English, as a foreign language, is a compulsory course for all students in their university study journey since the 1990s in China (MOE, 1994). The significant status of English was re-affirmed by the reform of English in higher education since 2007, which was further improved in 2016 by new guidelines by the Ministry of Education in China (MOE, 2007, 2016). English has become a tool for communication acquired by students to use in their daily life, for example when studying, living, and for social communication and future work (MOE, 2016), rather than being a foreign language used to merely read English articles to understand the Western world (in China, ‘Western world’ refers to developed countries, for example, the United Kingdom, the United States, or Canada, etc., which have a high-level development in economic, technology and living standards (Zhang, 2018)). Standardised uniform education will be gradually replaced by individualised education to satisfy each student’s needs in their daily life (Ma, 2017). The Internet, as a medium, brings a potentially revolutionary change in the way both learning and teaching take place inside and outside of class. Its use is suggested by the Ministry of Education to promote students’ English learning ability, particular in learning outside of the classroom (MOE, 2016).
This research explored 19 university students’ perceptions of EFL learning outside of class by accessing their ideas of and motivation for learning English, and investigating their English learning activities on websites out of class during the research conducted. It draws on a case study approach, based on the constructivist viewpoint, to analyse students’ English learning by themes. Results were obtained through a combination of weekly group meetings, individual interviews, and reflective written reports completed by students. Moreover, this study discusses the relationship between perceptions and practices, it reflects on the relationship between beliefs and the learning process (Ellis, 2008).
