Second Language Acquisition: Use Of Television

Second Language Acquisition Abstract There are different methods or ways through which people learn their preferred L2s. Researchers have documented these but there appears to be limited research which focus solely on learning l2s through TV programs with captions. Therefore, this research sought to establish whether inclusion of captions on TV programs had any measurable or significant impact on incidental vocabulary acquisition. In order to ascertain the likelihood of incidental vocabulary acquisition from watching a captioned TV program, a group of 5 native Spanish speakers aged 25-30 was selected. This group watched an averagely 20-minute episode of a TV program which was produced in English. The first episode was captioned while the second episode was not captioned. After watching the two videos, the group was questioned to evaluate their vocabulary acquisition in English. The results revealed that the study group generally acquired new vocabulary after watching the two videos. The vocabulary test and feedback from the respondents revealed that there was observable difference between the vocabulary acquisition in both settings. The captioned videos led to more vocabulary acquisition which was mainly cognates than the uncaptioned video. These learning effects were observed in 40-minute exposure time hence there is a strong indication that longer exposure time could translate to more incidental vocabulary acquisition. Literature Review Vocabulary acquisition is an essential part of learning a second language. It allows the learner to better understand a multitude of sources, enable them to participate in conversations, listen to music, watch television shows and read anything from novels to newspapers. Recently, researchers have begun to study the use of multimedia as a tool for vocabulary acquisition. In this paper I will be focusing on the use of television as a tool for incidental vocabulary acquisition, specifically. While it is a relatively new course of research for many, it is quite interesting and closely related to other tools for acquiring vocabulary. Vanderplank (2012) spoke on the use of subtitles for L2 vocabulary acquisition. What is most interesting to learn is that the origin of this tool for incidental language acquisition originally began as a tool for the deaf to enjoy television programs. In order to fairly and justly provide the deaf population with adequate captioned video, principles such as ‘shot-to-shot’ were considered (Vanderplank, 2016). As Vanderplank explained, this meant that “captions must not go over from the shot they refer to another shot” (p. 237). Consequently, the honoring of such principles turned video clips into an excellent teaching tool. Learners are thus able to receive audio and visual input while improving their listening and reading skills. In other studies, as referred to in most articles, reading was thought to be the best way to acquire vocabulary knowledge. A large takeaway we can gather from his speech is the need to, as teachers work extensively to produce quality material if we so choose to utilize the closed caption system along with television programs as a tool for teaching an L2. Teachers must work hard at picking appropriate material for the level of student as well as making sure the captions are in accordance with the actual words being spoken (Caimi, 2006). While it is considered important to provide the deaf community with the best possible captioning, it did not guarantee that the text was correct. The reading speed variable is also discussed in which it is assumed the learner can not only read and understand the captions but does so at the speed of the clip. Vanderplank (2016) points this out as decoding, where the learner’s ability to follow along is a significant variable in the positive effect of using clips with captions. A second point that was discussed is how captions can increase phonological knowledge (Mitterer & McQueen, 2009). In the study conducted by the researcher, they found that participants who viewed films with captions were able to repeat back words with greater ease. To further prove the success of using captions, a study by Winke, Gass & Sydorenko (2010) found that group participants who watched clips twice with captions, scored higher than those who did not in vocabulary, listening and comprehension tests (as cited in Vanderplank, 2016). The Noticing Hypothesis developed by Schmidt (1995) stated “that, in order to learn any aspect of the L2 (from sounds, to words, to grammar, to pragmatics), learners need to notice the relevant material in the linguistic data afforded by the environment” (as cited in Ortega, 2009, p. 63). In his speech, Vanderplank does not feel that noticing will substantially increase a learner’s knowledge, but I disagree. It is my thought that this hypothesis applies to learning vocabulary using TV programs along with captions by way of the students noticing the new language data that they are unaware of. As a word frequently appears in a program or video clip, the learner will notice different part of it such as sounds and use, thereby beginning to increase their lexical knowledge. After first noticing it, they can begin to acknowledge it as one they must learn in order to understand the content of what they are watching. They can then begin to acquire the knowledge of the words lexical and grammatical features by recognizing its different forms. While it may not be intentional, it may increase the learner’s knowledge incidentally through exposure and the learners noticing of the word. Peters and Webb (2018) pointed out that there has yet to be a study conducted into incidentally learning vocabulary through watching single, full-length TV programs. Today, most people watch TV almost every day (European Commission, 2014), opting for that as a form of entertainment over reading (European Commission, 2002; Statistics Canada, 1998; US Department of Labor, 2006). It is not a strange statistic to hear that most people no longer read and mostly watch television. Most people can now easily access video clips and TV programs through various form of media and technology. By way of the internet, learners could stream various kind of videos, from educational clips to full-length TV programs. The availability of this input is extremely valuable. Through their research, Peters and Webb aimed to determine how valuable TV programs themselves would be for vocabulary acquisition. In using TV programs as an educational tool, learners are exposed to audio and visual input. Peters and Webb state that “It is important to study the potential of audio-visual input because TV provides learners with authentic, spoken input and creates opportunities for incidental vocabulary learning” (2108, p. 7). The factors the researchers discuss to play a facilitative role in incidental vocabulary acquisition are word-related including frequency of occurrence, cognateness and word relevance, and learner-related factors including prior vocabulary knowledge (Peters & Webb, 2018). Their first experiment was on “The effect of TV viewing on form recognition and meaning recall.” Participants were split into an experimental group and a control group. The experimental group watched a full-length one-hour BBC documentary and the control group solely took the test. These factors were taken into play with the program when choosing the target words. It was important to them that not only were a large group of target words but that they rated the word-related factors of each to properly evaluate the effectiveness of the programs effect on incidental vocabulary acquisition. The second experiment was on “the effect of TV viewing on meaning recognition” This is where the learner-related factors came into play, whereas the participants prior vocabulary knowledge was important to answering the research questions. Both experiments revolved round the following research questions: 1 Is there an effect if viewing a full-length episode of a L2 TV program on word learning? 2 What is the relationship between word learning through viewing a full-length episode of a L2 program and the following variables: frequency of occurrence, relevance cognateness and prior vocabulary knowledge. For word learning, this research resulted in positive results with meaning recall, whereas there weren’t many positive gains in form recognition. An interesting note is that participants demonstrated an increase in knowledge by overall understanding the central theme of the show, recognizing the proper pronunciation and the words use though out the clips. Another positive result was in accordance with the frequency of occurrence and vocabulary learning. As stated in the article “altogether, these three studies tentatively suggest that repeated encounters in L2 TV with new words might facilitate vocabulary learning. It appears that when a word occurs more frequently, it is more likely to be noticed and to become familiar” (Peters & Webb, 2018, p. 20). A study conducted on children with the use of a short children’s television program and subtitles gave evidence towards the idea that incidental vocabulary acquisition is helped through their use (Ina, 2014). In the article, Ina begins by discussing the idea that humans are naturally predisposed to learning a language. Research in neurolinguistics by Penfeild and Roberts (1959) and Lennerberg (1967) provided evidence towards a child’s natural predisposition to learn a first language (as cited in Ortega, 2009, p. 12). Ina further states that subtitled television “creates the opportunity for vocabulary acquisition both in mother tongue and in foreign language” (p. 81). The advantages of using subtitled TV are discussed by Ina (2009) stating it to be a valuable tool for L2 instruction as many TV programs throughout the world are subtitled and it is a much cheaper than dubbing. Some have discussed the subtitles to be distracting but as pointed out by the study, learners can increase their learning with the subtitles more than without. Ina goes on to state that motivation is sparked within the learner through the multisensory input of the visual image, the soundtrack and the subtitles. This goes back to my previous point of noticing being necessary to learn a language; leaners must notice the connection between the images and the words to realize it is something they must learn to understand what is being said. As Ina writes “vocabulary learning occurs not because the learner is trying to learn words but because the learner is trying to understand what is being said, sung or written” (2009, p. 82). Ina points out Rapaport’s (2000) definition of Contextual Vocabulary Acquisition in connection with this idea and it is my belief that the two are closely related. For the learner to deduce the meaning from the content, they must first notice there is something new to be learned, connecting the contextual meaning with the word. The research questions presented in Ina’s article are the following: 1 Greek elementary school students, aged 9-12 years, can learn incidentally Italian words from a subtitled Italian-spoken television program. 2 Greek fifth and sixth graders can learn more Italian words from a subtitled Italian-spoken television program than do Greek fourth graders. The research was conducted on 3 different groups where group 1 viewed the video clip with subtitles, group 2 without, and group 3 in the L1 as the control group. The participants were learners from fourth, fifth and sixth grade. The results concluded that the use of subtitles allows for greater incidental language acquisition. Additionally, it was found that the subtitles did not prove to be a distraction for the participants. In respect to the second research question, it was shown that the older participants learned more words than the younger as well as experienced greater language acquisition. Ina provided the distinction between learning and acquisition for this study as acquisition being “unconscious, incidental, randomly done without systematic guidance-teaching and non-educational conditions” and learning being “conscious, intentional, resulted from systematic-instruction and occurs in educational settings” (2009, p. 83). The overall theme of the results from the research study conducted by Ina (2009) seems to be motivation. The researcher’s view is that speakers, who in the study are defined as foreign language learners (p. 81), are motivated to watch TV programs and movies for learning. Ina states “The greatest benefit of using subtitled television programs for guided language learning is that they entertain children-students and motivate better than anything else so students put more effort to understand the teaching material” (p. 86). It is to no surprise that most people would love to watch TV as a way to learn a language. As previously discussed in this paper from the research conducted by Peter and Webb (2018) most people watch TV over reading in today’s society. As teachers, we must move ahead with the times and begin to utilize TV as a language learning tool along with other multimedia to continually motivate leaners. There have been many developments in the way we teach vocabulary to our leaners, many of which include the use of multimedia. As defined by Ketsman et al. (2009) “multimedia refers to a combination of words, sound, and pictures. Words refer to printed or spoken texts, pictures include both still and dynamic graphics, video, photos, maps, and illustrations while sound includes aural input provided via radio, television, films, podcasts, and music” (p.2). The authors of this article put forth a path for teachers to utilize these new forms of teaching vocabulary, with an increase in the effectiveness of learning vocabulary. The article reiterates the findings that many conducting studies in this line of research have found, showing what I have previously stated in the importance of utilizing multimedia, including TV, for teaching vocabulary. Here we are given different strategies to incorporate the use of multimedia for vocabulary acquisition with our learners. While, it is discussed that the use of TV is beneficial as many can access programs through various outlets, Ketsman et al. focus on specific software programs that many cannot access such as PowerPoint or Apple Keynote. If the learners have access to such resources, it can obviously benefit them. However, I feel it more beneficial to focus on TV programs that all can access by way of streaming. When considering authentic materials, TV programs completely fit the bill, so long as they are not modified for the classroom. It is my belief that captions in the same language are an enhancement of these authentic materials since they are not altering the meaning of the message to better suit the learner, rather intended for a deaf audience. Galloway’s (1998) definition of authentic materials is provided as ‘those written and oral communications produce by members of a language and culture group for members of the same culture group’ (as cited in Ketsman et al., 2009, p. 5). The use of TV programs not only can enable the student to acquire vocabulary but examine the nuances when used in an oral context (McDonough & Shaw, 1993, as cited in Ketsman et al., 2009). This leads into a sociocultural aspect of language that a student must notice in order to fully know the word. Learners must begin to acknowledge they are unaware of what is meant by the speaker to begin to acquire that vocabulary knowledge, especially if the word used in the context defers from a written definition. Ketsman et al. (2009) suggest teachers use “video clips, music, videos, DVDs, and movie trailers from the internet that are tied to the content or language structures related to the chapter or unit content that provide language learners with authentic visual input” (p. 6). This form of input is much more attainable by language learners than the previously mentioned software programs. Although in their article, they do not include this in the section that they mention incidental vocabulary acquisition, we can assume from previous research mentioned above that when we incorporate captions or subtitles to this sort of multimedia input, learners will experience incidental vocabulary acquisition. In discussing incidental language acquisition, Krashen (2004) implies that incidental vocabulary acquisition occurs through extensive reading (as cited in Ketsman et al., 2009). The connection may not be made between reading and TV programs but when we incorporate the subtitles or captions, reading is occurring, therefore inciting incidental vocabulary acquisition. Overall, there is a lack of research in the use of TV programs in conjunction with subtitles and/or captions for incidental vocabulary acquisition. Through the research that has been done thus far we can see positive results. Therefore, there is a need to further conduct this research as it has proven to be a valuable tool in a learner’s arsenal for second language acquisition. It is my hope in my research that I can find positive results in the use of captions along with a TV program. I believe that with advance-beginners to advanced learners, the use of captions along with the audio will enable learners to notice the sounds, use, spelling and nuances of words in the target language, creating positive results in their overall second language acquisition. As Peters and Webb put it “TV viewing can be a fruitful method for increasing a learner’s vocabulary knowledge. Because people like watching TV, it offers great potential for language learning in the long run” (2018, p. 24) Research Methodology Participants Researchers agree that the larger the population of a study, the higher the credibility or reliability of the results. However, in some instances and coupled with limitations of time and cost of conducting a study, researchers use a smaller number of participants. In this particular study, the participants were 5 native Spanish speakers. The 5 were chosen and the number was affected by the limitations cited above. The selection of the participants was done through the simple random sampling method to offer everyone in the population an equal chance of taking part in the study. It is also important to mention that the participants were adults and aged between 25 and 30 years. Gender was not one of the variables used in the selection of the participants. Therefore, as long as one fit the L1 speaking category and the age-bracket, they were selected. However, it is important to mention that among the five, 2 were men and 3 were women. Additionally, it is essential to note that all the participants were comprehensively briefed on the study particulars and were not coerced in taking part. Context The main goal of this study is to try and establish whether watching a TV program with captions will aid in incidental vocabulary acquisition. The researcher sought to establish a connection between incidental vocabulary acquisition and TV programs with captions and those without captions. From previous research materials discussed in the literature review, there is indeed a credible evidence which suggests that people can acquire vocabularies of L2 by reading while listening. One limitation of the previous studies is that a majority of them based their results and discussion on learners who are between the ages of six and twelve. However, this particular study focuses entirely on adult learners between the ages of 25 and 30. Research Question As already indicated, this research study focuses on incidental vocabulary acquisition through captions. Therefore, the research question had to direct the study’s focus there and hence the following question was used: Research Question: Can incidental vocabulary acquisition occur through watching Television in the L2 with captions? There are several methods one can use to learn a second language. However, the captions on TV programs have never been widely considered as a viable option even though there have been studies claiming that they are. This study, though, through the research question above will seek to establish the viability of captions as a way to help adults acquire L2 vocabularies. However, it is essential to note that the focus is incidental vocabulary acquisition and not planned or in-class learning. Study Design There have been different definitions or explanations of what a study design is. Some people focus solely on whether a study is qualitative or quantitative. Others, on the other hand, say that the study design encompasses analysis methods as well as the data collection methods. However, on this study, the researcher steered clear of the debate that often ensues as a result of the two different explanations given above. In this study, study design was investigated on the basis of whether a research is exploratory or conclusive. Exploratory research is one where the researcher seeks to explore particular aspects of a topic or research area. The aim is never to provide the readers with a final word or conclusive results to or any questions being tackled. However, conclusive research is one that explores a particular issue and researchers focus on delivering answers to specific questions. Readers, therefore, expect something definite or final upon interacting with a conclusive study. For this particular study, the researcher’s aim was to provide the audience with a conclusive answer as to whether L2 incidental vocabulary acquisition can occur as a result of watching a TV program which uses captions. Data As already stated, this study used five participants and these were the only sources of data. First of all, the participants were shown episode one of the TV program known as Friends with captions and then episode two but now without the captions. One of the reasons the action described above was taken was to establish the dif...