third main finding is related to student experiences regarding English in and out of school. Many participants reported that they do not find the English subject to be fun and promote learning, and many did not experience that their English teacher takes an interest in their extramural English. The implications of this study are that English teachers have to perform balancing acts when bringing students’ extramural English into the classroom. While students may develop English competence outside of school, the English school subject has to facilitate development of formal and academic competence in order to complement students’ out-of-school learning, and English teachers should make students aware of the limitations of extramural English. At the same time, while drawing on students’ interests in the classroom may spark motivation and make the English subject more relevant to students, teachers have to be careful to not perform unwanted intrusions into students’ personal spheres. | eng |