While much second language acquisition research has focused on characteristics of in-class language study, little is known about the characteristics and effectiveness of out-of-class language study. This exploratory study addresses this gap by analyzing questionnaire data from 707 adult students enrolled in intensive (6–16 months) language study regarding preferred out-of-class activities and time spent on these activities in relation to language outcome scores (e.g., Defense Language Proficiency Test [DLPT] and Oral Proficiency Interview [OPI] scores), while also controlling for background variables such as language aptitude. Regarding time spent on out-of-class activities, mixed-effects linear regression modeling (approximately 400 students) showed that more time spent on assigned and unassigned course study was associated with lower end-of-course language outcomes, and less time spent was associated with higher language outcomes. Engagement in some target-language activities, however, such as using social media to interact in the target language (e.g., chat) showed positive relationships with achieving overall language proficiency. The findings offer important insight into the complex relationships between time spent on out-of-class study, target language activities, background variables, and course outcomes.

中文翻译：

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语言学习中的自学：时间、活动和学习成果之间的关系

虽然很多第二语言习得研究都集中在课堂语言学习的特征上，但对课堂外语言学习的特征和有效性知之甚少。这项探索性研究通过分析 707 名参加强化（6-16 个月）语言学习的成年学生的问卷数据来弥补这一差距，这些数据涉及首选的课外活动以及在这些活动上花费的时间与语言结果分数（例如，防御语言能力测试 [DLPT] 和口语能力面试 [OPI] 分数），同时还控制了语言能力等背景变量。关于花在课外活动上的时间，混合效应线性回归模型（大约 400 名学生）表明，在指定和未指定课程学习上花费的时间越多，课程结束时的语言成绩越低，而花费的时间越少，语言成绩越高。然而，参与一些目标语言活动，例如使用社交媒体以目标语言进行互动（例如聊天），与实现整体语言能力呈正相关。这些发现为深入了解课外学习所花费的时间、目标语言活动、背景变量和课程结果之间的复杂关系提供了重要的见解。、聊天）与实现整体语言熟练程度呈正相关。这些发现为深入了解课外学习所花费的时间、目标语言活动、背景变量和课程结果之间的复杂关系提供了重要的见解。、聊天）与实现整体语言熟练程度呈正相关。这些发现为深入了解课外学习所花费的时间、目标语言活动、背景变量和课程结果之间的复杂关系提供了重要的见解。