A Systematic Review on Self-directed Learning among Undergraduate Students in Learning English outside Language Classrooms
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Undergraduate EFL students across diverse geographical and institutional contexts engage in self-directed English learning outside classrooms predominantly through digital platforms, with YouTube, WhatsApp, and social media emerging as the most frequently used tools. A consistent finding is that students favor receptive, input-oriented activities - particularly listening and watching English-language content - over productive activities such as speaking and writing, even when speaking is the skill they most wish to improve. Students typically spend one to three hours daily on English-language digital content, and their self-regulatory practices range from structured goal-setting and cyclical self-reflection to passive engagement such as watching videos without explicit learning strategies. Higher-proficiency learners tend to demonstrate more sophisticated metacognitive awareness and more effective self-regulatory cycles than lower-proficiency peers. The effectiveness of out-of-class self-directed practices depends on the interaction of several factors: individual interest and motivation, self-regulation capacity, degree of institutional scaffolding, and cultural context. Structured programs that bridge classroom instruction with independent learning and include teacher advisory roles produce more systematic and sustained self-directed behaviors than purely informal approaches. Key challenges include time constraints, declining engagement over time, limited productive skill practice, and cultural barriers to online communication in some contexts. Reported language gains center on listening, vocabulary, and speaking confidence, while writing remains the least developed skill through self-directed digital learning. This systematic review of 25 empirical studies underscores the need for targeted scaffolding to enhance the quality and persistence of undergraduate self-directed English learning beyond formal classrooms.
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