Learning on their terms

Abstract Although cognitive and behavioral characteristics associated with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) can influence language learning, little is known about how learners with ADHD engage with extramural English (EE), i.e., English-mediated recreational activities. This study explored how twelve university students with ADHD reflected on their EE use during secondary school. Three themes emerged: reasons for EE use, including accessing communities and cultures beyond their own, pursuing narrative escapes, and enhancing English proficiency; activity preferences, with a favoring of audiovisual and multisensory activities over single-input formats; and EE-instruction interactions, with EE fostering feelings of mastery and instruction being perceived as comparatively inauthentic. Considering EE practices in instruction offers opportunities to address learners’ attentional differences and interest-based needs, with and without ADHD.