Exploring LCTL Students’ Perceptions on Their Engagement in Language Learning and Use Activities

Abstract

This inquiry focuses on students’ self-reports of time spent on and their perception of full engagement in multiple L2 language learning and use activities. It is part of a multi-year, mixed-methods research study of university students enrolled in eight-week intensive summer programs in six LCTLs: Arabic, Hindi, Indonesian, Persian, Turkish, and Urdu. Quantitative and qualitative data include weekly journals, structured interviews, and a background questionnaire. Research questions address students’ self-reports of time spent on different L2 learning and use activities, the frequency with which students feel fully engaged in those activities, the percentage of students who feel fully engaged, and student descriptions of factors that contributed to their full engagement. The study foregrounds the perspectives of students of languages that are underrepresented in the research literature and offers valuable insights into the complex and multidimensional nature of students’ perceptions of their engagement in LCTL and L2 instruction more broadly.

Keywords

• student engagement
• student perceptions
• intensive language instruction
• language use activities
• less commonly taught languages
• time spent
• student engagement dimensions