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Putting The Fun In Foreign Language: Defining Leisure Language Learning And The Implications For Foreign Language Educators, Graca Webster

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Leisure language learning is the pursuit of learning a foreign language out of one's own volition, rather than out of necessity, to fulfill an educational requirement, or for a job requirement, and for the primary purpose of pleasure and self-fulfillment. Leisure language learning can inform the way that foreign language educators prepare students for individual and personal success in a foreign language beyond the classroom. This work seeks to provide a complete definition of leisure language learning, discuss applications of this concept in the university level foreign language classroom, and present a layperson’s guide to becoming a leisure language learner.