An Investigation of Research Culture on Extramural English in ELT: Implications and Future Directions

Extramural English is an emerging research area that investigates English as a second/foreign language (L2) learners’ out-of-class L2 engagement. In this respect, this study aims to showcase extramural English research tendency in graduate and postgraduate dissertations (M.A. and Ph.D.) conducted in Türkiye in the field of English Language Teaching (ELT) between 2014 and 2024. To this end, a descriptive research design was adopted, and data were collected from samples in the Turkish National Dissertations Database. A total of 22 dissertations were analyzed based on a rubric, including predetermined categories (e.g., years of completion, types of dissertations, publication information, target participants, research method, research design, and data collection tools). The findings of the descriptive analysis indicated that research on extramural English still remains at an early developmental stage, particularly within the Turkish context. It was explored slightly more at the master's level, overlooked at the doctoral level, frequently measured through questionnaires and scales, and often examined in relation to affective variables over the last decade. The results point out the scarcity of extramural research undertaken at the graduate level, particularly at the postgraduate level in ELT. Further, the study draws scholarly attention to the possible research gaps, opportunities, and implications for further directions on extramural English.