Extracurricular language and culture promotion events as informal language learning settings

Abstract

The aim of the research is to investigate how extracurricular language and culture promotion events organised at a higher education institution and involving numbers of students in organisation, participation and dissemination of such events can serve as settings for informal foreign language learning. The conceptual framework of the study is grounded in informal learning theories (Knowles, 1970; Cross, 2007) which relate informal learning to implicit learning, experiential learning, and acquisition of tacit knowledge. In this study informal language learning is used in terms of creating and acquiring foreign language knowledge, skills and attitudes wile interacting, cooperating and collaborating with social event participants in various language and culture related events where learning a language is not the main purpose. Methodology of the study comprises the analysis of student feedback collected after the events they participated in during the period of 2012-2013. Two instruments of feedback collection were used in the study: students’ feedback on the language promotion event, students’ reactions and comments provided in the on-line feedback forms after the event (n=352) as well as semi-structured interviews with a focus group, i.e. leaders and most active members of different language clubs, cultural event organisers and participants (n= 18). The study presents the research findings with regard to students’ evaluation of the organisation of event, its impact upon the person’s worldview, communicative competence development, aroused motivation to learn the language of the event, positive attitude towards different cultures and socialising. Though informal learning instances are hard to capture, some implications can be drawn with regard to the importance of providing language learners with informal opportunities for naturalistic practising of the target language.