Impact of an Out-of-class Activity on Students’ English Awareness, Vocabulary, and Autonomy

Abstract

Students in non-English speaking countries may be under the impression that they lack access to an authentic English environment. Outside the classroom, most students are immersed in a first-language environment with limited exposure to English. Out-of-class activities can be devised to show students that they are surrounded by English if they make a little effort to pay attention to the language as it is used in their daily lives. In this study, students were asked to observe and take notes on written English on display. In class, students discussed and analyzed the correctness and appropriateness of the English usage they had observed. A quantitative methodology was adopted to investigate the scale of students’ language awareness before and after the activity. The results showed that this activity expanded students’ awareness of the English language available to them outside the classroom and added to the degree of students’ autonomy in learning.