It is widely known that most people enjoy movies and TV series. Yet, there is still a lot of work to do in order to integrate these materials in the educational system successfully and instruct L2 learners to use them outside the classroom more effectively (Webb, 2015). Therefore, an increasing number of investigations have been conducted in the last decade to explore the effects of audiovisual input on L2 learning and identify the factors that maximize the gains. Overall, the results have consistently shown that L2 learners benefit from viewing, and that the support of captions makes the input more accessible (Montero-Perez, 2022; Vanderplank, 2016). In addition, the simultaneous exposure to aural and written input has been found to facilitate decoding, allowing the viewers to devote greater attention to images (Pellicer-Sánchez, 2022). Yet, only a handful of studies on audiovisual input have tested the effects of extensive viewing sessions (e.g. Pujadas & Muñoz, 2019), and very little attention has been paid to primary school L2 learners in comparison with university and secondary school students (Montero Perez & Rodgers, 2019).
Hence, this investigation attempted to fill the gaps in the literature by exploring the extent to which extensive captioned-video viewing (11 episodes) promoted L2 learning in six groups of EFL primary school students (n=120) from an input-limited context. The results revealed learners' statistically significant progress in all the measures administered for the purpose of this study: L2 vocabulary learning (written-word form recall and form-meaning mapping), L2 reading efficacy and L2 listening skills. In addition, to present a richer picture of learners' viewing experience, a semi-structured interview was conducted with three small sample groups (n=18 students) at the end of the intervention. The thematic analyses indicated that learners' viewing experience was enjoyable but challenging, especially for fourth graders due to their significantly lower L2 proficiency level. However, the participants also reported using their own strategies to cope with the input demands and fill their L2 knowledge gaps. Specifically, the synergy between audio, captions and imagery enhanced learners' viewing self-efficacy and encouraged them to stay on task.
Montero Perez, M. (2022). Second or foreign language learning through watching audio-visual input and the role of on-screen text. Language Teaching, 1-30.
Montero Perez, M., & Rodgers, M. (2019). Video and language learning. The Language Learning Journal, 47(4), 403-406.
Pellicer-Sánchez, A. (2022). Multimodal reading and second language learning. International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 172(1).
Pujadas, G. & Muñoz, C. (2019). Extensive viewing of captioned and subtitled TV series: a study of L2 vocabulary learning by adolescents. The Language Learning Journal, 47(4), 479-496.
Vanderplank, R. (2016). 'Effects of' and 'effects with' captions: How exactly does watching a TV programme with same-language subtitles make a difference to language learners? Language Teaching,49(2), 235–50.
Webb, S. (2015). Extensive viewing: Language learning through watching television. In D. Nunan & J. Richards (Eds.), Language learning beyond the classroom (pp. 159-168). New York: Routledge.
