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

Table 3

Theme: Reasons to not participate in Extracurricular Activities

	Reasons to not participate in Extracurricular Activities
Student 1	Not speaking English correctly
	Fear of holding back the team.
	Feeling left out and excluded from activities such as spelling bee.
Student 2	Communication is the key and most teachers/coaches do not understand Spanish
	Fear of others making fun of pronunciation/accent
	Nerves/ anxiety to mispronounce words
	Fear of exclusion
	Cultural shocks
	Newcomer classmates unmotivated other students to participate
	Feeling mistreated and excluded by the swimming coach
Student 3	Difficulties speaking and understanding English
	After school schedules do not always accommodate the students' necessities.
	Being an introvert

Student 1 expressed that it took him some time to feel comfortable joining any after school activity. He remembers wanting to join the football team because he saw his classmates playing it but never had the courage to do it because he was afraid of holding back the team if he did not understand the instructions given by the coach. Also, he felt that he could not join because he was not going to be able to communicate with his teammates due to not speaking English fluently. Finally, during 3rd grade he decided to join the baseball team because he felt confident enough with his English skills. This was a very positive experience for him because the coach was very supportive and made sure everyone, including English Learners, understood the directions by asking the bilingual students to explain the directions to them in their language. A year later he decided to join the band and has been part of it since then.
Student 2 arrived in the United States during her freshman year, and it was not until 2 years later that she decided to join the dance club and the swimming team. She shared that she did not feel comfortable joining any after school activities because she felt communication was the key to success in any group activity and she did not understand English well enough to communicate with non-Spanish speakers. She also feared being made fun of for her accent and lack of English fluency because she experienced it with students in different scenarios. She stated that some of her bilingual friends instead of helping her practice English, they laughed at her pronunciation which made her feel that if she joined an extracurricular activity, it would be a similar experience. Moreover, Student 2 shared cultural differences also played a part in her decision of staying away from participating in extracurricular activities. She mentioned that making friends outside the EL classes has been very difficult. She said that in Mexico, where she is from, if someone is new, many students make an effort to include the student and make them feel welcome, which she did not experience when she arrived in this country. For example, one
time during a PE class her and her sister were the last ones to get picked for the teams because no one knew them and they felt excluded, which according to her would not have happened in Mexico. Also, she mentioned that it is very usual to see students here eat alone or just be friends with one group of friends, while in Mexico everyone is friends with everyone. Also, she felt unmotivated because his class told her “Are not you scared” “I would not join the team if I was you.” Which made her question her decisions and made her wait to join the activities. Finally, she spoke about a negative experience she had with her swimming coach. She felt like the coach was signing her out on different occasions. Even when she had a doctor's note to not practice for a week due to having an open wound on her finger, the coach put her out of the competition the following week. When she arrived on the bus, the coach told her to stay because she did not swim for a whole week at practice, even though she had a valid excuse and she attended all of the practices. When the coach said no, the student asked her to at least join them in the competition to cheer for the team, but the coach declined her suggestion. This made her feel excluded because there were other girls who were not going to compete but were allowed to ride the bus with the team. The student said that was not the only time she felt mistreated by the coach, and she assumes it was because she did not have the language skills to communicate well enough with the coach.
Student 3 has not joined any extracurricular activities because she feels her language skills are still not great, and she would like to learn more English before she joins any activity. Also, her personality is another reason why she has decided to not participate. She mentioned she is an introvert, and it is very difficult for her to get involved in activities where she has to socialize with other students. Finally, she also mentioned another reason she and other students
do not participate is because they have obligations and sometimes, they are not able to make it to practice or competitions.
Students also spoke about the benefits they have experienced by participating in extracurricular activities. Table 4 summarizes the ideas students shared during the interviews about the benefits they have experienced or the benefits they assume participating in extracurricular activities can provide to them if they were to participate in them.

Table 4

Benefits of