Cartoons and learning English as a foreign language

Risanke so eden izmed medijev, s katerimi se otroci srečajo že okrog 2. leta starosti. So vir vsakdanje zabave, hkrati pa tudi vir za spoznavanje sveta in pridobivanje novih znanj. Množica tujih programov in spletnih virov omogoča, da otroci spremljajo risanke v tujem jeziku, v Sloveniji običajno v angleščini, od koder črpajo tudi znanje tega jezika. Kljub temu pa tujejezične risanke nimajo enakega vpliva na usvajanje jezika pri vseh otrocih. V tujih raziskavah so ugotovili, da je za usvajanje jezika preko risank pomembnih več dejavnikov (avtentičnost besedila, kakovost jezika, razumevanje vsebine, aktivnosti, ki spremljajo ogled risank ipd.). Ker pa na samo učenje tujega jezika vpliva tudi prvi jezik in okolje, je bilo smiselno izvesti raziskavo o povezanosti gledanja risank in usvajanja angleškega jezika v slovenskem izobraževalnem kontekstu. V raziskavi sem z uporabo anketnih vprašalnikov raziskovala dejavnike, ki vplivajo na usvajanje tujega jezika preko risank med slovenskimi šestošolci. Rezultati so pokazali, da se kaže pozitivna povezanost med gledanjem risank s humoristično, akcijsko oziroma fantazijsko vsebino in ravnijo znanja angleščine, ter negativna povezanost med gledanjem risank z otroško vsebino in ravnijo znanja jezika. Med gledanjem risank namenjenih učenju jezika in znanjem angleščine so bile zaznane povezave, a ne statistično pomembne. Možen vzrok za to bi lahko bilo dejstvo, da NPZ preverja pretežno opismenjevalne zmožnosti, risanke pa imajo močnejši vpliv na slušno zaznavanje. Raziskava je pokazala, da učenci z višjo ravnijo znanja svoje razumevanje vsebine in jezika v risankah ocenjujejo slabše, v primerjavi z učenci z nižjo ravnijo znanja, ki svoje razumevanje označujejo kot dobro. Učenci z nižjo ravnijo znanja običajno izberejo manj zahtevne vsebine (npr. otroške risanke), česar se morajo zavedati učitelji in spodbuditi tudi te učence h gledanju zahtevnejših vsebin. Pri načrtovanju prihodnjih raziskav bi se bilo potrebno osrediniti na vsak posamezen dejavnik povezan z gledanjem risank (vrste risank, trajanje gledanja, zahtevnost vsebine, razumevanje vsebine in jezika, odnos do risank). Smiselno bi bilo tudi razmisliti o vključevanju risank v pouk večplastno, ne samo kot motivacijsko sredstvo, in na splošno o izobraževanju učencev o kritičnem razmišljanju in presojanju risank.Animated cartoons are just one type of media that children encounter in their early age. Cartoons can be a source of an everyday entertainment but can also be a source of gaining new information about other cultures and languages. A variety of foreign language programs on TV and the Internet sources enable children to watch cartoons in foreign languages among which English is the most common in Slovenia. Although the majority of children watch the animated cartoons, not all benefit from them regarding language learning achievements. Many studies have shown that there are a number of factors which may influence the language learning from cartoons (text/topic authenticity, register, understanding the content, activities that follow viewing of cartoons etc.). The important factors that influence foreign language learning among others are the students’ first language and the environment. For this reason, we decided to examine potential relationships between watching English cartoons and the English language proficiency in the Slovenian school system. The research has been based on the Slovenian six-graders and focused on the factors that influence foreign language learning through watching the animated cartoons. The results indicated positive correlations between viewing cartoons with the humorous, action or fantasy content and the English language proficiency. Negative correlations were found between watching cartoons with the children’s content and the English language proficiency. There had not been any statist ically significant correlations between watching cartoons made specifically for language learning and the English language proficiency. The reason for that could be found in the NPZ (national knowledge testing) which was used as a measure of knowledge the language, because it is testing literacy in general, however watching animated cartoons has more influence on the listening comprehension. The research indicated that pupils with a higher level of the English language proficiency assessed their understanding of the content in the cartoons they had watched lower in comparison to the pupils with a lower level of the English language proficiency who had assessed their understanding higher. Teachers must be aware that students with a lower level of the English language proficiency usually choose less demanding content (e. g. children’s cartoons). They should try to encourage those pupils to also view cartoons with more demanding content and language register. The future studies have to focus on each factor that influences the language learning specifically (the types of cartoons, the duration of viewing, the difficulty of the content, language comprehension) and explore which types of language comprehension cartoons are the most influential. It should also be examined how to use cartoons in the educational environment and how to teach children critical thinking about cartoons and media in general