Construction and validation of a questionnaire to study engagement in informal second language learning

• Published in: Studies in second language acquisition Vol. 45; no. 5; pp. 1456 - 1480
• Main Author: Arndt, Henriette L.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York, USA Cambridge University Press 01.12.2023
• Subjects: Comparative Language Studies and Linguistics; Educational Research; English (Second Language); English as a second language learning; General Language Studies and Linguistics; German language; Humaniora och konst; Humanities; Humanities and the Arts; Individual differences; Informal Education; Jämförande språkvetenskap och allmän lingvistik; Language acquisition; Language Skills; Languages and Literature; Learner Engagement; Learning activities; Learning Processes; Learning Strategies; Methods Forum; Questionnaires; Researchers; Second language learning; Secondary school students; Språk och litteratur; Statistical analysis; Student Motivation; Student participation
• ISSN: 0272-2631; 1470-1545; 1470-1545
• DOI: 10.1017/S0272263122000572

This article reports on the development and validation of the Informal Second Language Engagement questionnaire (ISLE) for capturing various aspects of learner engagement with informal second language practices. Whereas other questionnaires have primarily focused on learner behavior (the frequency, quantity, and diversity of informal activities in which learners engage), the ISLE additionally targets affective, cognitive, and linguistic aspects of engagement. Consequently, this questionnaire has the potential to help second language acquisition researchers better understand individual differences and variability in informal language engagement, how it changes over time, and the ways in which engagement affects language learning. The ISLE was developed and evaluated in three stages with a total of 382 German secondary school learners of English as a foreign language. The initial instrument development was informed by qualitative findings from focus group interviews. Subsequently, the questionnaire was piloted, and Exploratory Factor Analysis was applied to the data to uncover the underlying factor structures and reduce the number of items per construct. Finally, the revised instrument was evaluated further using Confirmatory Factor Analysis.