English Learners Outside the Classroom: The Effects of Participating in Extracurricular Activities

Instruments

The researcher determined narrative research was the most appropriate method of collecting data about this topic (Creswell, 2007). The researcher formulated a semi-structured questionnaire to gather the first round of information. The students received a questionnaire of 10 questions via Google Forms. The first two questions were used to determine background information about the participants, such as the years they have spent in the country and if they are currently involved in extracurricular activities. For example: How long have you been in the country? Are you currently involved in extracurricular activities? The next three questions were used to determine if English proficiency played a role in students' desire to be part of extracurricular activities. For example: Has or had the English language played an important role in your decision to participate in school activities? What are some of your reasons for not participating/participating in extracurricular activities? Do you think extracurricular activities can or have benefited your English acquisition? Why? Why not? The last questions were used to determine how efficient the school community has been in integrating English Learners into extracurricular activities. For example: What is something the school could do to motivate your participation in extracurricular activities? Since you arrived in the country, what is something the school has done to make you feel part of the school culture? Have you felt part of the school culture since you arrived? Have interactions with others (students, teachers, and staff) helped you develop your English skills? Have you felt excluded from school activities? Explain. The students were advised to reflect and provide as much information as possible in order to gather

plenty of information from the questionnaire. However, a one-on-one interview was later established. The questions were used as a guiding point for the researcher to ask and then follow- up questions to gather all three participants' experiences. The semi-structured interview helped the researcher adapt to every unique story, conduct the interviews as individualized as possible, and value each participant's true experience.