U.S. Tertiary Students’ Engagement with Foreign Languages Beyond the Classroom Across Target Languages, Proficiency, and Experience Abroad

Using second languages beyond the classroom is both a means and an end for university-based foreign language programs: language use outside of the classroom facilitates language learning, and using the target language to engage with speakers and cultures is a valued outcome of language learning. While much is known about proficiency outcomes for foreign language students in US universities, less is known about how often such students actually engage in various activities using their target languages. To better understand students’ out-of-class target language activity and investigate likely influences on engagement, we descriptively analyzed large-scale (N = 2560) questionnaire and proficiency test data collected from three public universities in the US. Findings indicate that typical students use the target language outside of the classroom infrequently; among activities surveyed the median response was most commonly ‘once a month or less’. Students with higher levels of proficiency, as measured by ACTFL exams, and with more extensive experience abroad reported more frequent engagement in a range of activities. Finally, several interesting patterns in activity engagement were observed across languages, with learners of Japanese, Korean, and Portuguese showing more frequent engagement with target language videos and social media.