An investigation in to the impacts of out-Of-class english activities on the english major students’ achievement at military science academy

 to be fully 
established. Their involvement in out-of-class 
language activities also established a sense of 
pride in their written and verbal work. 
However, the outcomes of the current study 
showed that students’ over- involvement in out-of-
class English activities caused potential demerits. 
The noticeable findings from a small number of 
students’ responses were mostly negative such 
as missing classes, tiredness from involvement 
in or organizing various activities, not being able 
to concentrate during lessons. Some students 
indicated that being more involved in out-of-
school out-of-class English activities might lead to 
spending less time on study and homework because 
of the intensive rehearsals, practices and meetings. 
The findings of the impacts of participating 
in out-of-class English activities on the students’ 
social skills and academic learning provide 
evidence that out-of-class English activities are 
indeed a platform for them to develop creative, 
critical and analytical thinking, problem solving 
skills, self-confidence and maturity by organizing 
a variety of useful tasks, which is essential for 
their future life.
6. RECOMMENDATIONS
After this thorough discussion of the results, 
it is revealed that the English major students 
at the English Department - Military Science 
Academy can be highly motivated to enhance their 
performance and improve their standard when 
participating in out-of-class English activities. It 
also shows the students’ willingness to take part in 
the proposed out-of-class English activities if they 
are introduced in the Department.
Moreover, the students show concern and 
eagerness to take charge of their activities and 
seek extra autonomy in learning. Based on all this, 
the following recommendations can be presented, 
hoping that they will be taken into consideration 
by the teachers of the English Department at 
Military Science Academy and the university 
administration as well.
First, teachers can encourage and support 
out-of-class English activities by initiating and 
supervising them and cooperating with the 
students and related departments to set them up. 
While it is true that the Department does have 
some out-of-class English activities, these are too 
few and far between to have much positive effect 
in boosting motivation and general proficiency 
among students. A list of extra English activities 
can be added such as language symposiums, short 
play performance, poetry recitals, or cultural 
exchange program in collaboration with other 
English training institutions.
Second, proper planning, organization and co-
ordination of the activities with the administration 
and the students should precede these activities 
to ensure their success. Also the events and any 
out-of-class English activity initiated by the 
Department or the university administration 
should receive sufficient advance publicity to 
ensure better attendance.
Third, out-of-class English activities should 
not be arbitrarily selected but they should be well 
coordinated and relevant to the students’ needs and 
interest. More importantly, these activities should 
be conducted in a proper tension-free atmosphere 
to ensure maximum benefits. 
66 KHOA HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ QUÂN SỰNo. 19 (5/2019)
v DISCUSSION
Last but not least, the students’ self-motivation 
should be strengthened to produce highly motivated 
students. The teachers’ involvement which is 
essential must not stop short of the classroom 
but must be extended since that is where real 
communicative interaction takes place. In order to 
create a more motivating experience during English 
learning and teaching process, the teachers need 
to invest a great deal of thoughts into developing 
programs which maintain and promote students’ 
interest and have reachable short term goals.
7. CONCLUSION
This study explores what impacts the English 
major students’ engagement in out-of-class 
English activities could bring. Data was generated 
through questionnaires, semi-structured interviews 
with students, and their language diaries of all the 
activities available. The data demonstrated that out-
of-class English activities played an important role 
in the students’ academic and social achievement. 
The study found that students were empowered 
in all the activities and decision-making, shared 
and learned from each other’s knowledge and 
strengths. It also pointed out that these activities 
had significant impacts on students’ academic and 
social skills within and out of the classes and the 
entire university. The more they are engaged in 
English activities outside the class, the more their 
longing to learn grew./.
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NGHIÊN CỨU VỀ ẢNH HƯỞNG CỦA CÁC HOẠT ĐỘNG NGOẠI KHÓA TIẾNG ANH 
ĐỐI VỚI SINH VIÊN TIẾNG ANH TẠI HỌC VIỆN KHOA HỌC QUÂN SỰ
NGUYỄN THU HẠNH, PHẠM THỊ HOÀI PHƯỢNG
Tóm tắt: Bài báo này trình bày nghiên cứu về tầm ảnh hưởng của những hoạt động tiếng Anh ngoài 
lớp học đối với việc học tập và giao tiếp xã hội của sinh viên tiếng Anh tại Học viện Khoa học Quân 
sự. Số liệu được thu thập từ 90 sinh viên năm thứ ba chuyên ngành tiếng Anh thông qua các công cụ 
thu thập số liệu là câu hỏi khảo sát, phỏng vấn và nhật ký học ngoại ngữ của sinh viên. Kết quả nghiên 
cứu khẳng định các hoạt động tiếng Anh ngoài lớp học chính là bệ phóng để sinh viên phát triển khả 
năng ngôn ngữ, sự sáng tạo, tư duy phân tích và phản biện, kỹ năng giải quyết vấn đề, sự tự tin và 
trưởng thành của bản thân.
Từ khóa: hoạt động ngoài lớp học, ảnh hưởng, năng lực học thuật, kỹ năng giao tiếp xã hội, thành tựu
Ngày nhận bài: 26/3/2019; ngày sửa chữa: 22/4/2019; ngày duyệt đăng: 28/4/2019