TEFL Questionnaire given to teenage students who are currently learning English as a foreign language. All answers are anonymous and answered by x2 Polish and x1 Lithuanian student.

1. What are the best ways you learn English as a foreign language?

• Participating on an English summer camp/ language course where you use English all the time.
• Reading books, watching films and using speaking exercises in practical use.
• Exchanging postcards with people from all over the world via postcrossing website.

2. How many hours a day do you spend learning English?

• Not a lot, 45 minutes of English lessons a day at high school.
• On average 1-2 hours a day.
• Each week I have 2 x 45 minute lessons, sometimes with extra lessons x2 60 minutes.

3. Can you give me any examples of when you would use English in your country?

• When tourists ask me for information, such as, directions around the city.
• Social media and on the Internet. Searching for information in English rather than my mother tongue.
• At work since most companies require English.

4. Do you learn English at school or have private lessons?

• I have had private English lessons for two years (1 hour per week).
• In school with lots of homework.
• Both, its the best way to learn as usually in school we have a Polish teacher and in a private school Native English teacher.

5. What’s the worst thing about learning English as a foreign language?

• Pronunciation and accents.
• The grading system in school doesn’t give a clear idea on how to improve.
• At school we learn more about language rather than how to use it in practical use. Workbooks, grammar exercises, filling in gaps, transformation, list of vocabulary are common. There is a lack of focus on real communication and language pronunciation.

6. Can you give me any examples of English language learning games?

• I’ve only played taboo.
• Card games.
• I use quizzes, pictures, memo, find someone who, etc.

7. How might you use the English language in the future?

• At work and when I will travel and live abroad.
• Working in an international company or on projects. Travelling and Internet searches.
• At work and travelling.

8. What mobile applications do you use to learn English?

• I don’t use any mobile apps to learn English, I only have a dictionary.
• I use an app called Quizlet for learning definitions.
• Duolingo app is my favourite for learning English because it is like having my own robot teacher who sets tasks and keeps me on track each day with learning.

9. Do you have any unusual methods of learning English?

• When I have a list of vocabulary to learn I make a sentence with each word. I also watch TV series in English which helps a lot.
• No. Just cramming everything in.
• I talk to myself in English or I try to translate recipes. Sometimes I write stories in English: exchanging postcards with random people.

10. How confident are you at speaking English?

• Well this is a hard question! I’m pretty confident in English (I’m not afraid to speak English).
• Very.
• After many years of learning English I don’t feel very confident in speaking English.