Abstract:
Learners who follow English as their second language have numerous avenues to develop their
language skills. Empirical evidence and previous researches suggest that language learning is not
limited to the classroom and it can be extended beyond the four walls. The purpose of the present
exploratory study is to find out the methods that the students use to learn English beyond the
classroom considering ten first year undergraduates registered for English Intensive Programme
conducted by the Faculty of Management and Finance, University of Ruhuna. The participants were
given an open invitation through WhatsApp and the first ten who responded were selected for the
study. The data were collected using two focused group discussions based on an open-ended
questionnaire via Zoom with the selected participants at their convenience, whose first language (L1)
is Sinhala. The gathered data were thematically analyzed. Based on the findings, it was evident that
there were many methods of learning English language beyond the classroom— YouTube, Blogs,
Games, Clubs, Films, Newspapers, and Social Network Services. Due to the current pandemic
situation, teaching and learning process took place in online platform. Since the students were away
from in person classroom, it was difficult to allocate adequate time to develop the language skills of
the learners. Therefore, majority of the learners were motivated to adhere to alternative authentic
approaches beyond the classroom to enhance their language learning skills. Inevitably, learners have
become autonomous; who actively seek knowledge beyond the physical boundaries of the classroom.
It provides a multimodal input while providing exposure to technology. Moreover, it allows
flexibility and convenience by enabling learners to have their preferred pace, mode, and style of
learning. The observations revealed that the learners had a positive language learning experience
towards their own methods which assisted their language learning process.
