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

Definitions

ELL: English Language Learners (U.S. Department of Education, 2020)

Sheltered English Instruction: Approach used to make academic instruction in English comprehensible to ELL students (U.S. Department of Education, 2020).

ESL: English as a second language (U.S. Department of Education, 2020)


EFL: English as a foreign language (U.S. Department of Education, 2020)

Chapter Two: Literature Review

English Learners adolescent students are among the most vulnerable subgroups of students. According to the U.S. Department of Education Newcomer Tool Kit, English Learners are held to the same ambitious standards as native English speakers, although they are still building their English academic skills while also studying core school subjects. These adolescents are unprepared for secondary-level readings and tasks due to their low English literacy levels. They also experience acculturation challenges, making engagement with their schools, peers, and teachers difficult. Although structured interactions in the classroom allow English Learners to be exposed to mainstream culture, more meaningful engagement can occur in informal settings such as sports and extracurricular school activities (Cherng et al., 2011). This research aims to address the following research question: To what extent do extracurricular activities affect the English language acquisition and social well-being of High School English Learners?

This research study uses a narrative research method and purposeful sampling to select participants. Students will receive the questions in advance digitally to help them prepare for the interview. They will be divided into newcomers, intermediate, and advanced to compare their level of extracurricular participation. Students are asked to answer questions about their involvement in extracurricular activities and how integrated they feel in the school community if they participate in after-school activities.
Although interactions in the classroom might expose immigrant children to mainstream culture, more important participation may emerge in informal settings such as extracurricular school activities. This literature review will detail the findings of several studies about the benefits of extracurricular activities in High School students. This will be followed by research
detailing what some countries are doing to motivate students to acquire English as their second language. Finally, there will be an explanation of the effects of sheltered English Learning instruction and how students benefit from peer interaction.