COUNTRY, COHORT, OR CONTEXT? DISENTANGLING EXTRAMURAL DIGITAL ENGAGEMENT AMONG CLIL LEARNERS IN IRELAND, ITALY, AND TÜRKIYE

Abstract

Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) classrooms across Europe increasingly coexist with dense, learner-controlled digital ecologies beyond the school gate. Extramural digital engagement has been linked repeatedly to second language development. Yet little evidence documents how CLIL learners across national systems distribute their extramural digital time or whether its relevance is comparable across contexts. This study addresses that gap using 2024 survey data from COST Action 21114, the CLIL Network for Languages in Education. The sample comprised 533 CLIL learners aged 10 to 21 in Ireland (n = 124), Italy (n = 216), and Türkiye (n = 193). Factor analysis of a 23-item digital activity scale yielded three dimensions: socio-communicative and entertainment, educational and informational, and gaming engagement, each showing good to excellent reliability (α = .80 to .93). Welch analyses of variance, Games-Howell tests, multivariate analysis of variance, hierarchical regression, and chi-square tests examined cross-national variation. Country predicted large differences in socio-communicative engagement and smaller differences elsewhere. A significant Country by Gender interaction emerged. Age best predicted educational engagement, not gender or parental education. Turkish learners reported the most access barriers. Findings extend extramural research and inform CLIL pedagogy across diverse national contexts.